Every fan base around the country has extreme confidence in their school before the season even begins, although they are most likely putting unfair expectations upon their team.
This holds true for Big Ten basketball, as the conference gets tougher and tougher each year. The Big Ten saw six teams make the NCAA tournament last year, with one team making the Final Four (Wisconsin). Everyone has an opinion on the conference’s outlook for this upcoming season, so I will take a look into who can outperform expectations and who will have disappointing season based on pre-season rankings.
Who is Overrated and Underrated in the Big Ten this Pre-Season?
Underrated: Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois had a surprisingly good year last year, including wins at UNLV, Missouri, Indiana, at Michigan State, and at Iowa. They made the NIT, beating Boston University, then losing by one point to Clemson. The public still seems to think of Illinois as a middle of the pack team, but I think they can be very competitive this year. The biggest positive about the Illini’s season was they only lost one player, Joseph Bertrand. Bertrand was a good player, scoring 8.5 PPG and shooting 39% from three-point range. That said, Illinois will return their top two scorers, both seniors, in Rayvonte Rice (15.9 PPG) and Tracy Abrams (10.7 PPG). Plus, four star PF Leron Black comes in this year to shore up the post area, something that was desperately needed last year. Look for Illinois to win some tough ball games this season.
Overrated: Iowa Hawkeyes
Many see the Hawkeyes has a Big Ten favorite, but one loss stands out to me, and his name is Roy Devyn Marble. His 17 points per game last year led the Hawkeyes by a pretty large margin, and I just do not see who will replace his shot making ability. Aaron White is a nice player to have, and Mike Gessell should get better, but who else is there? Not to mention the lack of big time recruits coming in. Trey Dickerson, Brady Ellingson, and Dominique Uhl are all three stars, and Dickerson is a JUCO recruit. One reason to not count out Iowa: They still have Fran McCaffery at the helm, and he always has his teams playing hard.
Underrated: Indiana Hoosiers
Just a couple years ago, Indiana was a National Championship favorite, with players like Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo, Christian Watford, and Jordan Hulls leading the way. Now, many call them a bottom feeder, which is hard to argue after looking at last year. Homes losses to Northwestern and Penn State, didn’t do the program any favours, and they didn’t even make the NIT tournament. Oh yeah, Noah Vonleh opted for the draft, and Will Sheehey graduated. After all that, this team can only go up. They did land a superstar five-star guard in James Blackmon, plus four-star guard Robert Johnson. They will pair with point guard Yogi Ferrell (17.2 PPG) to lead a talented backcourt next year. Tom Crean can feel his seat getting a little warm, and will lead this team back to respectability after last years debacle.
Overrated: Nebraska Cornhuskers
I will admit, Nebraska took the Big Ten by storm last year. They beat Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Wisconsin, dancing their way into the NCAA tournament as an 11 seed. They would end up losing to Baylor in the second round, but they sent a message to the entire country. That is the main reason I am not buying into their expectations for this upcoming season. They have a target on their back, and will not be able to win “trap” games. Some people think the Cornhuskers can compete for a Big Ten title this year, and Terran Petteway is a big reason for that. He scored 18 points per game last year, and is expected to do much of the same this year. I do expect coaches around the league to figure some way into containing Petteway, and I don’t see him having the same impact as last year. I have to see this team win consistently before I can look at them as a true title contender.
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