As if Ohio State’s non-conference schedule hadn’t been difficult enough, the Buckeyes take the plunge into Big Ten competition on Sunday with a matchup against Penn State.
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
| DEC. 5 | PENN STATE | STATE COLLEGE, PA. |
| DEC. 11 | WISCONSIN | COLUMBUS, OHIO |
| JAN. 2 | NEBRASKA | LINCOLN, NEB. |
| JAN. 6 | INDIANA | BLOOMINGTON, IND. |
| JAN. 9 | NORTHWESTERN | COLUMBUS, OHIO |
| JAN. 13 | WISCONSIN | MADISON, WISC. |
| JAN. 16 | PENN STATE | COLUMBUS, OHIO |
| JAN. 22 | NEBRASKA | COLUMBUS, OHIO |
| JAN. 27 | MINNESOTA | MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. |
| JAN. 30 | PURDUE | WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. |
| FEB. 3 | IOWA | COLUMBUS, OHIO |
| FEB. 6 | MARYLAND | COLUMBUS, OHIO |
| FEB. 9 | RUTGERS | PISCATAWAY, N.J. |
| FEB. 12 | MICHIGAN | ANN ARBOR, MICH. |
| FEB. 15 | MINNESOTA | COLUMBUS, OHIO |
| FEB. 19 | INDIANA | COLUMBUS, OHIO |
| FEB. 24 | ILLINOIS | CHAMPAIGN, ILL. |
| FEB. 27 | MARYLAND | COLLEGE PARK, MD. |
| MARCH 3 | MICHIGAN STATE | COLUMBUS, OHIO |
| MARCH 6 | MICHIGAN | COLUMBUS, OHIO |
Ohio State still has four games outside of conference action spliced into its December schedule, but with contests against Penn State and Wisconsin both taking place within the next eight days, it’s as good a time as any to survey the Big Ten landscape and get a feel for the opposition the Buckeyes will be taking on in short order.
Below, we take a look around the conference at how each of every team in the Big Ten has started off the 2021-22 season before league play begins this weekend.
Penn State
- Rank: NR
- Record: 4-3
- Player to Watch: F Seth Lundy (15.1 PPG, 6 RPG)
Under first-year head coach Micah Shrewsberry, the Nittany Lions have already suffered non-conference losses to the likes of Massachusetts (in a 24-point blowout, no less), LSU and Miami (Florida) through the first seven games. Penn State has also claimed wins over Youngstown State, St. Francis, Cornell and Oregon State, while junior forward Seth Lundy is enjoying a career year with a team-high scoring average of 15.1 points per game. Senior guard Sam Sessoms is putting up 14.3 points of his own for the Nittany Lions, and fifth-year forward John Harrar is averaging a double-double at 10.6 points and 10.9 boards per game.
.@llseth23 said, "Actually, that's my ball." pic.twitter.com/bjM9RuxfVU
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) November 11, 2021
Wisconsin
- Rank: #23
- Record: 6-1
- Player to Watch: G Jonathan Davis (19.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG)
Although its past three wins have all come by six points or less, Wisconsin is out to a 6-1 start, including four straight victories to usher them into the AP Top 25 for the first time this season. The Badgers’ best win thus far was a 65-63 upset over 12th-ranked Houston on Nov. 23, and their only loss was a five-point defeat to Providence on a night when Wisconsin was without its top player.
After coming off the bench for the duration of his true freshman season, second-year guard Johnny Davis is averaging 19.3 points per game through his first six appearances for the Badgers in 2021-22, and he’s putting up 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists to boot.
Nebraska
- Rank: NR
- Record: 5-3
- Player to Watch: G Bryce McGowens (18.5 PPG, 7.1 RPG)
Beginning the year with a home loss to Western Illinois was not exactly the way Fred Hoiberg was hoping to start the new season with his Huskers, but Nebraska has gone on to win five of its next seven games since the season opener. Nebraska is fresh off a four-overtime loss to North Carolina State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and has lost both games it has played against major conference opponents so far. But the Huskers have handled business against mid-major opposition, and freshman guard Bryce McGowens – the No. 29-rated recruit in the class of 2021 – has lived up to expectations and then some, averaging 18.5 points per game and 7.1 rebounds.
Indiana
- Rank: NR
- Record: 6-1
- Player to Watch: F Trayce Jackson-Davis (22 PPG, 8.9 RPG)
A few of its wins may have been closer than they should have been, but Indiana rattled off five straight victories under first-year head coach Mike Woodson to start the year before losing its first game of the season Tuesday, a double-overtime loss to Syracuse that featured a combined 222 points in a two-point Hoosier defeat. Trayce Jackson-Davis has been better than ever in his junior campaign, averaging 22 points and 8.9 rebounds, and Northwestern transfer Miller Koop has provided a boost for the Hoosiers as well, averaging a team third-best 10.1 points per game from the wing.
Northwestern
- Rank: NR
- Record: 5-2
- Player to Watch: F Pete Nance (17.3 PPG, 7.9 RPG)
The Wildcats won four straight games against mid-major opponents to start the year, but things haven’t gone quite as smoothly since they stepped up in competition. Northwestern has lost two of the past three games to Providence and Wake Forest, although both defeats came within five-point margins, with a win over Georgia sandwiched in between.
Northwestern remains without one of its best players in Chase Audige, who is sidelined with injury, but senior forward Pete Nance has been wrecking shop in his absence, averaging a team-high 17.3 points per game and 7.9 rebounds.
Minnesota
- Rank: NR
- Record: 6-0
- Player to Watch: F Jamison Battle (17.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG)
Expectations were low for the Gophers following the firing of Richard Pitino and subsequent mass roster exodus this offseason, but Minnesota has quietly started the season with six straight wins under first-year head coach Ben Johnson. George Washington transfer forward Jamison Battle has been a catalyst for success on the court for the Gophers, averaging 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and even if they haven’t faced stiff competition just yet, they’re still one of only three unbeaten teams in the conference.
Purdue
- Rank: #2
- Record: 7-0
- Player to Watch: G Jaden Ivey (15.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG)
The class of the Big Ten so far this season, the Boilermakers are beating opponents by an average of nearly 30 points per game through their first seven. Purdue already has two top-20 wins to its credit after beating then-No. 18 North Carolina and then-No. 5 Villanova on back-to-back days in late November.
The highest-ranked team in the conference by a wide margin, Purdue has four players averaging at least 12 points per game this season, and 2020-21 first-team All-Big Ten selection Trevion Williams is only the fourth-leading scorer on the team. Sophomore guard Jaden Ivey has taken the step up that many expected after his stellar freshman season, and 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey has been a menace down low to start his second season, leading the team with 16.9 points per game.
Iowa
- Rank: NR
- Record: 7-0
- Player to Watch: F Keegan Murray (24.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG)
No Luka Garza, no problem for the Hawkeyes thus far in 2021-22. 6-foot-8 forward Keegan Murray has made a massive leap in his second year to average 24.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game for 7-0 Iowa. The Hawkeyes’ competition hasn’t exactly been stout, with Iowa’s only game against a major conference opponent being a one-point win over unranked Virginia, and that explains why an unbeaten team that was a No. 2 seed in last year’s NCAA tournament is still unranked almost a month into the season. Iowa will have its chance to show how real it is on Friday when Fran McCaffery and company take on Purdue in West Lafayette.
Maryland
- Rank: NR
- Record: 5-3
- Player to Watch: G Eric Ayala (13.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG)
A ranked team to start the season, Mark Turgeon’s Terps quickly fell from the AP Top 25 after losing their fourth game of the season against George Mason. Maryland bounced back with two single-digit wins after that, but has since lost two straight games to Louisville and Virginia Tech in the past week. Maryland has struggled to score the ball this season, and senior guard Eric Ayala leads the team with an average of just 13.5 points so far. The Terps open Big Ten play with Northwestern on Sunday, but have another stiff test coming the week after with No. 14 Florida.
Rutgers
- Rank: NR
- Record: 4-3
- Player to Watch: G/F Ron Harper Jr. (16.1 ppg, 9 rpg)
After making the NCAA tournament for the first time in 30 years last season, Rutgers’ résumé has been well short of impressive to start the first seven games of this year. The Scarlet Knights lost their season opener to Lehigh, scored just 48 points against Merrimack and have lost three of their last four contests to DePaul, Lafayette and Massachusetts.
Rutgers got back in the win column against Clemson on Tuesday, but Ron Harper Jr. and company are heading into three tough matchups with Illinois, Purdue and No. 25 Seton Hall. It won’t help matters that fifth-year guard Geo Baker is dealing with a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the past two games.
Michigan
- Rank: #24
- Record: 4-3
- Player to Watch: C Hunter Dickinson (13.3 PPG, 7.6 RPG)
With the return of first-team All-Big Ten center Hunter Dickinson and the addition of two five-star freshmen in Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate, Michigan figured to be every bit as good, if not even better, than it was during last year’s 23-5 campaign. But despite entering their third game of the year ranked fourth in the nation, the Wolverines lost to Seton Hall in a two-point upset on Nov. 16 and have subsequently been blown out by Arizona and North Carolina in two of their past three games.
Michigan is likely to drop out of the top 25 by Monday, but its talent-rich roster remains one to watch out for in Big Ten play.
Illinois
- Rank: NR
- Record: 5-2
- Player to Watch: C Kofi Cockburn (26.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG)
Another team that has underachieved to start the year, Illinois has felt the loss of Ayo Dosunmu through its first seven games. The Fighting Illini have already lost two games to unranked opposition. Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Kofi Cockburn was suspended for the first three games of the season, but the 7-foot, 285-pound physical specimen was on the court when Illinois suffered a 20-point blowout loss to Cincinnati on Nov. 22.
The Illini have won three straight since then, but they’ve already experimented with six different starting lineups this season as multiple starters – including last year’s Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year Andre Curbelo – are dealing with injuries.
Hammer Time @kxng_alpha#Illini | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/MFZOV13ci7
— Illinois Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 30, 2021
Michigan State
- Rank: #22
- Record: 6-2
- Player to Watch: F Gabe Brown (13 PPG, 4.5 RPG)
Michigan State finished with its worst winning percentage since Tom Izzo’s first season with the program last year, and the team lost three of its top four scorers coming into this year. Nonetheless, the Spartans have already gone from unranked to No. 22 in the country with a 6-2 start highlighted by wins over Butler, then-No. 22 Connecticut and, most recently, Louisville. Michigan State’s only two losses have come to then-No. 3 Kansas and then-No. 6 Baylor, and the Spartans have been spearheaded by the play of senior forwards Gabe Brown and Marcus Bingham, who are both enjoying career-best campaigns.
