We’re in the thick of the holiday season now as college basketball’s non-conference slate grinds to a close, making way for league play.
With that in mind, I figured I’d go through each and every team in everyone’s
favorite conference and see what they could use as a gift this December. Some got a new player, some a concept. Either way, there’s plenty to go around.
Let’s get into it:
Stats in this piece via KenPom,
Illinois
- Gift: Another defensive backcourt piece
If there’s something Illinois could use more of, it’s defensive pressure.
The Fighting Illini have the second most efficient offense in the country, they have more than enough scoring power. The defense is far from poor, rating in at 27th nationally though with a few less than ideal stats when it comes to guarding the ball. Kylan Boswell does this well, but adding someone else who can turn up the heat and play a bit more loose would do some good.
Illinois doesn’t generate a lot of pressure and teams can hurt them from deep. Add in another guard/athletic wing who can man the perimeter and that could be solved a bit.
Indiana
- Gift: A star center
Indiana’s offense is almost entirely dependent on the 3-point shot and the defense rests on physicality that usually results in a headache-inducing amount of fouls.
The Hoosiers’ center rotation of Sam Alexis and Reed Bailey averages 8.2 and 10.3 points per game without providing reliable rebounding. They’ve actually had to sub in Alexis for Bailey as a starter partially for that reason, Bailey hasn’t offered the same versatility he provided Davidson.
This team could use a real, physical 7-footer who can be a factor on the boards and provide a consistent 10 or so points per game.
Iowa
- Gift: A true rim protector
Iowa’s system is working in year one under Ben McCollum. The offense, while slow, is efficient and the defense, also slow, is the same. There’s a few issues with turnover problems on offense, but that’s the nature of the beast sometimes.
The Hawkeyes, like the Hoosiers, also foul quite a bit and lack size in the frontcourt. They’ve done a fine job on the glass, so they’d really only need a center for defensive purposes.
They don’t block a lot of shots, with one of the worst rates in the country. That hasn’t harmed them, necessarily, but it could take the defense to another level if they don’t have to rely on being physical as much with a rim protector at their back.
Maryland
- Gift: A true point guard
Maryland has been plagued by injury trouble and doesn’t have a real distributor in year one under Buzz Williams, ranking near the bottom of the country in assist rate as a team.
David (Diggy) Coit leads the Terrapins in assists per game with 2.9 and Myles Rice is right behind him with 2.1. Both are geared to score more than pass and that’s what Maryland has to work with in the backcourt for now, which has hampered the offense.
Would a true point guard fix all of Maryland’s problems and turn this into a tournament team? Probably not, no, but it’d help save the offense at least and give the Terps a fighting chance in games they otherwise wouldn’t compete in.
Michigan
- Gift: Uh, nothing
Yeah. They’re good! Moving on,
Michigan State
- Gift: A 3-point specialist
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Tom Izzo has built a really good team off of defense, physicality and just enough shooting to get by.
This is very much a classic Michigan State style team, so it feels weird saying anything needs added to it because things usually go well when Izzo’s groups look like this. If I could add one thing, it’d be a 3-point specialist who could come in off the bench and provide some floor spacing.
Jaxon Kohler and Kur Teng have shot it well on relatively low volume. What if you could add a Luke Goode-type who makes shots off the catch while bringing that usual toughness under the rim for some rebounding help?
Minnesota
- Gift: A 3-point specialist
So, yeah, this’ll be a bit of a running theme.
Minnesota struggles in a lot of areas but, outside of some troubles guarding the 3-point line, usually does what it wants on defense to some mixed results. The offense sags some and could do with an extra floor spacer for the sake of scoring and opening up more room to operate.
Nebraska
- Gift: A bench 7-footer
Nebraska isn’t a fluky 12-0, this is a bonafide really good team in Lincoln. The Huskers play fast, shoot 3s, pass the ball well and everything that goes with it while playing tough, physical defense that… well, leads to fouls.
You can’t mess with the starting frontcourt because it features one of the best players in the conference in Rienk Mast. Maybe adding in a bench 7-footer like Purdue with Daniel Jacobsen, a guy who can alter shots with his length and pull down some rebounds here and there.
Northwestern
- Gift: A 3-point specialist
Northwestern’s statistical profile grades out well and aligns with what Chris Collins is generally trying to do, but the Wildcats just don’t shoot the ball well.
Adding a 40% shooter into the mix could lead to more points while helping out with spacing.
Ohio State
- Gift: A rim protector
Ohio State’s defense, as a whole, just hasn’t really been good enough.
It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s the less efficient side of the ball for the Buckeyes. If there’s any glaring issues, it’s the fact that they swat next to no shots with a block rate of just 6%, which hovers around the bottom of the country. Add in a steal rate of 7.3% and the Buckeyes just aren’t doing a ton to affect opponents on that end of the court.
Christoph Tilly, who starts at center at a full 7’ tall, doesn’t have a high block rate and never has. He’s a key piece to the offense, so maybe adding in a 7-footer or athletic four for the purposes of protecting the rim?
Oregon
- Gift: A high-major non-conference win
Things have been rough for Oregon.
The Ducks had games against Auburn, San Diego State, Creighton and Gonzaga on the non-conference schedule and lost every single one. With the exception of a rivalry bout with Oregon State, this is a pretty weak resume heading into Big Ten play.
Even just one quality win in the non-conference slate would help this resume a decent amount.
Penn State
- Gift: Extra defense-specific practice days
Mike Rhoades can coach a defense, his VCU teams were elite there for years,
His Penn State team’s haven’t been up there, but they haven’t been bad… until now. The Nittany Lions are pretty awful on that side of the court and routinely get blown out. It’s not just one category either, it’s a struggle across the board.
It’s a young team, so mayyyyybe just a bit more time in the oven here? I hesitate to add any pieces because I don’t think there’s one player that could flip this.
Purdue
- Gift: An athlete on the wing
Purdue has the most efficient offense in the country, the Boilermakers are fine there.
The defense has been solid as a whole and ranks near the top of the country, but if there’s anything the Boilers are missing it’s athleticism. I’d hesitate to add anything here because the offense is humming, but mayyyybe someone who can come in off the bench and add some length on the perimeter.
Rutgers
- Gift: Listen, there’s only so much the holiday season can do
Rutgers sits at .500 with the league’s least efficient offense and second least efficient defense.
The Scarlet Knights have been in too-close-for-comfort games against sub-300 teams in KenPom’s rankings and narrowly avoided a home loss to a Fran McCaffery-led Penn team. There’s just too much wrong here to add in anything.
USC
- Gift: Better injury luck
The Trojans have been without Alijah Arenas for the first half of the season and will go the rest of it without Rodney Rice, which is less than ideal.
USC has a good group and has been playing some great ball, so it’s less than great that they’ve had injury concerns this early. Fixing that alone would do wonders for this team.
UCLA
- Gift: More time for Donovan Dent?
UCLA hasn’t been great, but it certainly hasn’t been bad.
If there’s an overarching issue, it feels like Donovan Dent not really having the time to settle into the Bruins’ system just yet. Maybe more time will do him some good.
Washington
- Gift: A 3-point specialist
Washington can’t, and doesn’t, shoot. The defense is perfectly fine but the offense is sagging without consistent ball movement or shooting.
The Huskies have too many guys who can pass to have as poor of an assist rate as they do, so that part doesn’t make sense. Maybe getting a reliable shooter opens that up a bit more?
Wisconsin
- Gift: Athleticism on the wing
Wisconsin has had some struggles this season, but it’s been more on the defense than the offense.
The offense struggles with efficiency a bit, but the defense has struggled pressuring the ball and guarding the 3-point line, Adding in some length could help with that.
