With college hoops season now in full swing, it is a crazy time for the sports world. Between the NFL, college football, NBA, NHL and now college basketball, it’s a lot to keep up with. That’s why we decided
to create a new weekly segment updating you with the what’s been happening in the Big Ten in both the men’s and women’s worlds of college basketball.
Our first edition comes after a packed slate of games around the Big Ten, including a few enticing ranked matchups and some near-upset losses at the hands of motivated Group of Five opponents. Without further ado, here’s everthing you missed this week in the wide world of college hoops:
Men’s Basketball
Game of the Week: No. 22 Michigan State beats No. 14 Arkansas, 69-66
Tom Izzo has his team ready. Michigan State has looked the part of a national contender once again this year, grabbing a huge win over another coaching great John Calipari and his 14th-ranked Razorbacks. The Spartans used some early second half momentum and a breakout performance from freshman Cam Ward (18 points, 10 rebounds) to pull out to a second-half lead. Despite a spirited comeback effort led by freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr., the Spartans used their cushion to eke out a huge ranked victory. On top of the implications of an early-season ranked matchup, this game was also electric to watch because of the Sparty faithful: the energy of the crowd felt like that of an late February game, not an early November one. All in all, some great early-season basketball.
Player of the Week: Bruce Thornton (Ohio State)
This award could have gone to a couple different people potentially, but there was no way I could in good conscience give it to anyone other than Thornton. The senior guard was a stone-cold killer in each of his first two games, picking right back up from where he left off a season ago on the offensive side (17.7 points per game last season). Thornton is averaging an absurd 32 points per game on 78/58/88 shooting splits so far (read that twice). Not only is he leading the conference in points, but he’s currently the nation’s leader. A career-high 38 points against Purdue-Fort Wayne on Friday plays a big part in that number, but the Georgia native nonetheless looks like a legitimate All-American candidate so far this year.
Team of the Week: No. 22 Michigan State
The aforementioned Spartans currently have the biggest win in the entire conference thus far this season, so it was hard to consider just about anyone else. Between Ward, Coen Carr — who seems to finally be putting it all together — and big man duo Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper manning the post, MSU looks primed to repeat its success at the top of the Big Ten once again.
Freshman of the Week: Trey McKenney (Michigan)
Ward was a close second in my pick this week, after looking like anything but a young freshman against Arkansas. But I’ll have to defer to McKenney, who has looked the part of his five-star rating thus far. Although Michigan has played just one game to date, McKenney put on a show. His 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting from deep off the bench was an opening night performance few were expecting to see; even with all the depth the Wolverines have, McKenney could very easily carve out a role as a major contributor on this team.
Clutch Performance of the Week: Braden Smith (Purdue) vs. Oakland
It wasn’t pretty, but the Boilermakers got it done. It might not have been a game that fans over in West Lafayette, Ind. were happy with, but Purdue escaped an upset bid from mid-major Oakland with a second half surge, led in large part by National Player of the Year contender Braden Smith. In the absence of fellow star Trey Kaufman-Renn, Smith posted 20 points, seven rebounds and nine assists to avoid disaster for the Boilers. With a matchup against No. 8 Alabama looming, Smith’s heroics will likely need to come into play again for a W.
Women’s Basketball
Game of the Week: No. 18 USC beats No. 9 NC State, 69-68
This is college basketball at its finest. In one of the craziest finishes so far this season, USC looked dead in the water down the stretch. With star guard Juju Watkins out for the year (torn ACL), the Trojans looked outmatched against a really talented NC State team led by Zoe Brooks and Zam Jones. With just over nine minutes left, USC was down 10; with four minutes left, it was down seven, 68-61. But the Trojans dug deep and pulled off a miraculous comeback, cementing itself as a true contender even with one of the best players in the country sidelined.
Player of the Week: Shay Ciezki (Indiana)
Coming off a season where she averaged nearly 12 points per contest but was a constant threat whenever she was on the floor, Shay Ciezki already looks primed for another jump in her senior season in Bloomington. With last year’s leading scorer Yarden Garzon now out of the picture (transferred to Maryland), Ciezki has answered the bell, taking on an even larger scoring role as the number one option. After a 22-point performance in the season opener against Lipscomb, Ciezki dropped 35 points in 37 minutes and shooting 7-of-10 from deep. Fair warning, Big Ten: watch out for No. 10.
Team of the Week: No. 18 USC
It had to be the Trojans. No team in the Big Ten — or quite possibly the entire nation — improved its stock this week more than USC did through this first week of basketball. Not only does USC look like a definite Top 25 team, but a win over a top-10 opponent on a neutral court is reason enough to believe it could be competing for a national title again this season. As fun as it is to think about the “what-ifs” with this team with Watkins out, head coach Lindsay Gottlieb seems to be focused on winning with the roster she’s dealt, which has still proven to be extremely talented in its own right.
First-Year of the Week: Hila Karsh (Purdue)
A majority of the talent in the Big Ten on the women’s side is made up of experienced upperclassmen, most of whom dominate the scoring on their respective teams. But for Purdue, who has struggled mightily to compete in the deep B1G in recent years, Karsh has been an intriguing spark. Through the Boilermakers’ first two games, Karsh is putting up 18 points per game and six rebounds on over 68% efficiency from the field. The Israel native appears to be a three-level scorer and could make some noise as Purdue looks to assert itself back into Big Ten contention.
Clutch Performance of the Week: Jazzy Davidson (USC) vs. No. 9 NC State
It might feel like overkill talking about USC this much, but I just can’t get over how gutty of a performance that was from the Trojans. And on top of the improbable odds they had to overcome, leading the second half charge was none other than highly-touted first-year Jazzy Davidson, who was ice-cold (1-of-10 shooting) in the first half, but found her groove in the second, finishing with 21 points and four assists. Oh, and she hit the game-winner with just seven seconds left. Ice in her veins.
