Men’s Basketball
Game of the Week: No. 2 Purdue defeats No. 8 Alabama, 87-80
Just a week after dropping to No. 2 in the country after a narrow victory over Oakland at home, Purdue completely redeemed itself with a massive
win against No. 8 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Braden Smith was extremely important to the Boilermakers’ offense, staying calm and guiding the offense in the midst of a raucous environment. But the real difference-maker? Trey Kaufman-Renn, who returned after having to sit out the first week of play due to injury. His impact was felt in a huge way for head coach Matt Painter and Co., as he tallied 19 points and 15 rebounds in 34 minutes of action. Purdue’s game plan was ran to perfection as it limited possessions for an explosive Alabama offense and kept the pace to its own liking. The Boilers are now back up to top dog in the nation after the victory.
Player of the Week: Nick Martinelli (Northwestern)
Call me a homer all you want, but Martinelli has been undeniably great for head coach Chris Collins so far this year. In his senior year, the forward has seemingly improved on a junior campaign that saw him lead the entire conference in points per game. The difference? This year, he’s got a consistent jumper. Martinelli is shooting an impressive 62% from the field and is 6-of-7 from three-point land thus far. In NU’s two victories this week, the Italian Stallion averaged 22.5 points, six blocks and just 1.5 turnovers as he looks primed to continue his success from an already-great junior year.
Team of the Week: No. 8 Illinois Fighting Illini
While Purdue might have had the best win of the week, no one improved its stock over the course of the season thus far more than Illinois. The Fighting Illini started at 17th in the nation, but have quickly moved up to the ranks with blowout victories over inferior opponents in the opening week, and more recently a huge win over J.T. Toppin and No. 11 Texas Tech. The aptly-named “Eastern Bloc” has shone out, with Andrej Stojakovic having lived up to his hype thus far with 23 points off the bench against the Red Raiders. The Boilermakers might be the best team in the Big Ten right now, but don’t be surprised if the Illini give them a run for their money.
Freshman of the Week: Kayden Mingo (Penn State)
Although many have preemptively pegged Penn State to be casted amongst the bottom feeders of the Big Ten this season, the Nittany Lions have looked relatively confident through their early slate. Their 4-0 record may have come only against inferior mid-major opponents, but flashes are there. Especially so from exciting freshman Kayden Mingo, who is playing to the standard of his top-40 ranking coming out of high school. Mingo dropped 16 and 14, respectively, in PSU’s last two wins, with great interior efficiency. His outside shooting hasn’t quite come along yet, but there is a lot of promise for the future in Happy Valley despite the current lack of talent.
Clutch Performance of the Week: Aday Mara (Michigan) vs. Wake Forest
Now, don’t get me wrong: Michigan might be in trouble. The seventh-ranked Wolverines have looked very beatable early on, winning in close fashion this week against Wake Forest and then again against a TCU team who started its season off by losing at home to New Orleans. Despite the concern, Aday Mara looks like an unbelievable talent for Dusty May’s crew who might be able to turn things around. The seven-footer showed off his all-around ability in an overtime one-point victory against the Demon Deacons last Tuesday, scoring 18 while also notching 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks. Mara was a menace defensively, forcing tough shots for Wake Forest’s offense — including a potential game-winner that would have won the game for Wake — and looking like the second coming of Danny Wolf with his next-level passing vision.
Women’s Basketball
Game of the Week: Indiana defeats Florida State, 76-72
It might seem like a relatively insignifcant non-conference game, with neither team currently ranked, but this inter-conference Power 5 matchup between the Hoosiers and Seminoles could have major implications as both teams seek to go dancing come March. Despite getting out to an eight-point lead in the early second half, the Hoosiers fell into an offensive drought and let FSU get back into the game headed into the fourth. But down the stretch, IU got some clutch buckets from Shay Ciezki and Zania Socka-Nguemen to seal the game and tack on a big-time résumé-builder.
Player of the Week: Sayvia Sellers (Washington)
Washington just got ranked this past week (currently sitting at No. 25), and it’s in large part due to the scoring onslaught from Sellers. After a couple solid performances against Seattle (21 points) and Montana (19) to begin the year, the junior guard was unstoppable in a matchup of former Pac-12 teams, as the Huskies downed Utah, 72-61. Her 30 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the field paced the offense, and match her career-high in points.
Team of the Week: No. 3 UCLA Bruins
The Bruins might have a case for top spot in the country. After making a run all the way to the Final Four as a one seed last season, UCLA looks just as dominant, with an even more experienced roster this time around. It had a gauntlet ahead of it this week, but glided past No. 6 Oklahoma (won 73-59) and No. 11 North Carolina (won 78-60) and solidified itself as a legitimate national title contender once again.
First-Year of the Week: Tea Cleante (Penn State)
PSU has a lot of young talent in the realm of basketball, it seems. Getting my vote for first-year of the week on the women’s side is another Nittany Lion in Tea Cleante, who was not expected to be a high-volume scorer on a team that already has Rutgers transfer Kiyomi McMiller (20 points per game) and Gracie Merkle (19.5 PPG). But Cleante had her first breakout performance in her college career, dropping 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting and going 5-of-6 from three. If Cleante can continue her hot shooting, PSU might be a real threat in a stacked Big Ten conference.
Clutch Performance of the Week: Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA) vs. No. 6 Oklahoma
The aforementioned Bruins were dominant in their two top-15 matchups this week, but in the bigger of the two (rankings-wise, at least), an unlikely candidate stepped forward to lead the way on offense. While UCLA sports two of the best players in the conference in Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez, fifth-year Gianna Kneepkens came through in just her third game as a Bruin after four years at Utah. In 31 minutes, she dropped 20 points and added four boards to help UCLA come away with a huge top-10 win early on its season.
