Friday, November 10, 2017 // TIP OFF 2017
8B
lineup
is
barely
changing.
Northwestern — which will
instead play at Allstate Arena
16 miles from campus in 2017-
18 — lost just two players to
graduation, and has adequate
replacements in top-150 recruit
Anthony Gaines and Boston
College transfer A.J. Turner.
Turner
and
Gaines
join
a Wildcats team that made
program history with their first
NCAA Tournament appearance.
This year, they will be expected
to return.
Senior
guard
Bryant
McIntosh
returns
as
the
torchbearer after posting 14.8
points and a conference-leading
5.2 assists per game. McIntosh’s
sidekick in the backcourt is
Scottie Lindsey, who emerged
as a knockdown shooting threat
in his first year as a starter. The
two comprise one of the most
potent offensive combinations
in the country.
The Wolverine faithful would
surely like to get forward Dererk
Pardon out of their memories.
Against
Michigan,
Pardon
caught a full-court inbounds
pass for an easy layup as time
expired to give Northwestern
its first winning season in the
conference since 1968. The goal
has changed now — for 2017-18,
it’s about winning the Big Ten
for the Wildcats.
No. 20 Purdue
The Boilermakers got an early
start to their season, playing
as Team USA for the World
University Games and finishing
in second place after an 85-74
loss to Lithuania in the finals.
Purdue will have to play
catch-up, though, as it faces
perhaps the toughest challenge
in the conference: replacing
Caleb Swanigan. While much
of the Boilermakers’ foundation
remains the same, Swanigan
led the Big Ten in rebounding
and was second in scoring
—
production
that
7-foot-2
center Isaac Haas simply can’t
replicate. Haas calls himself the
best center in the conference,
though he’ll have to prove that
statement on the court.
Outside
the
arc,
Vince
Edwards and Dakota Mathias
return as two of the best 3-point
shooting talents in the Big Ten.
Swanigan’s
departure
will
certainly hurt Purdue’s 79.7
point-per-game average, but the
pieces are in place for one of the
conference’s most experienced
teams to continue to have an
elite offense.
Wisconsin (14 votes)
It’s Ethan Happ and then
everyone else in Madison this
season.
The
unrecognizable
Badgers — who are now without
Zak Showalter, Nigel Hayes,
Bronson Koenig and Vitto Brown
— are the team most likely to fall
after a second-place conference
finish in 2016-17. Happ put up an
impressive 14 points per game in
addition to being the Big Ten
Defensive Player of the Year,
but Wisconsin will need one of
its four high-ranked recruits or
last year’s role players to step
up to continue to be a college
basketball powerhouse.
The player most prepared to
do that is D’Mitrik Trice. For
Trice, however, an expected
increase in production is more
of a necessity than an option.
The sophomore point guard was
the Badgers’ most reliable bench
player last year, despite a quiet
5.6 points per game. Happ is
the unmistakable leader for this
team, but Trice could be relied
upon as an emerging offensive
playmaker to replace Showalter
and Koenig’s production.
Wisconsin
hasn’t
missed
the tournament since 1999, the
sixth-longest streak in NCAA
history.
Seeing
that
streak
come to an end could be a real
possibility this season.
Maryland (seven votes)
The Terrapins will be on
the same learning curve as
Purdue, as they too have lost
their unquestioned leader in
point
guard
Melo
Trimble.
Maryland
doesn’t
have
the
same experienced core as the
Boilermakers, but does have a
trio of sophomores who could
take the next step and keep
the Terrapins in the spotlight:
Justin Jackson, Kevin Huerter
and Anthony Cowan.
Jackson’s freshman campaign
was
a
welcome
sight
for
Maryland; his name was even in
the conversation before the NBA
Draft. But the 6-foot-7 small
forward is back, and was named
a preseason All-Big Ten and
Julius Erving Award Watch List
selection. Huerter and Cowan’s
impacts were not as pronounced
in their first years, but they did
not exhibit glaring flaws in any
facets of their game.
The Terrapins perhaps have
the most interesting newcomer
in the conference in Bruno
Fernando. The Angolan center
introduces a unique blend of
size and athleticism that could
position him as a threat to
Jaren Jackson’s push for Big
Ten Freshman of the Year.
Maryland’s
frontcourt
depth
appears to be its weakest link,
but the speed of Fernando’s
adjustment to college ball could
change that.
BIG TEN
From Page 7B
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
The Michigan men’s basketball team will face a tough challenge in conference play this year, as there are four Big Ten teams in the AP preseason top 25 poll and the Wolverines aren’t one of them.