Friday, November 8, 2019 // TIPOFF 2019
8B
Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights enter the
2019-20 season missing four out of
five starters from last year’s team
that finished third in the Big Ten.
They can hope to fill some of that
gap with five-star center Maori
Davenport, and redshirt junior
guard Arella Guirantes also seems
poised for a big season — scoring
27 points in Rutgers’ season
opener against South Alabama on
Tuesday.
Still, replacing four out of five
starters is no easy task for any team,
so expect the Scarlet Knights to
take somewhat of a step back this
season. They’re almost certainly
too inexperienced to compete for
the Big Ten regular season title,
but coach C. Vivian Stringer —
entering her 25th season — could
very well salvage some upset wins
near the end of the season. With a
strong enough showing in the Big
Ten Tournament, Rutgers can still
definitely find itself an at-large bid
in the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa
Coming off a run to the Elite
Eight, a second place finish in the
Big Ten and a Big Ten Tournament
Championship, the expectations
for Iowa this year are significantly
lower than last. No team in the Big
Ten has a bigger hole to fill than
the hole left by Megan Gustafson,
the nation’s leading scorer and Big
Ten player of the year a season
ago. Iowa also loses double-digit
scorers Hannah Stewart and Tania
Davis from last season’s team.
But the Hawkeyes still have
reason for optimism this year in
large part to the return of all-Big
Ten guard Kathleen Doyle and an
experienced, successful coach in
2019 Naismith National Coach of
the Year Lisa Bluder. This season
will be a true test for a program
that has had so much success
throughout Bluder’s tenure, but
Iowa has the potential for another
top-three Big Ten finish.
Purdue
Looking for a team that could
surprise in the Big Ten? Look no
further than the Boilermakers.
Purdue has two players named to
the preseason all-Big Ten team
in Ae’Rianna Harris and Karissa
McLaughlin
and
returns
all
five starters. The Boilermakers
finished near the bottom of the Big
Ten last year, but this year’s team
is much more experienced. While
they haven’t gotten much national
attention, their No. 5 ranking in
the preseason Big Ten coaches poll
shows that Big Ten coaches think
they can be a threat.
Ohio State
The Buckeyes put up a flat 10-8
conference record last season,
earning them fifth place in the Big
Ten. This season, they will have
to make the most out of a young
roster that features only three
upperclassmen. Fortunately, they
scooped up the fourth-ranked
recruiting class in the country, so
the talent is there.
Among returners, sophomore
guard Janai Crooms is poised
to take a step up offensively this
season, while the addition of junior
transfer
wing
Braxtin
Miller
adds depth to an already talented
position group. Still, Ohio State is
just too young to compete at the
top level of this year’s Big Ten, so
expect the Buckeyes to remain in
the middle of the pack.
Nebraska
Nebraska
comes
into
the
season with its seven top scorers
returning in coach Amy Williams’
fourth season. With four seniors,
the team has an abundance of
experience after their 14-16 overall
record last season, including a 9-9
finish in the Big Ten, where they
managed to hold games close. The
Cornhuskers will be able to attack
opponents
in
many
different
ways and without worrying about
having to play tired players — in
their first game of the season,
11 players played ten or more
minutes.
Northwestern
While the Wildcats are likely a
tier below the top Big Ten teams,
they do return all-Big Ten first-
teamer Lindsey Pulliam, a player
who can give any team trouble on
any given night. Injuries derailed a
fast start to the season, but a 21-15
finish and an impressive run to the
WNIT championship game give
Northwestern confidence that it
can compete with the best of the
Big Ten this season. A relatively
weak
non-conference
schedule
could make it difficult for the
Wildcats to get an at-large bid in
the NCAA Tournament unless
they finish at the top of the Big
Ten, but they could steal a couple
of wins from the Big Ten’s best.
Bottom Tier
Penn
State,
Wisconsin
and
Illinois finished as the three
worst teams in the Big Ten last
year, finishing 5-13, 4-14 and 2-16
in the conference, respectively.
Penn State brought in the No. 18
recruiting class in the country in
2019, but it’s still hard to imagine
the
Nittany
Lions
competing
beyond the middle of the pack this
year. Don’t expect much change at
the bottom of the standings.
Outlook
Michigan has the talent to
compete with the top tier of the
Big Ten this year, but it’s hard to
see them finishing higher than
second, barring a collapse from
the Terrapins. The Wolverines’
ceiling is a top three finish in the
conference, but a slip or a few
untimely injuries could see them
sliding back into the middle tier of
the Big Ten.
BIG TEN
From Page 7B
KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily
The Rutgers basketball team has lost four of its five starters from last year’s team, which finished third in the Big Ten. But in C. Vivian Stringer’s 25th year at the program’s helm, the Scarlet Knights could make noise.