Toyminator's 2002-2003 Big Ten Conference Preview

Parity hit the Big Ten in a major way last season, with 4 teams tying for first place and one of them wasn't Michigan St! Well, that may change this season, but parity will not go away! Despite the loss of many seniors and exceptional underclassmen, the Big Ten still has a number of strong teams that will contend for the conference title, and a few that may make some noise on the national level! Michigan St is back to reclaim it's title as one of the toughest team in the country! Despite losing Taylor at PG, the Spartans should be greatly improved thanks to a stellar freshman class! Don't count out Indiana, who is quickly regaining its aura after last season's tournament run! Losing Jeffries is painful, but there's plenty of talent left to be a Top 25 team all season long!

The rest of the league is really bunched together, except for Penn St! As you'll read below, I like Minnesota's team and look for them to challenge MSU & IU! You can never count out Ohio St, who has become one of the toughest teams to beat under Jim O'Brien! They're like another Wisconsin, but more entertaining to watch! Oh yeah, Wisconsin will be heard from as well! An interesting team will be Illinois. They lost half of their team from last season, so they'll definitely fall some. However, Bill Self has got a lot of talented youngsters that just need some time to develop into a tough team! Purdue, Iowa, Michigan & Northwestern all have the potential to become quality teams if their young guys contribute! Though not as strong as last season, the Big Ten should still be entertaining to watch and could be a tough out come March!

ON THE RISE: Minnesota
Coach Don Monson is quickly rebuilding the program that Clem Haskins almost destroyed, which is quite an accomplishment in itself! Well, this should be the season when all his hard work pays off because the Gophors should be one of the better teams in the conference! They have everything needed for a successful season: a steady PG, a 3-pt threat, a solid frontcourt, a few key guys off the bench, and one star in Rick Rickert! Look for him to be the Jared Jeffries of the Big Ten this season!

IN DECLINE: Penn St.
The Nittany Lions were the Cinderalla darlings of the Tournament two seasons ago. Now look at them! Due to some poor recruiting the past few years, their frontcourt would have trouble handling some high school teams in the country! And don't get me started on the number of bricks they throw up! It makes me want to throw up! Simpy put, the basement is theirs to keep for the next few years!

1. MICHIGAN ST.

Strengths: Excellent team defense. Good rebounding team. Good shooting team, especially FT. Balanced offense.
Weakness: Poor ball handling & distribution. Very inexperienced.
Outlook: Losing Maurice Taylor will hurt the Spartans early, but by season's end, they should be rolling again towards another Big 10 title! This year will also be a warmup for next season's National Championship run! Too much young talent to think otherwise!

2. INDIANA

Strengths: Excellent team defense. Good ball handling & distribution. Good shooting team, especially from 3-pt land!
Weakness: Little inside scoring. Poor rebounding team.
Outlook: Indiana's great tournament run last season was classic Hoosier basketball! Look for them to continue their rise back to greatness with another excellent year. Watch out for Jeffrey Newton, whose waited patiently for his time to shine!

3. MINNESOTA

Strengths: Good shooting team. Strong frontcourt. Good ball handling & distribution.
Weakness: Questionable defense. Little depth.
Outlook: Almost everyone's back from last season's solid team, plus they added an excellent outside scorer in Johnson. Look for Rick Rickert to really blossom and carry this team into the NCAA Tournament!

4. ILLINOIS

Strengths: Good shooting & rebounding team. Excellent coaching staff!
Weakness: Inexperienced backcourt. Questionable offense. Poor perimeter defense. Very inexperienced.
Outlook: The Illini lost a lot of seniors, but Bill Self has got a lot of young talent to play with here! The question will be can they come together and win this season. My guess is they'll win enough to snag a tournament bid, even with Nick Smith as their center!

5. OHIO ST.

Strengths: Excellent team defense. Good shooting team. Good ball handling & distribution. Promising frontcourt.
Weakness: Limited offense. Poor FT shooting team. Loss of Brown's versatility!
Outlook: Jim O'Brien doesn't get the hoopla some of the other Big 10 coaches do, but he's built a solid program here in Columbus. Despite some question marks on the wings, don't think this team will fall into the second tier! Another NCAA bid is likely!

6. WISCONSIN

Strengths: Good 3-pt & FT shooting team. Limit their turnovers. Still play good defense! Got wings who can score!
Weakness: Huge hole at PG! Poor rebounding team. Little inside scoring. Inexperienced bench.
Outlook: The Badgers continue to overachieve under Coach Ryan. This team will be tough again, but won't be as good due to their lack of a true PG! Harris is a solid player, but needs to be on the wing. If he ends up playing point, they'll mostly likely end up in the NIT!

7. PURDUE

Strengths: Solid backcourt. Good 3-pt shooting team. Excellent coaching.
Weakness: Weak frontcourt with little inside scoring or rebounding. Poor team defense. Too many turnovers.
Outlook: The Boilermakers couldn't buy a break last season, but got one with Willie Deane returning for his senior year! If they can get some production from their frontline, they may move up and sneak into the Tournament!

8. MICHIGAN

Strengths: Load of scorers on the wings! Good FT shooting team.
Weakness: Horrible team defense. Poor ball handling & distribution. No quality big men, so rebounding will be a challenge!
Outlook: The Wolverine program is still in critical condition, but it's at least out of its coma! Thanks to some great recruiting by Coach Amaker's staff, UM will start making some noise soon! But not this year!

9. NORTHWESTERN

Strengths: Excellent team defense. Limit their turnovers. Tough at home.
Weakness: Disciplined, yet limited offense. Unknown at PG. Poor rebounding team. Horrible FT shooting team.
Outlook: Bill Carmody proved he's a hell of a coach last season for amassing 16 wins from this group of players. He'll be a legend if he can do it again! The Cats only lost a couple of players, but they were important ones. Looks like it will be tough to stay above .500!

10. IOWA

Strengths: Good rebounding team. Decent shooting team.
Weakness: Poor ball handling & distribution. Questionable frontcourt with little depth. Lack of scorers. Awful on the road!
Outlook: Iowa sucked last season! Their two best players graduated, so don't expect much improvement this season. In addition, their best player, Pierre Pierce, may not play this season causing further grief. Either way, they will be near the bottom all season long!

11. PENN ST.

Strengths: Solid backcourt.
Weakness: One of the worst shooting teams in the nation! Weak frontcourt - poor rebounding team. Poor team defense. Too many turnovers.
Outlook: It's pretty clear the Penn St. program has gone to hell real quickly! Worst team last season in the conference, look for the same this season!

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Last updated on 10/10/02 by toyminator@prodigy.net