Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1430714
4 0 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 1. Michigan The top of the Big Ten is expected to be extremely competitive this season, and coach Juwan Howard's group gets the slight edge here to emerge at the top. The Wolverines have a stud class of true freshmen, plus transfer guard DeVante Jones, joining sophomore center Hunter Dickinson. 2. Purdue If Michigan isn't the pick, Purdue is. Coach Matt Painter has a cupboard full of goodies with the return of nearly his whole team, which entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed last season. Senior forward Trevion Williams, sophomore guard Jaden Ivey and sophomore center Zach Edey will make lives miserable throughout the Big Ten this season. 3. Illinois Guard Ayo Dosunmu is off to the NBA, but that won't stop junior center Kofi Cockburn, sophomore guard Andre Curbelo and senior guard Trent Frazier from making plenty of waves this season. Of note, Cockburn was suspended to start the 2021-22 campaign, but his return will ensure the Illini's success again. 4. Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo was irritated that his Spartans weren't ranked among the nation's top 25 teams to start the season. Consider that a warning. Although Michigan State has a hole to fill without NBA-bound forward Aaron Henry, there are players up and down Izzo's roster with the ability to pick up the slack. 5. Ohio State Penn State fans will be familiar with transfer guard Jamari Wheeler, who is expected to be one of the Buckeyes' key contributors this season. Wheeler, a senior, joins junior forward E.J. Liddell and several other veteran players to round out one of the league's more experienced rosters. 6. Maryland Isn't this where Maryland always finishes in the Big Ten? Senior guard Eric Ayala leads the Terrapins' returning starters and, with the addition of transfer guard Fatts Russell from Rhode Island, Maryland is poised to compete night-in and night-out. 7. Indiana New Hoosiers head coach Mike Woodson will have an interesting first season in Bloomington with a roster that features sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis but needs some cohesion. Indiana struggled in its season opener against Eastern Michigan, but it escaped with a 68-62 victory. Its re- maining nonconference schedule is designed to stockpile wins. 8. Iowa Wanna bet against coach Fran McCaffery's program as a potential low-seed NCAA Tournament team? Yeah, I don't either. Even with high-scoring center Luka Garza having departed, along with transfers Joe Wieskamp and C.J. Fred- erick, the Hawkeyes have valuable experience in senior guards Jordan Bohan- non and Connor McCaffery, and transfer portal pickup Filip Rebraca. 9. Rutgers The group that sent Rutgers to the NCAA Tournament last season is back with the return of senior guards Ron Harper Jr. and Geo Baker. Maturity, com- bined with the sage coaching of Steve Pikiell, should allow the Scarlet Knights to again contend for an NCAA at-large berth. 10. Wisconsin The list of programs in "the middle" of the Big Ten likely ends here, or just above the Badgers, as Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard will try to rebuild a vastly changed group from a season ago. 11. Nebraska Whether or not coach Fred Hoiberg's team is ready to compete is still up for debate, but the quality of his roster isn't. The Cornhuskers have a stud in five- star freshman guard Bryce McGowens and added grad transfer guard Alonzo Verge to the equation. 12. Penn State Micah Shrewsberry's first season at Penn State, and as a head coach in the Big Ten, could feature any number of outcomes. Senior guard Jalen Pickett was a major transfer addition in the offseason, but the Nittany Lions will need to get consistent output from junior forward Seth Lundy to be competitive in the conference. 13. Northwestern An already lacking Northwestern team got worse over the offseason when forward Miller Kopp transferred out to Indiana. If he's not already on the hot seat in Evanston, coach Chris Collins likely will be soon. 14. Minnesota Following the ouster of Richard Pitino, the Gophers are looking to start fresh with new head coach Ben Johnson, a Minnesota grad and former Pitino as- sistant. Guard Marcus Carr is off to Texas, making this a Gophers team loaded with transfers looking to make a mark. — Nate Bauer Big Ten Power Rankings Guard Jamari Wheeler was a standout defensive player at Penn State, but he opted to play his senior season at Ohio State. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER