These are the last power rankings before the Big Ten Tournament next Thursday. Sadly, the Iowa basketball season is about to come to a close. It’s time to hand out some regular season finals grades.
1. Michigan State (24-5, 14-3):
Final Grade: A-
RPI: 6
--The Spartans have had a terrific season. They’re roughly where everyone thought they would be before the season started. However, no one thought they would lose home games to Northwestern and Penn State. Those two blemishes keep them from being a solid A. Still, they won the Big Ten championship while playing a good portion of the season with Raymar Morgan saddled by injury.
2. Illinois (23-8, 11-7):
Final Grade: A+
RPI: 21
--How many people thought Illinois would battle for second-place in the Big Ten? The Illini get an A+ for getting the most out of their talent and rising near the top of the Big Ten. Bruce Weber is very deserving of Big Ten Coach of the Year. Players like Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale improved tremendously from last season.
3. Purdue (22-8, 11-6):
Final Grade: B+
RPI: 34
--It’s difficult to say that Matt Painter’s squad has underachieved but they really have, relative to expectations coming into the season. It’s not that they’ve been bad though. The Boilers are ranked No. 20 in the nation. JaJuan Johnson took a huge step up and Purdue held it together when Robbie Hummel had back issues. How do they explain the home loss to Northwestern?
4. Ohio State (19-9, 9-8):
Final Grade: B
RPI: 39
--The Buckeyes came into the season expected to be good, not great and they’ve pretty much lived up to it. They do have a lot of talent though. Evan Turner shined this season, showing off NBA skills, and freshmen B.J. Mullens and William Buford added a nice infusion of talent. This team should be in the NCAA Tournament and it has a chance to make some noise.
5. Wisconsin (18-11, 9-8):
Final Grade: B-
RPI: 31
--The Badgers are probably better than what their record indicates. The six-game losing streak included many tough breaks and close losses. Had Wisconsin won a couple of those, we’d be talking about an NCAA Tournament lock. But they didn’t. It’s fair to say that Bo Ryan’s team slightly underachieved. He’s got a solid nucleus that shouldn’t have lost six in a row. I’d still want Bo coaching my program any day.
6. Penn State (21-9, 10-7):
Final Grade: A-
RPI: 58
--Penn State gets an A- for being one of the big surprises of the Big Ten. Talor Battle emerged this season as a star and Jamelle Cornley had his typical bruising season. Ed DeChellis finally experienced a degree of success in his sixth year at Penn State. The Nittany Lions’ final game at Iowa, along with the Big Ten Tournament, is crucial, although the win over Illinois may have got them in the dance.. The lack of anything impressive in the non-conference will only hurt though.
7. Michigan (18-12, 8-9):
Final Grade: B-
RPI: 45
--Michigan’s performed just fine compared to expectations coming into this season. However, expectations change as the season goes along. After wins over UCLA and Duke, it became apparent that the Wolverines had some talent. They’ve been maddeningly inconsistent though, and it may cost them an NCAA Tournament bid. Give credit to John Beilein for making the program competitive again though.
8. Northwestern (17-11, 8-9):
Final Grade: A
RPI: 71
--Might this be the best team ever at Northwestern? I know it sounds ridiculous considering they’re under .500 in conference play, but it doesn’t take much in Evanston. The Wildcats reeled in two shocking upsets, defeating Purdue and Michigan State--both on the road. They also beat Florida State back in December. If not for choking in two home games--Purdue and Illinois--Northwestern would probably be dancing.
9. Minnesota (21-8, 9-8):
Final Grade: B
RPI: 32
--Tubby Smith completely turned this program around in a hurry. In just his second season, Tubby led the Gophers to more than 20 wins. Remember what this program looked like two years ago? Anyway, The Gophers have had a pretty good season. It’s a deep, talented team that just needs a little more offensive firepower. On the downside, the Gophers look like they may have played their way out of the NCAA Tournament in recent weeks.
10. Iowa (14-16, 4-13):
Final Grade: C+
RPI: 115
--The Hawkeyes enjoyed a successful non-conference season, registering a 10-3 record. Then Big Ten play began. A rash of injuries certainly played a hand in the Hawkeyes’ struggles. Cyrus Tate’s ankle injury proved how important he was as Iowa had little frontcourt depth without him. Iowa has two real good players to build around in Jake Kelly and Matt Gatens. The Hawkeyes could be one of next season’s surprises with so much experience coming back.
11. Indiana (6-23, 1-16):
Final Grade: D
RPI: 207
--Tom Crean has endured a painful first season as Hoosier head man. It’s like someone’s been hitting him with a hammer, and it just won’t stop. Indiana’s on its way to a 1-17 conference season. The best you could say about the Hoosiers is that they always appeared to be playing hard. They took Michigan State down to the wire on Tuesday before losing 64-59. The pain should stop in the near future.
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what do you see happening in the Big Ten tourney? any upset picks?
ReplyDeleteI would expect at least one upset, especially since the Big Ten has such balance. What if Northwestern grabs the No. 7 seed? Iowa certainly would have a chance to win that game. However, Iowa likely will play Minnesota or Michigan.
ReplyDeleteI'll post my Big Ten Tourney picks when the seeds are set though. Right now, I'd probably go with Michigan State to win it--boring, I know.
I would say all those grades are all pretty close to what each program deserved on the season, with the exception of Wisconsin. I think they completely underachieved. I was really disappointed with how they played this season. I would give programs like Penn State and Northwestern both A's, I was really impressed with how they did this season. The Big Ten may not be the best conference in the nation or even close, but all their games are very entertaining to watch because anyone can beat anyone at any time. I think you are probably right with MSU taking the Big Ten Tourney but I could definitely seeing a team like Wisconsin, Michigan, or Minnesota taking it with their NCAA tourney hopes on the line. I'm watching the end of the Iowa-Penn State game right now and although they (almost) choked again to PSU- I was really impressed with how again they were able to win an overtime game. They have no bench and Kelly, Gatens, Bawinkel etc. are playing nearly the entire game and just continue to get stronger. That is what gives me hope for next year and the year after for Iowa.
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