Power Rankings: Big Ten Basketball Week 3-4-14

1.Gary Harris– stayed– It’s tough to be dethroned when you score 19 points, snag 5 rebounds, and nab 4 steals in your only game of the week. The only thing that hurt Harris this week is a loss to Illinois, but this is an individual players ranking and not a team ranking. MSU didn’t lose because of Harris, he came to play.

2.Nik Stauskas– stayed– Stauskas had another stellar week for the Wolverines. He scored 15 points in a tough victory against Purdue and put in 21 against Minnesota. He also dished out 7 assists this week. I think Stauskas is the best offensive player in the conference. It will be interesting to see who takes home player of the year honors between Stauskas and Harris, I think the season championship will push it Stauskas’ way.

3.Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell– up 2– Yogi continues to score the ball at an impressive rate. He is one of three players in the conference to have multiple 20 point games this week; he scored 24 points against Wisconsin and 20 points against Ohio State. He led his team to two victories over ranked opponents this week, and still is a joy to watch with his quickness and ball handling displays.

4.Roy Devyn Marble– up 6– Marble benefits from having played three games this week, but they were three very good games. He was able to jump six spots because he scored 20 points in all three games: 24 against Minnesota, 20 against Indiana, and 21 against Purdue. He also had 16 dimes this week and played well defensively, he had 3 and 4 steals against Indiana and Purdue. Iowa has been struggling as of late, but it’s not because of the play of Marble.

5.Sam Dekker– up 2– Dekker continued his solid play this week, and is leading a hot Wisconsin team into the final month of the season. Dekker stuffed the stat sheet all week, shredding Indiana for 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. He also chipped in 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks against Penn State.

6.Terran Petteway– down 2– Petteway has had a great year, but struggled scoring the ball this week. His lack of scoring may be due to the tough defensive teams he played, Illinois and Northwestern. He was able to put in 13 points against Illinois and add 10 points against Northwestern. I expect one of the league’s top scorers to get back on track this week.

7.D.J. Newbill– up 7– I already listed the first two players to score 20 plus points in multiple games this week, well, Newbill is the third. He had a spectacular week, he scored 23 points against both Ohio State and Wisconsin. He did this in spite of playing Ohio State, one of the top defensive teams in the country, and Wisconsin, an always formidable opponent that understands position defense with the best of them.

8.Caris LeVert– up 1– LeVert is said to be Michigan’s toughest player to guard one-on-one, and yes, that is including Stauskas. LeVert doesn’t lack talent, and he had a very solid week. He scored 14 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and dished out 4 assists in a tough road win against Purdue. He had another quality game against Minnesota, scoring 13 points, dishing 5 assists, and snagging 3 rebounds. Other than good offensive performances, I believe LeVert’s length, athleticism, and quick feet make him Michigan’s best defender.

9.A.J. Hammons– up 4– Hammons is one of the most talented big men in the country. He just doesn’t prove it every night. This week he did. Hammons battled through foul trouble against Michigan, but still helped his team almost pull the incredible upset against Michigan. He added 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Hammons really stepped up his play against Iowa; he scored 16 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and sent 4 blocks the other way. That makes a total of 7 blocks for the week, having rim protection like that changes the game for this Purdue ball club.

10.Tim Frazier– down 4– Frazier didn’t have a bad week scoring the ball, he put up 16 against Ohio State and 10 against Wisconsin. They are both good defensive teams too. However, it was his 6 turnovers against Ohio State and a negative assist-to-turnover ratio for the week that had him fall in my rankings. I hate to see that stat for any point guard.

11.Aaron White– up from HM– White is the first player in my rankings to move from unranked to ranked. He can thank his stellar week; I consider it the best week for any player in the Big Ten. He nearly had three double-doubles in a single week, plus his length and game knowledge allows him to be a great defender. Enough of my talk, just look at his stats for the week. Against Minnesota he scored 21 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and picked 3 steals. Against Indiana he added 19 points, 10 rebounds and another 3 steals. To round out amazing week he scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Penn State.

12.Adreian Payne– down 9– Payne takes the biggest slide this week, other than the players that fell off the list. Payne didn’t receive help from the schedule, the Spartans only played one game and Payne failed to show up. Payne had his lowest scoring performance of the year, 4 points, and he also coughed up 4 turnovers. He did manage to grab 7 rebounds. I still consider Payne the most talented center in the country, but this was a very disappointing performance for the senior. Expect him to get it back on track for his final game in the Breslin this week.

13.Frank Kaminsky– down 2– Frank did what a Wisconsin center is expected to do this week, play solid. However, with some other incredible performances this week it cost him two spots. Kaminsky almost had a double-double against Indiana, scoring 10 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. He also had a 9 point and 6 rebound game against Penn State.

14.Deandre Mathieu– up from HM– Mathieu may be the quickest player in the conference. It is nearly impossible for defenses to keep him out of the paint, and Mathieu is fearless attacking the basket. Mathieu had an impressive game in the much needed victory against Iowa; he had 19 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds. He continued his stat sheet stuffing against Michigan, scoring 9 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, dishing 5 assists, and snagging 3 steals. If you haven’t seen Mathieu play, I’d suggest watching this Junior College transfer play before the season ends.

15.Noah Vonleh– down 7– Vonleh is first in the conference as far as the NBA is concerned, but his lack of touches seems to be affecting his ability to stay highly ranked on my list. Vonleh had a great game against Wisconsin, scoring 18 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. 6 rebounds isn’t a lot for this talented freshman, and he continued to struggle in that category against Iowa. Iowa was probably his worst game of the season; he only scored 4 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Vonleh didn’t play in Indiana’s final game of the week against Ohio State, and surprisingly the Hoosiers still found a way to win. What may have been more surprising was the great play the Hoosiers received from Vonleh’s backup, Hanner Perea.

Honorable Mention: Aaron Craft, Drew Crawford, LaQuinton Ross, Glenn Robinson III, Austin Hollins