My All-Big Ten Team and What to Watch in Week 1
Naz Hillmon is doing what now?
Folks, it’s finally time. The college basketball season is finally here, and the Big Ten is already making waves after the exhibition games.
I will get into what those waves are, but I wanted to get into how I expect these Monday newsletters will look during the season. I say how I expect because I don’t want to get married to one specific format before they’ve even started, but I’m thinking there will be three key things to expect:
A major storyline about either a matchup or a team or a player that is worth talking about that week. I know, really reaching here out the gates.
Some key stats. I think Her Hoops Stats is too valuable a resource to not take advantage of. This will be my first year with the database in season, so I can’t say for sure how quickly it’s updated, but if it is useable within a week, I will certainly have some numbers for you every Monday.
What to watch for the week ahead. The goal of this newsletter is to get people interested in something that completely sucked me in after two years covering it, so this feels like a no-brainer to have every Monday.
Now, let’s talk again about Naz Hillmon.
Oh good lord.
Let me remind you if my Michigan preview didn’t drive this home enough: Naz Hillmon averaged 23.9 points per game – seventh in the country – without a single three-point attempt. She scored 24 a night with everyone in the damn gym knowing exactly what she was doing every single time.
Oh good lord.
She just went 2 of 3 from deep in a game. Yes, in an exhibition game, but I’m ready to buy into Hillmon being at least someone that the opposition will have to watch for from behind the arc.
Now, think about what that means. Think about a world where Hillmon has, well, any sort of actual space inside to work with because she could pull a defender to the perimeter. She already shot 62.3 percent with no space thanks to her insane ability to find an opening regardless, but now she might actually have openings.
I will only speak in “coulds” and “mights” for about a week if Hillmon hits a three in a game that counts. She might make me look very stupid on my Big Ten Player of the Year pick.
Speaking of which, here was my ballot for the Preseason All-Big Ten team:
Grace Berger, Indiana
Veronica Burton, Northwestern
Caitlin Clark, Iowa – Player of the Year
Nia Clouden, Michigan State
Monika Czinano, Iowa
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
Naz Hillmon, Michigan
Diamond Miller, Maryland
Ashley Owusu, Maryland
Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
I shared 9 of 10 with both the coaches and media ballots, as they both chose Michigan’s Leigha Brown over Sheldon, a more-than-fair pick. I went with Sheldon instead because I think she’s in for a dominant campaign with no Dorka Juhasz on the team. Sheldon already led the team in scoring (16.7 PPG) last season, and I think she should improve those numbers with a more guard-heavy lineup to improve the offensive spacing.
The coaches chose Clark and the media chose Hillmon for Preseason Player of the Year, and I honestly don’t think there’s a wrong answer here. Hillmon is the incumbent and might have increased her offensive range, while Clark led the nation in scoring as a freshman.
My reasoning for Clark is that I think she is going to get better and she was already a freak of nature last year. Iowa should also be much improved, and simply having a stronger showing as a team could be enough to make Clark a national player of the year contender.
Also, I am a sucker for players that fire away from the logo, and I won’t apologize for that.
Now, let’s finally look to some actual games.
What to Watch
This week, both intentionally and on accident, I am telling you to watch the Big Ten’s best teams. Each has an interesting non-conference foe in the first week, and playing the hits early is not a bad thing.
No. 11 Michigan vs. IUPUI, Tuesday (11/9), 7 p.m. – B1G+
I implore you to watch and find out if Hillmon adding a jump shot is the real deal right away, because Michigan’s first opponent is no slouch.
The Jaguars went 15-5 last season, mostly through a tremendous defense that allowed just 57.3 points per game. On the season, IUPUI had a Her Hoops Stats rating of 21.3, making them the website’s 36th-best team in 2021-21. Michigan ranked 20th, so not quite a lopsided affair.
I would certainly expect a Wolverines win, but by how much will tell us something, and obviously I want to see how Hillmon starts her senior campaign.
No. 17 Ohio State vs. Bucknell, Wednesday (11/10), 7 p.m. – B1G+
Another ranked team against another sneakily difficult opponent. This time, it’s Ohio State against Bucknell, who comes off a great 2020-21 season, though it was only 10 games in total.
But the Bison won nine of them, and was another team that did it on defensive prowess (55.5 points allowed per game).
Again, it would stun me if the Buckeyes lost, but this is also a great opportunity to see what this Ohio State lineup looks like with no Juhasz or Aaliyah Patty. With Taylor Mikesell gaining her eligibility, this should absolutely be a four-guard lineup with her, Sheldon, Madison Greene and Braxtin Miller with either Tanaya Beacham or Gabby Hutcherson as the “center.”
That is a near-impossible team to guard with its quickness and shooting ability, so fingers crossed that’s what Kevin McGuff decided to go with.
No. 4 Maryland vs. Villanova, Friday (11/12), 7 p.m. – B1G+
Villanova is a formidable opponent coming off a 17-7 season. But this is more an excuse to watch Maryland in all of its glory.
The Terrapins are being picked as a Final Four team by a whole lot of people, and there’s good reason for that. I think this is as stacked a roster as you will see in the country besides maybe South Carolina and UConn, and there should be a chip on the team’s shoulder after a disappointing NCAA Tournament run.
Every game could be a race to 100 for the Terps, and it should be a blast to watch.
No. 9 Iowa vs. Northern Iowa, Saturday (11/13), 3 p.m. – ESPN+
Like the others here, this is a ranked Big Ten team against a solid non-conference team that should be a win, but should also be a test.
This matchup also has a little more at stake with the in-state rivalry attached to it. UNI went just 17-13 last year, but maintained a HHS ranking of 63, showing that it was a better team than the record suggested.
These Iowa teams seem to play with some real passion against each other, and I expect the same to happen here. I also expect some nasty Clark plays, so hopefully it’s a win-win.
No. 8 Indiana vs. No. 13 Kentucky, Saturday (11/13), 5 p.m. – ESPN
This week saves the best for last by a long shot. In the only true banger for the opening week, the Hoosiers will host a very good Kentucky team that took down Indiana 72-68 early last season.
There, the Hoosiers blew a 10-point lead to start the fourth quarter by getting outscored 28-14 in the final frame, so I’m thinking this game matters just a little bit to them.
This has all the makings of another excellent matchup between two elite teams that are both the clear No. 2s in their conferences with Maryland and South Carolina at the top.
Plus, this is the only game on the list that you don’t have to pay extra for, so turn off the Ohio State-Purdue football game for a bit (you know Purdue is going to win anyway) and join the fun on ESPN.
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