The Big Ten's Battle Royale Tier
Where the games are fun and no team can separate itself
Last week, I did a power ranking of where the Big Ten stands heading into the new year. Like every game that happened since then made me look like a big bozo.
What remains clear, at least to this point, is that Indiana and Maryland are the top two teams in the conference. They are existing on a separate plane, even if I think some of the next rung of teams absolutely can compete with them and even steal a victory against them.
And that next rung is what this week’s newsletter is about. The teams I ranked 3-7 are going to war with no clear winner. They played four games against each other last week. Here are the scores, along with the rankings I gave each of them:
No. 3 Michigan - 58, No. 4 Nebraska - 79
No. 5 Iowa - 69, No. 6 Northwestern - 77
No. 4 Nebraska - 86, No. 5 Iowa - 95
No. 6 Northwestern - 61, No. 7 Ohio State - 74
Teams ranked in this group all gave me the finger, and truthfully I deserve it for how much I had been running up the score about being right. But I don’t talk about this section of teams just because I was wrong about my order. Instead, I bring Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Northwestern and Ohio State to your attention because I think these teams are the pinnacle of entertainment in this conference.
As I said above, I currently don’t see a world, outside of injuries, where the Hoosiers or Terrapins fall from the summit. They are the most complete teams in the Big Ten and have legitimate national title aspirations. Both of those teams are also very fun to watch, but I fall in love with teams that are imperfect but thoroughly entertaining, and all five teams I am talking about are absolutely that.
Michigan looked ready to be considered more in the top tier after the Baylor win, then went out and got completely thumped by Nebraska. The Cornhuskers could have cemented their place above the rest of these teams, but simply could not slow down Iowa’s offense. Iowa had the potential of a top-tier team, but cannot defend and got stuffed by Northwestern, who then got stuffed by Ohio State, who previously got destroyed by Michigan.
It’s a big, hilarious little cycle we have here, and it makes all these teams so easy to root for. If you haven’t picked a team to root for yet, these teams are a gold mine for both extreme highs and lows in the near future, and I like my teams as volatile as possible.
Both Purdue and Michigan State deserve honorable mentions here, as well. The Boilermakers took down the Spartans this past week and are playing excellently under Katie Geralds, I just think they are not quite there yet. MSU absolutely has the talent to be here, but cannot find consistency.
Side note, and because I went with this as the topic I didn’t get to talk about it much: Iowa-Nebraska was the game of the year for this conference, at least for now. Those two teams are a fucking blast and they fought to the death before Iowa pulled away late.
My All-Big Ten Team So Far
I planned on doing this last week but ended up writing far too much in the power rankings. So here it is now, my top 10 players in order, though I will only go in depth on the first six.
Veronica Burton, G, Northwestern — 18.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 5.9 APG, 4.1 SPG — Burton has meant more to her team’s success than any player in the Big Ten this year, and that has been proven by her 6.0 win shares, which is tops in the conference and third in the nation. Her scoring has improved this year, and she is the best defensive player in the Big Ten by a mile, nabbing eight steals to help the Wildcats beat Iowa.
Mackenzie Holmes, F, Indiana — 17.9 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.9 BPG, 61.5 FG% — I think that Burton is clearly at the top, then the next five players are all in a dead heat, which is why I am going in depth on six. Holmes has been clearly the best player on the best team in the Big Ten, made even more impressive considering how much the Hoosiers spread the ball around. Despite that, it has been Holmes that has almost always come up big in the big games, and her improvements are a big reason why Indiana is where they are thus far.
Caitlin Clark, G, Iowa — 25.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 7.1 APG — Clark’s numbers remain absurd in year two, but her efficiency is way down. That is continuing to be true from three, where she is now 23.9 percent on 9.1 attempts per game. But Clark is still a freak in so many ways, and her 31 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists were monumental in taking down Nebraska.
Naz Hillmon, F, Michigan — 20.0 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 55.9 FG% — As mentioned, Hillmon is still an incredible player, but because of slight declines in statistical output, she falls outside of my top three. Michigan is still a great team and she has more help, but it’s not quite the dominant year I was expecting from her.
Nia Clouden, G, Michigan State — 21.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.3 APG — If Clouden’s team was winning more, she’d have a case for the top spot. No team outside of Northwestern relies on one player more, and Clouden has almost always delivered for the Spartans. She needs help in a big way to try to get this team into the NCAA Tournament, but that’s not on Clouden. Even at a 8-7 record, Clouden has 4.7 win shares, 19th in the NCAA.
Angel Reese, F, Maryland — 18.2 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 1.9 SPG — There’s no way I could make this list without talking about Reese, who has been the glue for Maryland through all the injuries and absences. The sophomore has been a machine, and her averaging 5.4 offensive rebounds per game this late in the season should be illegal.
Honorable Mentions: 7.) Jacy Sheldon (Ohio State), 8.) Jaz Shelley (Nebraska), 9.) Makenna Marisa (Penn State), 10.) Taylor Mikesell (Ohio State)
What To Watch
Ohio State vs. Michigan State, 1/12, 7 p.m. — B1G+
The Buckeyes impressed me with a double-digit win over Northwestern, and Michigan State gives them another strong challenge. On the other end, the Spartans need to find some answers fast, and this is a good, but winnable opponent to do exactly that.
No. 6 Indiana vs. Nebraska, 1/13, 6 p.m. — BTN
Both of these teams spread the ball out like crazy, but the difference is that the Hoosiers do it with their starting five, while the Cornhuskers will go 12 deep on anyone, anywhere. I am fascinated by this matchup, and I think it might be up to Nebraska’s best players — Jaz Shelley and Sam Haiby — to make some big baskets if it wants to leave Bloomington with Nebraska’s second top 10 win in two weeks.
Purdue vs. Iowa, 1/13, 7 p.m. — B1G+
If Purdue takes down either of Iowa or Indiana, it’s time to truly, legitimately look at how strong this Boilermakers team is. Currently, they are on a five-game winning streak, but Iowa’s offense might have really found its groove after the Nebraska win.
No. 8 Maryland vs. No. 11 Michigan, 1/16, 5 p.m. — ESPN
The clear matchup of the week on rankings alone, this one should tell us how much of a fluke Michigan’s loss to Nebraska was. On the other end, if Maryland falls to 0-2 against the Big Ten’s elite, do they join the Battle Royale tier? We will certainly find out a lot about both teams here.
Iowa vs. Nebraska, 1/16, 6 p.m. — BTN
Yeah, Maryland-Michigan is a top 11 Big Ten matchup, but I might have to be focused on Iowa-Nebraska round 2. This game owned so unbelievably hard from start to finish, and I have no reason to expect anything to be different this time around. If Iowa is any less hot from the field here (61.7 FG%, 57.9 3PT%), the Cornhuskers should get their immediate revenge.
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