Weasel Weekly is Meet at Midfield’s weekly look at Big Ten men’s basketball presented by guest contributors Drew Hamm and Stefan Zonia.
You can find Drew on Twitter at his personal account, @drewhamm5, where he talks Philly sports, Wisconsin sports, and other nonsense. You can also subscribe to his Wisconsin basketball/football/volleyball newsletter @BadgersBallKnow where it’s all UW, all the time.
Stefan can be found on Twitter @iamstefanzonia where he discusses Michigan sports (college and pro), sports betting and entertains any and all internet absurdities.
We split up the conference in a fantasy draft format. Here’s a quick recap of who is covering who:
Stefan – Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue and Rutgers
Drew – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Penn State and Wisconsin
We did it. We made it to the end of this godforsaken season. Everything was bad, but it was also kind of funny most of the time. Everybody in the Big Ten is upset, and they should be.
Here, we will close the books on those teams that played postseason ball and turn a hopeful eye toward next season, when we have to do this all again. Note: the transfer portal has led to near-daily changes in the league, so there may already have been additional moves we don’t discuss by the time this goes to print (or because we hate your team and don’t care).
On a more serious note: Drew and I really had fun with this, and we sincerely appreciate all the interactions we had with folks here and on Twitter over this silly column. Be sure to write your Congressman (@patrick_mayhorn) to demand we return next season!
Illinois
KenPom rank: AdjEm 35, AdjO 68, AdjD 26
Results (NCAA): (L) vs. Arkansas, 73-63
The Postseason That Was: The incredibly weird and poorly vibed Illinois men’s basketball season came to an end with a 10-point loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They missed a bunch of threes against Arkansas, including Matthew Mayer going 0-for-5 and Terrence Shannon going 0-for-3, and turned the ball over a ton. A frustratingly fitting final game for Brad Underwood’s crew, which will look quite different next season!
The Offseason Upcoming: Five-star PG Skyy Clark left the team midseason and since the end of the year, four-star freshman Jayden Epps, junior big man Brandon Lieb, and four-star sophomore wing RJ Melendez have entered the transfer portal. Grad transfers Mayer and Shannon will both be gone and junior big man Coleman Hawkins has declared for the NBA Draft, although he is eligible to return to Champaign if he doesn’t like what he’s hearing from pro teams.
Anyways, that’s four of five starters from the Arkansas game potentially being gone next year. Underwood has his work cut out for him this offseason.
Indiana
KenPom rank: AdjEm 30, AdjO 28, AdjD 45
Results (NCAA): (W) vs. Kent State, 71-60; (L) vs. Miami (Fla.), 85-69
The Postseason That Was: The Golden Flashes gave IU all they could handle, but 24 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks from Trayce Jackson-Davis was too much for Kent State to overcome. Despite another good TJD game in the second round, the Hoosiers didn’t have anyone who could contain Miami’s Isaiah Wong and the Hurricanes ended the Hoosiers’ tourney run before it really got started. This was not the ending Indiana fans were looking for after their best season in years.
The Offseason Upcoming: The Hoosiers have seen a trio of talented young players enter the transfer portal so far this offseason with sophomores Jordan Geronimo, Tamar Bates, and Logan Duncomb searching for greener pastures. Miller Kopp and Race Thompson have graduated, freshman PG Jalen Hood-Schifino is in the NBA Draft and so is TJD.
Ball State big man Payton Sparks has transferred in to help with frontcourt depth and former Oregon big man Kel’el Ware is considered one of the true prizes of the portal. Much like the Illini, the Hoosiers will have a number of new faces contributing next year.
Iowa
KenPom rank: AdjEm 41, AdjO 4, AdjD 168
Results (NCAA): (L) vs. Auburn, 83-75
The Postseason That Was: Because they can never ever play defense, the Hawkeyes lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Auburn. Kris Murray was kept mostly under wraps (shot 5-of-18 from the field) and only Payton Sandfort stepped up off the bench (21 points in 22 minutes) to fill the void. I don’t think anyone, outside of Iowa fans, expected them to win this game and sometimes a little normalcy is nice in life.
The Offseason Upcoming: Murray is heading to the NBA, Filip Rebraca and Connor McCaffery are graduating, and Ahron Ulis and Josh Ogundele have entered the transfer portal. Man, the trend in the Big Ten seems to be “teams will look different next year.”
Maryland
KenPom rank: AdjEm 23, AdjO 36, AdjD 32
Results (NCAA): (W) vs. West Virginia, 67-65; (L) vs. Alabama, 73-51
The Postseason That Was: The Terps had a wild, two-point win against West Virginia to open the postseason but then ran into an Alabama team that looked primed for a Final Four run (spoiler alert: they didn’t make it there). The balanced offensive attack that helped Maryland notch one win in the tourney abandoned them against Bama as senior starters Hakim Hart, Donta Scott, and Don Carey were held to a combined 15 points.
The Offseason Upcoming: The most important news for Maryland is that star guard Jahmir Young is using his bonus season of eligibility and coming back to college. While losing Hart as a grad transfer, and freshman Ike Cornish to the portal hurts, Young’s return is a boon for Kevin Willard. Scott is back, too, and there are rumblings that former Michigan big man and DMV native Hunter Dickinson could be interested in the Terps. Keep your eye on Maryland this offseason!
Michigan
KenPom rank: AdjEM 44, AdjO 48, AdjD 47
Results (NIT): (W) vs Toledo 90-80; (L) @ Vanderbilt 66-65
The Postseason That Was: Michigan dismissed a Toledo team with hilarious splits (top 5 AdjO in the country but 285th in AdjD). Everyone looked great, and Jett Howard sat out.
Against Vanderbilt, Kobe Bufkin was a surprise no-go after spraining his ankle in practice. Despite that, Michigan was very much in control the whole game until they weren’t. Holding an eight-point lead with 1:45 to go, the Wolverines committed a comedy of errors, turning the ball over on three consecutive possessions and allowing the Commodores to go on a 9-0 run to win it by one. It was the perfect encapsulation of the season as a whole. Michigan just could not close out a game this year, and as such, its season came to an early end.
The Offseason Upcoming: Michigan’s off-season has been wild so far. Where the hell to start? Howard declared his intentions to go pro shortly after the ouster from the NIT. Bufkin also made the (correct) decision to go pro. Dickinson surprised many by entering the portal – though, there is now some scuttle that he may wind up BACK in AA, a la Kofi Cockburn a few years back. Little-used Isaiah Barnes hit the portal to the surprise of no one.
The Wolverines have already been heavily linked to a dozen names in the portal, landing former McDonalds All-Americans (and former Wolvering near misses on the recruiting trail) in Caleb Love (UNC) and Nimari Burnett (Alabama). Both are good defenders (in Burnett’s case, VERY good). Love has been a volume scorer and Burnett has been pretty low usage offensively. Neither are super efficient, but for a team that desperately needed guards, they now have plenty.
Michigan also landed a stretch 4 from Seton Hall, Tray Jackson, who is the platonic ideal for a low usage 3-and-D type from that position. He’s a 38 percent three-point shooter and a good defensive winger. He struggled last season as the Pirates had zero centers and forced him into a position he’s not suited for.
This will be a completely different team next season, but one that right now appears to be heading for better balance. The roster for the past two years has been a mess, overloaded with non-impact 4s and too few guards. It also appears that improving the defense has been at the forefront of the process, which will be welcome in Ann Arbor. This season was a disaster, but the steps taken so far this offseason are promising.
Michigan State
KenPom rank: AdjEM 26, AdjO 27, AdjD 42
Results (NCAA): (W) vs USC 72-62; (W) vs. Marquette 69-60; (L, OT) vs. KSU 98-93
The Postseason That Was: MSU was the lone Big Ten team to make it to the second weekend of the tournament, and therefore takes the crown for most successful post-season. The Spartans thumped USC and seized control of a back-and-forth game with Marquette down the stretch.
Their game with KSU was one of the most exciting games of the entire tournament, as they almost overcame Markquis Nowell’s record-setting 19-assist performance but fell just short. In the post-game, Tom Izzo busted out a classic “give them credit, they banked in two shot clock 3s”. Vintage stuff from the world’s worst loser.
The Offseason Upcoming: MSU should be pretty good next year. They will lose Hauser, and backup guard Pierre Brooks has entered the portal. However, Tyson Walker is returning (which makes sense as he’s on the small end for earnest NBA consideration). A decision from much-derided Malik Hall also looms. Despite the Spartan fans’ disdain for him, his return would be a big one.
MSU also brings in an outstanding four-man recruiting class headlined by five-star center Xavier Booker and five-star PG Jeremy Fears. However, this likely means another off-season with little to no portal activity, though this time it doesn’t appear to be needed as it was last offseason. MSU will be considered among the pre-season favorites in the conference, especially if it returns Hall.
Minnesota
KenPom rank: AdjEm 216, AdjO 235, AdjD 188
Results: No games
The Postseason That Wasn’t: This was one of, if not the, worst teams in the Power 6 this season. They obviously didn’t play in any postseason tournament.
The Offseason Upcoming: As is the case every offseason recently, next year’s Minnesota team will look nothing like this past year’s team. Star (???) wing Jamison Battle is headed to Ohio State, big man Treyton Thompson is headed to Stetson, PG Ta’Lon Cooper is going to South Carolina, and wing Jaden Henley will be a DePaul Blue Demon next year. The Gophers have already replaced Cooper at PG with the addition of Pepperdine’s Mike Mitchell Jr., but there are surely many more moves coming in Minneapolis before the new season starts.
Nebraska
KenPom rank: AdjEM 94, AdjO 149, AdjD 69
Results: No games
The Postseason That Wasn’t: Nebraska fucked up its postseason chances by losing to Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament.
The Offseason Upcoming: The Huskers will have a lot of roster turnover to navigate once again. Fred Hoiberg will be busy filling upwards of five vacancies and starting from scratch yet again. The most critical key to the off-season is finding a way to retain the services of fan favorite (and Weasel Weekly MVP) Keisei Tominaga.
There are, no doubt, several schools that would jump at the chance to get a player with his offensive talent. If Nebraska can retain him and pull in a portal class that ready to play, it may be able to replicate this year’s relative success (finishing .500). If not, it will be a very bleak year for Nebrasketball.
Northwestern
KenPom rank: AdjEM 38, AdjO 88, AdjD 22
Results (NCAA): (W) vs Boise State 75-67; (L) vs UCLA 68-63
The Postseason That Wasn’t: Northwestern had a respectable showing in the tournament. They controlled Boise State throughout most of their first-round game and gave UCLA, a team that is vastly more talented, a lot of problems. Holding UCLA to 68 points is no easy feat, and it’s a good encapsulation of the defensive prowess Northwestern showed throughout the year.
The Offseason Upcoming: As of the writing of this article, Boo Buie is in the draft with the option to return, as is Chase Audige, while Robbie Beran is in the portal. It’s impossible to give an outlook on the team’s offseason until knowing what the cornerstones of this season’s team will do. If Buie and Audige return, there is no reason to think that Northwestern won’t again finish towards the top of the standings.
So far, the only other portal entry has been seldom-used Julian Roper. The team has a pair of incoming threepstar recruits (PG Jordan Clayton and PF Blake Barkley). Things could be looking up for the Cats. Of course, if every member of the senior trio moves on, it could be right back to the basement for NW.
Ohio State
KenPom rank: AdjEM 49, AdjO 19, AdjD 106
Results: No games.
The Postseason That Wasn’t: Despite a late run in the conference tournament, OSU was just too bad for too much of the season to warrant a berth in any of the tournaments.
The Offseason Upcoming: Can the Buckeyes find some degree of momentum in their late run to carry into the offseason? Brice Sensabaugh has declared for the draft (not a surprise), but the young players that did play well down the stretch like Bruce Thornton (who I believe is going to be a star in the conference as soon as next season), Roddy Gayle and Felix Okpara give the Buckeyes a solid nucleus to build around.
They also bring in a strong four-man class (and are still heavily pursuing Bronny James), while adding Battle of Minnesota through the portal. They’ll hope for a healthier season from Zed Key upcoming, and will likely factor in the portal to fill any additional holes. I think it is safe to project that, despite still having Chris Holtmann as their coach, the Buckeyes have better days ahead.
Penn State
KenPom rank: AdjEm 36, AdjO 13, AdjD 96
Results (NCAA): (W) vs. Texas A&M, 76-59; (L) vs. Texas, 71-66
The Postseason That Was: PSU continued its wild March ride by winning its first NCAA Tournament game against Texas A&M. Andrew Funk made 8-of-10 three-pointers against the Aggies and Penn State won going away. In the following game, against Texas, PSU almost pulled off an incredible upset but came up just short.
The Offseason Upcoming: The Nittany Lions are going to be starting from scratch this offseason. They have a new head coach (VCU’s Mike Rhoades) and will have basically an entirely new roster. Freshmen Kebba Njie, Jameel Brown, Evan Mahaffey, and juniors Dallion Johnson and Caleb Dorsey entered the transfer portal after Micah Shrewsberry took the Notre Dame job. As far as I can tell, PSU will also lose Jalen Pickett, Seth Lundy, Funk, Camren Wynter, and Myles Dread to eligibility exhaustion.
That, uh, doesn’t leave many players in Happy Valley.
Purdue
KenPom rank: AdjEm 7, AdjO 12, AdjD 24
Results: (L) vs FARLEIGH DICKINSON 63-58 LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The Postseason That Hilariously Was: Oh my god. Dude. Oh my god.
The Offseason Upcoming: Who gives a shit? Fuck these guys!
Rutgers
KenPom rank: AdjEM 39, AdjO 151, AdjD 6
Results (NIT): (L; OT) vs Hofstra 88-86
The Week Postseason That Was: Rutgers was snubbed by the committee and relegated to an NIT 1-seed. They immediately validated the committee’s decision by losing at home to Hofstra. Awesome.
The Offseason Upcoming: Rutgers has a lot of players who have yet to make decisions. Omoruyi is in the process of exploring his NBA draft stock (though it is believed that stock is presently limited and he will be back). Hyatt and Mulcahy both graduated, but do have a remaining year of eligibility if they choose to take it. Caleb McConnell is out of eligibility and will be moving on.
Additionally, Palmquist, Reiber and Miller all hit the portal. The latter two were minimal contributors, but Palmquist had played quite a bit once Mag went down with injury. As for Mag, he is expected to be fully recovered by the start of next season. The Knights have a strong three-man class headlined by nearly five-star SF Gavin Griffiths. If they do indeed get Mulcahy, Hyatt and Omoruyi back, there is no reason to think they cannot offset the loss of McConnell and the transfers and get the program moving back in the right direction.
If they were to lose those three, however, they’d need to get some significant talent out of the portal to avoid taking a big step backward next season.
Wisconsin
KenPom rank: AdjEm 61, AdjO 140, AdjD 19
Results (NIT): (W) vs. Bradley, 81-62; (W) vs. Liberty, 75-51; (W) at Oregon, 61-58; (L) vs. North Texas, 56-54
The Postseason That Was: The Badgers, rightfully, were not extended a bid to the NCAA Tournament. They stunk and shouldn’t even have been considered for as long as they were. However, they were happy to take an NIT bid to try and get a few extra games to unfuck the vibes from a miserable final month of the season.
And you know what? It actually worked! Wisconsin pounded Bradley behind a record-setting scoring output from Steven Crowl. Then they beat up the bigots at Liberty and went on the road to “upset” Oregon. While it wasn’t the real Final Four, Wisconsin got to go to Vegas for the NIT version and immediately ruined all of the goodwill they had built up over the previous three games!
Against North Texas, who eventually went on to win the NIT, the Badgers built a 14-point first-half lead and had an 89.3 percent chance of winning with 6:47 to go in the game. Wisconsin made six field goals in the entire second half and only one of them came in the final 13 minutes of the game. They missed their last 10 shots and didn’t score at all for the final nine minutes of the game. I’m not going to relive their final possession, where they had a chance to tie the game, but suffice to say it was supremely embarrassing and a fitting cap to the season.
The Offseason Upcoming: Jordan Davis, after losing his starting spot to freshman Connor Essegian halfway through the season, entered the transfer portal at the end of March. There are rumblings that a few new players are going to be brought in via the transfer portal, and Tyler Wahl announced last Tuesday afternoon that he’ll be returning for his COVID year. That means outside of Davis every contributor for UW will be back next year. Is that a good thing? Well… it’s complicated.