Michigan Basketball: Predicting the 2020-21 Big Ten standings
By Max S.
11th place: Minnesota
2019-20 record: 15-16 (8-12)
Richard Pitino has one season with a winning conference record since he got to Minnesota in 2013. I think he’s a bottom four coach in this conference. The Golden Gophers lost their best player from last season, Daniel Oturu.
He was, in my opinion, the second best big man in the conference behind Luka Garza. That would be a tough loss to overcome for any team, especially a middle of the pack team with a below average coach.
Minnesota does return Marcus Carr, who was very productive last season. He averaged 15.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. He should be one of the better guards in the conference.
It’s hard to predict exactly where Minnesota will finish this season. Could Marcus Carr blow up and lead this team to the NCAA Tournament? Sure. But I don’t put much value into teams with bad coaches.
10th place: Maryland
2019-20 record: 24-7 (14-6)
Speaking of teams with below average coaching, insert Maryland basketball. Maryland made the biggest fall of anyone on this list going from shared Big Ten Champions a season ago, to number 10 in my predictions for this season.
Maryland loses their top two scorers in Anthony Cowan Jr. and Jalen Smith. They did bring in Boston College transfer Jairus Hamilton but it appears that he will not be eligible to play this upcoming season.
Aaron Wiggins will need to make a big time jump for Maryland to finish in the top half of the conference.
Maryland is just one of those teams that I don’t have confidence in. We are talking about a team that has one Sweet Sixteen since 2003. Are you going to bet on them to be good this season after losing their two best players and bringing in only the 88th ranked recruiting class?
9th place: Purdue
2019-20 record: 16-15 (9-11)
Purdue is always a wild card in the Big Ten. I compare them to Michigan’s teams under John Beilein. A really good coach that recruits to his system. They are really good when everything clicks, but they can have down years because the talent level is not always as high as it should be.
Purdue returns a good chunk of their team from last year including big man Trevion Williams. I truly believe Purdue will go as far as Williams takes them.
One thing he has to improve on is his stamina and staying out of foul trouble. Purdue is going to need more than 21 minutes per game out of him this season.
Also look out for sharpshooter Sasha Stefanovic. He should get the nod to start at the wing spot for Purdue. Having a shooter like that is crucial for floor spacing and also giving your big man more room to work down low one on one.
Purdue could surprise this season and finish higher than 9th like I predict. But they are going to need to get better guard play. I still expect to see the Boilermakers in the NCAA Tournament next season.