Iowa, Illinois back on track, Ohio State slips
There are only a few knowns about Big Ten basketball this season. Purdue is really good. Nebraska and Minnesota can be frisky on any given night but both teams still have a talent deficit. After that, it’s a topsy-turvy mess with a bunch of teams vying to give Purdue a run for its money. Wisconsin and Ohio State have looked like the second-best team in the Big Ten. Now, its Illinois, Rutgers, Michigan or Iowa vying for that kiss-of-death spot.
We’re about a third of the way through Big Ten play, and it’s interesting to look at how each team is performing in conference play with certain players on or off the floor. Advanced stats can be a little complicated, but net rating is simple. It basically measures how a team performs when a player is on or off the floor.
For example, Purdue is outscoring Big Ten opponents by 20.13 points per 100 possessions with National Player of the Year frontrunner Zach Edey on the floor, according to Pivot Analysis. But Purdue is being outscored by 23.72 points per 100 possessions with Edey on the bench during Big Ten play. When Edey is in the game, Purdue has played like the best team in the Big Ten this season. When Edey is not in the game, Purdue has been very susceptible.
Here are the updated Big Ten power rankings and the net ratings for each rotation player during Big Ten play, according to data from Pivot Analysis: