Monday: Who are the contenders in Big Ten hoops?

Welcome to The Warden.

This is a blog about anything sports. Football, basketball, baseball, hockey, even soccer. If there’s a hot topic in any sport, I’ll talk about it every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Since I live in Lincoln, Nebraska, and cover the Nebraska men’s basketball team, there will be a slight slant in Nebraska athletics. However, that does not mean I’ll shy away from national topics.

So let’s talk Big Ten basketball.

I ranked the teams today in the Daily Nebraskan and I’ve come to the conclusion that the conference has five legitimate title contenders.

No. 4 Michigan State and No. 3 Wisconsin are the clear favorites right now. Both teams are just tough. Nothing seems to rattle them. The Spartans tend to play to the level their competition, as was seen in an overtime win against mediocre Minnesota, but don’t think for a second that Tom Izzo doesn’t have that squad playing at a championship level in March. And Wisconsin remains one of four undefeated squads in the country playing the way that it always does: not turning the ball over and shooting the three well.

No. 11 Ohio State and Michigan are a level behind those squads, mainly because they make too many youthful mistakes, though they are both extremely talented.

The team that I have on a level ahead of the Buckeyes and Wolverines but still behind Wisconsin and Ohio State is No. 14 Iowa.

The Hawkeyes looks good. Real good, especially coming off a win yesterday at Ohio State to improve to 3-1 in the Big Ten.

They are long, deep and explosive. The frontcourt of Aaron White (6-foot-9), Melsahn Basabe (6-foot-7) and Adam Woodbury (7-foot-1) will give any team in the country fits. The Hawkeyes are also only 12 points away from being undefeated. All three of their losses were against top-10 teams, including Wisconsin.

The key to whether Iowa makes a run at a Big Ten crown and the Final Four is point forward Roy Devyn Marble. The senior is having a conference player of the year caliber season so far, averaging 16.4 points, four rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. If he continues to play this well, the Hawks will be tough to beat in March.

Hot reads:

Every Monday, I’ll post some stories that I found interesting over the weekend. These can be anything from articles to photo galleries to random videos. Here are the goods from this weekend.

-Seattle plays for the NFC title Saturday thanks in large part to its secondary.

-Doug McDermott and Creighton continue to roll through the new Big East.

-Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady for the AFC title Sunday. Here’s a photo gallery of some of the best moments in the rivalry.

-The Lincoln Journal Star analyzes the future of Nebraska football.
-New college basketball rankings came out today. 

One more thing, I’m open to feedback. I’m new to this blog thing so any suggestions about topics or format will not go unnoticed. Thanks for reading and happy Monday!

Reach me at: award6344@gmail.com

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