Men’s Basketball
Game of the Week: Iowa beats Ole Miss, 74-69
To be blunt, it was a bad week for Big Ten basketball. After a really impressive start to the season, Thanksgiving week wasn’t so kind to the conference, which lost a large majority of its big games in all types of fashion. But poking out from that crowd of disappointment is Iowa, who snagged a win over the Rebels on Nov. 25 in the Acrisure Classic. While the game got off to a slow start (the score was 5-2 Iowa over eight minutes into the game), Bennett Stirtz picked things up for his Hawkeyes, going unconscious in the second half from deep and propelling Iowa’s offense to victory. Not only does head coach Ben McCollum pick up a big victory over Ole Miss, but he has quietly created one of the more exciting teams to watch this season.
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Player of the Week: Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan)
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Lendeborg was one of the most sought-after transfers in the portal, and after committing to Michigan from UAB, was met with extremely high (like, All-American high) expectations from fans around the country. A slow start got people talking, but Lendeborg, in the words of former Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, “let the naysayers know.” The Wolverine forward averaged over 17 points and seven rebounds over the course of three games in the Players Era Tournament, and most notably shot 7-of-15 from deep during that span after having struggled with the three-ball previously.
Team of the Week: No. 3 Michigan Wolverines
Whaddya know? Two and two make four. With Lendeborg’s emergence, Michigan now appears to be one of the best — if not the best — teams in the country, skyrocketing up four spots to third in the most recent AP Poll after downing San Diego State, No. 21 Auburn and No. 12 Gonzaga in three consecutive days. Oh, and all were by 30 points or more. Safe to say, the Wolverines left Las Vegas having won the tournament with no room for doubt.
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Freshman of the Week: Kayden Mingo (Penn State)
Returning as my freshman of the week pick is Mingo after one of the more unique stat-lines I’ve seen this season. After putting up 14 points, four rebounds and four assists in an 11-point home win over Boston, Mingo decided to wreak havoc on the defensive side in a rout of Sacred Heart, grabbing a ridiculous eight steals alongside his usual 13 points and five assists. Even if they skipped out on the fun of the MTE Feast Week, Mingo and Penn State are taking care of business in non-conference play better than most expected.
Clutch Performance of the Week: Nick Boyd (Wisconsin) vs. Providence
As with most of these categories, there were plenty of players I could’ve taken here. I decided to go with Boyd, who’s 36 points against the Friars marked his career-high in his six-year collegiate career. In an otherwise tough Thanksgiving week that saw the Badgers lose their other two matchups by double-digits, Boyd provided some relief to that pain in Madison with a near-perfect offensive showing. Even if Wisco has some problems to fix going forward, it’s still safe to say Boyd was a good get in the transfer portal.
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Women’s Basketball
Game of the Week: Oregon beats Auburn, 58-53
There were a couple different directions to go here, but for the sake of not being boring and just choosing the highest-rated ranked matchup of the week, I went with one that could have some serious at-large implications down the line. Two undefeated’s faced off on Sunday, with the Ducks visiting the Tigers as both teams looked to improve to 9-0. Auburn looked to have it in the bag with a big 14-point second half lead, but a ravenous comeback led by Katie Fiso (24 points) and Ehis Etute (16 points, 15 rebounds) helped Oregon take the lead. Ultimately, U of O’s stingy defense that allowed just 20 second half points is what kept the streak alive.
Player of the Week: Shay Ciezki (Indiana)
This one was such a tough one to decide between, because I’d love to give my flowers to both Ciezki and last week’s winner, Northwestern’s very own Grace Sullivan. The Indiana guard ultimately earns the nod for me, though, because of how unstoppable she has been with the ball in her hands. This past week, the Buffalo, N.Y. native averaged over 29 points per game and three assists on ridiculous 57/44/95 shooting splits. Is she the next Caitlin Clark? That might be a hair too far, but she should be on every Big Ten team’s radar by now.
Team of the Week: No. 7 Maryland Terrapins
Just the fact that the team of the week finally isn’t UCLA should be enough to get you interested in Maryland. Yes, the Bruins lost; but Maryland looked like the most impressive team of the week even disregarding that, with a big-time non-conference win over then-No. 16 Kentucky in the Puerto Rico Shootout before returning home and absolutely demolishing Hofstra. Safe to say, the Terps look like a serious contender this year.
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First-Year of the Week: Bryn Martin (Ohio State)
For a conference that has had so few first-year standouts thus far this year with all the veteran talent swarming the Big Ten, we were lucky enough this week to experience two big performances. Luckily, I get to highlight them both! My choice for the weekly award has to go to OSU’s Martin, who had been really quiet scoring-wise up until this week. But a breakout 16-point performance in an upset win over No. 21 West Virginia can change things. In her only game since, Martin went for 21 on 8-of-11 shooting in a ridiculous 98-point win over Niagara. That’s gotta be the biggest news of the week in Columbus, right?!
Clutch Performance of the Week: Addi Mack (Maryland) vs. No. 16 Kentucky
Our other first-year standout gets some praise for a singular performance despite having a pretty darn good week of her own. Mack tallied 15 points, six assists and five rebounds against the Wildcats, even grabbing a couple steals in the process. But her impressive scoring output was also matched by three other Terrapins in a complete performance from Maryland. What was most impressive was that the first-year was the only for either team to play all 40 minutes. As dangerous as the Terps are, so is Mack herself.
