Every basketball team that succeeds needs a trait it can hang its hat on. It may be on offense, it may be on defense, it may even be the absence of a particular skill to be reliant on, but every team has a number that exemplifies the best version of itself.
The Big Ten has a lot of good teams that will make noise in March. Let’s examine each team through the one statistic that shows their top strength (all stats from Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise linked)
No. 1 UCLA Bruins
Projected seed: 1
This week’s schedule: vs. Ohio State (Peacock) Wed., at Oregon Sun.
Their stat: 61% Total Rebound Percentage (No. 1 in the country). The Bruins are great in many ways, but their size and toughness are best exemplified by their total dominance on the boards. Lauren Betts and Co. win the physicality battle, and that is hard to overcome.
No. 7 USC Trojans
Projected seed: 2
This week’s schedule: at Wisconsin Wed. (Peacock), vs. Ohio State Sat.
Their stat: 72.3 Defensive Rating (No. 2 in the country). With stars like JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen, you would assume the Trojans are best on offense. USC is still great with the ball (14th in offensive rating), but the defensive end is where its talent and athleticism shines the brightest.
No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes
Projected seed: 3
This week’s schedule: at UCLA Wed. (Peacock), at USC Sat.
Their stat: 13.3% Steal Percentage (No. 8 in the country). Every time you go up against the Buckeyes, you must be prepared for their full-court press defense. Ohio State will turn up the pressure, and teams that are not prepared will give the ball away for easy buckets going the other way.
No. 16 Maryland Terrapins
Projected seed: 4
This week’s schedule: at Oregon Thu., at Washington Sun.
Their stat: .284 Free Throws per Field Goal Attempt (No. 7 in the country). When games slow down to the halfcourt, as they often do in matchups between top teams, getting to the free throw line is an especially useful method of creating consistent offense. The Terps do it as well as anyone.
No. 20 Michigan State Spartans
Projected seed: 5
This week’s schedule: vs. Michigan Sun.
Their stat: 77.7 Possessions/40 Minutes (No. 10 in pace). Michigan State speeds you up and makes you play their game. Similar to Ohio State, the Spartans will turn teams over and turn the extra chances into easy buckets. Michigan State is comfortable with its pace on both ends of the floor.
Oregon Ducks
Projected seed: 8
This week’s schedule: vs. Maryland Thu., vs. UCLA Sun.
Their stat: Bench Points Per Game: 27.8 (No. 17 in the country). The Ducks do not have any particular strength in terms of style of play, but they come at teams in waves. They have 10 players who play double-digit minutes, so they do not tire out over the course of games, and they do not have any one player that teams can key in on.
Indiana Hoosiers
Projected seed: 9
This week’s schedule: vs. Rutgers Thu., at Minnesota Sun.
Their stat: 65.9% Assist Percentage (No. 20 in the country). What do you do when losing stars such as Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia? Rely on team basketball. The Hoosiers move the ball well to get their open looks. When they are making good decisions, opponents cannot outrun the ball.
Michigan Wolverines
Projected seed: 9
This week’s schedule: at Nebraska Thu. (Peacock), at Michigan State Sun.
Their stat: 79.5 Points Per Game (No. 23 in the country). The Wolverines combine a fast pace with fairly efficient shot-making. That gets their raw scoring total up there enough that when they play solid defense, they will have a chance in any game.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Projected seed: 9
This week’s schedule: vs. Michigan Thu. (Peacock)
Their stat: 65.6% Assist Percentage (No. 24 in the country). Like Indiana, Nebraska is more reliant on moving the ball than it is on any one player creating offense with the ball. No player averages more than 14.5 points or 11.7 field goal attempts per game for the Cornhuskers.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Projected seed: 10
This week’s schedule: vs. Iowa Thu., vs. Indiana
Their stat: 1.7 Assist-To-Turnover Ratio (No. 4 in the country). Having a seasoned veteran at the point in Amaya Battle is hugely important for the way this Golden Gophers squad conducts business. They limit turnovers and do not let their opponents off the hook with easy opportunities.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Projected seed: 10
This week’s schedule: vs. Northwestern Thu., at Wisconsin Sun.
Their stat: 76.4 Defensive Rebounding Percentage (No. 4 in the country). The Illini are a great free throw shooting team, but they do not get to the line incredibly often. Clearing the defensive glass at an elite level is particularly important for them to hang with some of the conference’s best teams.
Iowa Hawkeyes
Projected seed: 11 (First Four)
This week’s schedule: at Minnesota Thu.
Their stat: 55.8% True Shooting Percentage (No. 23 in the country). Caitlin Clark may be gone, but the Hawkeyes still shoot as efficiently as anyone from all over the floor. Their win over USC on Sunday was more of the knock-down, drag-out variety, but it is a big feather in the cap once Selection Sunday comes around.
Washington Huskies
Projected seed: 11 (First Four)
This week’s schedule: at Penn State Wed., vs. Maryland
Their stat: 52.7% Effective Field Goal Percentage (T-No. 23 in the country). The Huskies play at a slow pace, so their points per game number does not indicate just how efficient their offense really is. The EFG% metric takes into account that threes are worth more than twos, but Washington ranks in the top 35 in both by percentage.
