Big 10 Basketball Title Race Looks Like Two-Team Affair

Is the Big 10 race now a two-team affair? With more than half the conference slate still left to be played, fans around the league will certainly find out.

Coming into the season, most everyone believed the title was Wisconsin‘s to lose. Not only did the Badgers return virtually everybody from their 30-win team of a year ago, they also brought back two of the league’s very best in Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker. Predictably, the Badgers have been as good as advertised, sitting comfortably atop the Big 10 perch at 18-2 overall and 6-1 in conference action.

Who else stands as a contender? Considering the early struggles of preseason contenders Michigan, Michigan State and Nebraska, one might have thought the victory parade had already started amongst Badger fans.

Enter coach Mark Turgeon’s Maryland Terrapins. Despite losing five players during the offseason, Maryland sits alone in second place at 18-3 overall and 6-2 in Big 10 play. Behind the Badgers and Terrapins are the Wolverines at 6-3 while Ohio State, Indiana and surprising Purdue are all 5-3. As for coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans, they stand at 4-3 in league play so far this season.

Add it all up and it appears Wisconsin and Maryland are set for a sprint to the finish. Michigan, despite their third place position, will be working with a thin lineup thanks to the loss of Caris LeVert to a season-ending foot injury. The Buckeyes have struggled away from home while Indiana and Purdue are still learning to win on the fly. Michigan State is almost always a factor, but maintaining consistency has proven challenging in East Lansing so far in 2014-15.

As for Wisconsin, the Badgers have been their usual proficient selves through 20 games. They average less than 10 turnovers per outing, score at a clip of 73.6 points per game and hold the opposition to a measly 55.1 points on a game-by-game basis. Wisconsin has also weathered the storm caused by Traevon Jackson’s injury to win their last three outings. In other words, it’s the same old, same old for Bo Ryan’s team.

Maryland, meanwhile, continues to rely heavily on the contributions of freshman Melo Trimble. The talented newcomer still leads the Terrapins in scoring at 16.3 points per outing and has provided Maryland with the type of spark Turgeon was hoping for heading into 2014-15. The Terrapins also have a pair of upperclassmen who have stepped up their games in senior leader Dez Wells and emerging star Jake Layman. Is that trio good enough to vault the Terrapins to the top of the Big 10? With difficult games against the Buckeyes, Hoosiers and Iowa coming up, we’ll find out.

As for a potential conference dark horse, Ohio State appears to be the best candidate. The Buckeyes boast a skilled lineup of both speed and athleticism. Throw in the presence of stud rookie D’Angelo Russell and the Buckeyes could make a strong push down the stretch.

For now, Wisconsin and Maryland still look like the teams to beat. Both squads have been impressive through their opening forays of conference action and show no signs of slowing down. With that said, the Big 10 is often topsy-turvy, so it wouldn’t be all that surprising if another team sprang up to challenge the big boys on top.

Until then, Wisconsin and Maryland figure to continue setting the pace.

Matt Johnson is a Big 10 basketball writer for www.rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter at mattytheole or “like” him on Facebook.