The Big Ten basketball regular season wrapped up on Thursday night, confirming what many had known for months — that Purdue was the champion. The Boilermakers were the league's best team at the beginning, during the middle, and at the end of the year, so it was no surprise to see this squad win the Big Ten regular-season title by a full three games.
But other than Purdue's finish, not many fans or experts would have foreseen Nebraska finishing third, Michigan finishing last, or Ohio State dropping eight contests in a nine-game span. That is the beauty of conference play as every game becomes a dogfight and every play means just that little bit more.
The Big Ten is also home to some of the best talent in all of college basketball, as future NBA players compete against each other night in and night out. With so many top players, here are Zach Edey and other favorites to win the Big Ten Player of the Year Award.
Zach Edey (Purdue)
As long as Zach Edey is averaging 20-point double-doubles, he will be the overwhelming favorite to win every award he is nominated for. His dominance and efficiency are on a generational scale. He is the best offensive player in the country and the most influential defensive player. Somehow his offensive efficiency is up from last year — a season where he averaged 22.3 PPG and shot 60.7% from the field. This year, Edey is making an unheard-of 83.8% of his shots at the rim while scoring 24.1 PPG. It would take either a catastrophic finish for Edey or an all-time run from one of these contenders for the Purdue center not to earn his second consecutive award for Big Ten Player of the Year.
Boo Buie (Northwestern)
In a league where a certain seven-footer is the center of attention, the Big Ten has been a haven for point guard play this year. One of the best is Northwestern's Boo Buie. Buie is averaging 18.8 PPG and 5.1 APG while shooting 43.1% from beyond the arc. In conference play, his shooting accuracy is up to 48.6% from deep. In an upset win over Purdue earlier in the year, Buie finished with 31 points, nine assists, and no turnovers.
Jahmir Young (Maryland)
In a year where everything has not quite gone to plan for Maryland, Jahmir Young has been the one constant for the Terrapins. Young has played 92.3% of possible minutes during conference play — the most among Big Ten players — while carrying Maryland in the process. The fifth-year point guard is averaging 20.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 4.2 APG. He upped that scoring average to 22.3 PPG against Big Ten opponents, second only to the indomitable Zach Edey. With three 30-point games on the year, few scorers in the conference can compete with Maryland's Jahmir Young, who might be a Player of the Year favorite in any other season.
Braden Smith (Purdue)
As the league's leading assister and one of the best shooters in the Big Ten, we would be amiss to leave out another star point guard — Braden Smith. While Edey is the superstar, Smith is the creative cog that keeps this Boilermaker offense flowing. When Smith is off the floor, Purdue's turnover rate increases from 15.8% to 19.4% and its three-point percentage drops from 42.2% to 34.3%.
Smith's spacing and passing are crucial for opening the offense up inside for Edey and make Purdue a complete team poised for a run in March.
Our Pick: Zach Edey
Not picking a generational big man who is averaging a 20-point double-double would be silly.
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