Garza would be the worst NPOY maybe ever? He is downright dominant offensively but man he’s one-sided and hasn’t made his team a serious contender. He’s a monster but any time I’ve watched Iowa this year, I haven’t come close to saying “damn that’s the best player in the country”.
Big Ten player of the year should be Sticks if Maryland wins the conference, Winston if MSU wins the conference and I guess you consider Stevens, Garza or even Dosunmu (pre-injury) if somehow those teams sneak away with an outright title.
Just referring to media and the narrative. To me it seems like everyone talks about Garza and Smith doesn’t get as much talk. From a national perspective
I think it will be Winston or possibly, if PSU somehow wins the league over MSU, Stevens. Smith doesn’t have any gaudy stats, so if MD wins it, I would guess they’ll give it to Winston (or possibly even Cowan, deserved or no).
No one’s really talking about Oturu (probably because MN isn’t getting anywhere near a conference title and may miss the tourney), but he’s leading the league in rebounding and blocked shots and second in scoring.
I was looking at Winston’s stats thinking he was somewhat underwhelming this year in comparison to last (assist and shooting numbers are down) but I found this interesting.
Would be interesting to see Away and Neutral separated, as I’m guessing we’re not particularly close to the best Away team in the conf. But as a wise man once said, having those Bahamas efficiency ratings in the Neutral cohort is going to make that look pretty good.
So if I am understanding this correctly, Iowa is far worse at defense away. While some might say that’s because opponents shoot better at home, as a Michigan fan I am inclined to say it’s more likely because they get that 30-5 type FT discrepancy at home. Skewed, and a small sample size, but we have chronicled [within forums here] team defense is based on the Center and Garza sucks unanimously.
Purdue had cut the lead from 15 down to 9 against Buckeyes, then they promptly gave up an open three, followed by an offensive foul away from the ball. Just doesn’t look like their day.
