The Big Ten is once again one of the deepest conferences in all of college basketball. While there are not any elite teams competing for a national title, there are quite a few that could compete for the conference. There is one school that is traditionally a basketball bottom-feeder that could be a dark horse challenger for the conference championship, Penn State.
This School is a Dark Horse to Win the Big Ten
Penn State has a very good roster that is led by defending all-conference selection Ace Baldwin. His incredible 2023/24 campaign has been followed up by an even better season. He is scoring at a similar rate but is a more efficient shooter this season. He is also a better passer as he is averaging nearly three assists per game. If Baldwin can up his scoring in conference play, Penn State is certainly a dark horse contender to win the Big Ten. However you must also mention the meteoric rise of Swiss center Yanic Konan Niederhauser. He transferred from Northern Illinois this offseason and has blossomed into a very good player. A steady inside presence will be needed if the Nittany Lions want to contend for the Big Ten.
Last year, Penn State was built on defense. They ground you out like a typical Mike Rhoades-coached team. This year the Nittany Lions are much more balanced. According to Kenpom, they are the 36th-ranked offense and 45th-ranked defense. However the most impressive number is 26th in tempo. This is a significant increase from last year, where they ranked 68th. This is perfect for a guard-focused team who wants to push the pace and make its opponents feel uneasy in a game.
Why is Penn State a Dark Horse?
After reading all of this, you may be thinking “this sounds great but there are a ton of teams out there with a good point guard and tempo” and you would be right. However Penn State has already shown it compete with the conference’s elites. Penn State beat Purdue by 11 in December. This will be a huge win for the conference standings.
Penn State also has a favorable schedule. Because of the expanded Big Ten, the Nittany Lions only have to play some of the conferences best teams once. They only play Oregon and Maryland one time, at home. Then they only play UCLA, Illinois, Michigan, and Michigan State once on the road. These are considered to be the six of the seven best teams in the conference (plus Purdue which they only play once as well). If they are able to knock off a few of these big names and take care of business the rest of the way, then we could see the hoisting the Big Ten Trophy.
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