With exhibition games already being played and the start of the regular season this upcoming week, it seems like a fitting time to analyze each of the Big Ten teams early schedules, and namely the early season tournaments they are each in. Three teams host their own tournament, two are not in Thanksgiving tournaments, and seven teams will travel elsewhere for a few games. Included in my early season tournament article is each of the team's Big Ten-ACC Challenge matchups. The Big Ten has won the challenge the past two seasons and I foresee the win streak increasing to three this season for the conference. As a side note, now that Nebraska is in the Big Ten there will be twelve games in the challenge instead of twelve. If it so happens that there is a 6-6 tie, then the Commissioner's Cup would stay with the Big Ten since they won the event last year. I will include my predictions for each team's tournament games here, although it seems like there are big discrepancies between the competitors in many of these tournaments. This is part one of two, so stay tuned for the part two tomorrow.
Ohio State
Global Sports Shootout: Columbus, OH
11/11 Wright State-W
11/15 Florida-W
11/18 Jackson State-W
11/21 North Florida-W
11/29 Duke-W
Record: 5-0
The third-ranked Buckeyes will stay home Thanksgiving week as part of the Global Sports Shootout that they host. Florida should be the only challenging opponent within this tournament for Ohio State. The Buckeyes defeated the Gators last season in Gainesville, getting people to realize how good Jared Sullinger really was. Florida is ranked eight in the AP Poll and has a backcourt that could give Ohio State trouble. Guards Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker return from last year's squad, but they also add freshman Bradley Beal and Rutgers-transfer Mike Rosario. Aaron Craft and William Buford will have their work cut out for them, but Sullinger should prove to be enough in the paint to cause the Gators fits. Wright State, Jackson State, and North Florida should all be games where Ohio State gets to utilize their rarely used bench. Eight days after the Shootout ends, OSU plays host to yet another top ten team in Duke. The Blue Devils are ranked sixth in the nation. Although Duke is ranked higher than Florida, I see the Florida matchup being more troublesome than the Duke one for Ohio State. Duke is young in the backcourt and I do not see any of the Plumlee trio stopping Sullinger. Contributions from Deshaun Thomas in each of these two games will be necessary for the Buckeyes to win both contests.
Michigan
Maui Invitational: Maui, HI
11/14 Towson-W
11/21 Memphis-W
11/22 Tennessee/Duke-L
11/23 UCLA/Chaminade/Georgetown/Kansas-W
11/29 @Virginia-W
Record: 4-1
Coming off a surprising season last year, which include a second-round loss to Duke in NCAA Tournament, the Wolverines will be taking no one by surprise this year. They host Towson as a preliminary game for the Maui Invitational, before they make the trip to Hawaii a week later. It won't be an easy trip though for Michigan, as the Maui Invitational is the most highly proclaimed of all the early season tournaments. I predict they will upset #11 Memphis in the first round in a hard fought game. A win over Memphis would likely land Michigan in a rematch against Duke, while a loss would pit them against Tennessee (the team they defeated in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament). On the other side of the bracket, I predict a UCLA vs. Kansas semifinal with the Bruins coming out victorious. Based on that I predict Michigan will beat Kansas in the third-place game of the tournament, which would be an impressive feat seeing as how there are four teams ranked higher than them in the field. If Michigan falls to Memphis on the opening day, expect them to roll through the consolation bracket and finish fifth, again with a 2-1 record. Six days after the Wolverines leave Maui, they travel on the road again, this time at Virginia. The Cavaliers are expected to finish in the middle to bottom of a very top-heavy ACC. After playing three games in a neutral environment prior to the trip to Virginia, I expect Michigan to take care of business and win an important road game for the Big Ten.
Wisconsin
Chicago Invitational Challenge: Hoffman Estates, IL
11/19 Wofford-W
11/22 UMKC-W
11/25 Bradley-W
11/26 Nevada/BYU-W
11/30 @ North Carolina-L
Record: 4-1
In ten years at Wisconsin, Bo Ryan's team has never finished lower than fourth place in the prestigious conference. It would be silly to think that streak will change this year, especially since Preseason All-American Jordan Taylor returns for his senior season. Aside from Taylor, there are a bunch of question marks on who will step up for the Badgers. One thing is for certain though: someone will step up. The most likely candidate is forward Mike Bruesewitz. Josh Gasser also will contribute after a freshman season that was highlighted by a triple-double at Northwestern and a banked three-pointer as the buzzer sounded at Michigan. Wofford and UMKC should be easy win for Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in the preliminary round of the Chicago Invitational Challenge. After that, they travel to Hoffman Estates, a northern suburb of Chicago and will take on two mid-major programs. After UW takes care of a Bradley program that has a brand new coach, I predict that the Badgers will take on a Jimmer Fredette-less Brigham Young team. I saw both Wisconsin and BYU get eliminated last year in the Sweet Sixteen in New Orleans, to Florida and Butler respectively. Wisconsin will have to find someone to guard Brandon Davies, who was suspended at the end of last season, but Wisconsin's swing offense should be enough for the team to come out of the tournament unscathed. Four days later, UW travels to play top-ranked North Carolina on the road. Unfortunately, I do not think the Badgers have enough firepower to stay with the Tar Heels and despite Wisconsin's ability to try to slow the game down, UNC just has too many options on offense for Wisconsin to handle.
Michigan State
Spartan Invitational: East Lansing, MI
11/18 Texas Southern-W
11/20 Arkansas-Little Rock-W
11/23 Milwaukee-W
11/30 Florida State-W
Record: 4-0
Although Michigan State's nonconference schedule includes games against North Carolina and Duke, the competition in their Spartan Invitational comes nowhere close. Senior stat sheet stuffer Draymond Green, also known as the "Dancing Bear", will lead the new look Spartans. None of the Texas Southern, Arkansas-Little Rock, or Milwaukee games should cause any trouble for MSU. Milwaukee won the Horizon League last year but I would be shocked to see them come into East Lansing and beat the home team. All of this comes after MSU's two neutral court games against North Carolina and Duke, who are easily the top two teams in the ACC. I predict that the Spartans lose both of those contests, but believe they will rebound when they take on their third ACC opponent of the season in Florida State. The Seminoles travel to East Lansing on the last day of November, in what could be a swing game for the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. FSU is predicted to be a distant third place in the ACC, but is also the only other legitimate NCAA Tournament hopeful for the conference. Home court will come into play this game and I predict Tom Izzo's team to execute down the stretch and pull out the W.
Illinois
Cancun Challenge: Cancun, MX
11/14 SIU Edwardsville-W
11/17 St. Bonaventure-W
11/22 Richmond-W
11/23 Rutgers/Illinois State-W
11/29 @ Maryland-L
Record: 4-1
After participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer event last season at Madison Square Garden, the Fighting Illini will face much lesser competition this November. After preliminary games in Champaign against SIU Edwardsville and St. Bonaventure, Bruce Weber's squad will travel over the border and open play with a Richmond team that advanced to last year's Sweet Sixteen. Although I am not high on the Illini and have lower expectations of them this year than I have during my lifetime as fan of the team, I expect them to win the Cancun Challenge. Anything less than two wins in Cancun would be a major disappointment, since they have much tougher competition later in their nonconference slate. Richmond should give the Fighting Illini a good game, but I expect Brandon Paul to play well enough to lead them to victory. A win there would likely mean a game against Rutgers for the title. Rutgers is projected to finish near the bottom of the 16-team Big East and Illinois cannot afford a slipup there. After the trip to Mexico, Illinois travels to Maryland. The Terrapins are also projected to finish near the bottom of the ACC, but despite this I see Illinois losing that game. The Fighting Illini went 2-7 in road games last year during Big Ten play and with such a young squad this year, I foresee road struggles again this year even against teams they are supposed to be better than.
Northwestern
Charleston Classic: Charleson, SC
11/17 LSU-W
11/18 Tulsa/Western Kentucky-W
11/20 VCU/Seton Hall/Georgia Tech/Saint Joseph's-W
11/29 @ Georgia Tech-W
Record: 4-0
Northwestern easily has the strongest nonconference schedule in recent memory, in hopes that this is the year they can get over the hump and make it to the Big Dance. The Charleston Classic could be a big help to that, if the Cats win the tournament. They open with a much-improved LSU team that boasts stud freshman Johnny O'Bryant. The winner of that contest could very well run the table the rest of the tournament. Assuming Tulsa defeats Western Kentucky, the Wildcats could get a win over a solid mid-major program. Just as LSU vs. Northwestern boasts the top two teams in the upper bracket, VCU and Seton Hall are the two better teams in the bottom half. I'm predicting a Bradford Burgess-John Shurna showdown in the title game, with the Wildcats defeating VCU. Although VCU will not likely match their trip to the Final Four last season, it would still be a great win for the Wildcat's resume. Even if the Wildcats do not bring home the title, a 2-1 finish would still help their resume. Hopefully, Northwestern does not have to match up with Georgia Tech in Charleston, since they travel on the road to play the Yellow Jackets just nine days after leaving South Carolina. Northwestern defeated Georgia Tech in a rout last season at home and look to do it again this year on the road. The Ramblin' Wreck lost Iman Shumpert to the NBA, so they are once again picked to finish near the very bottom of a weak ACC. Combining these four games with a home contest against Big 12-favorite Baylor, and Northwestern has plenty of opportunities to head into Big Ten play with an already sound resume come March.