Around the Big Ten: Week 3 (Basketball)
Host Logan Bourandas and analysts Jon Draeger, Austin Groft and Adam Sheetz look back on the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and look ahead to some of the best Big Ten games to watch the rest of the week. They also give their takes on some of the teams to watch in the conference.
The Big Ten is arguably the best basketball conference in the country, and it proved that on Tuesday night. The Big Ten played in seven ACC/Big Ten Challenge games on Tuesday and came away with six wins.
A win that stood out was the No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes knocking off No. 16 North Carolina 93-80. The Hawkeyes knocked down 17 3-pointers in the win and were led by senior guard Jordan Bohannon’s 24 points and seven triples. The Hawkeyes are a team with national title aspirations this season, and they might have the best player in college basketball with Luka Garza. Garza had just 16 points in the win, but he also contributed 14 rebounds and played hard on the defensive end. In short, Iowa knocked off a ranked opponent without the best play from the star player, which is a good sign and could lead to big things for the Hawkeyes for the remainder of the season.
Another team that picked up a huge win on Tuesday night was No. 6 Illinois, as the Fighting Illini went on the road and took down No. 10 Duke 83-68. The Illini were led by star guard Ayo Dosunmu, who put up 18 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. The Illini are a team with title aspirations as well, and they have a big three of Dosunmu, Kofi Cockburn and Adam Miller as key pieces. The Illini will look to build on this win and continue their momentum as Big Ten play begins next week.
The Big Ten showed its depth as well on Tuesday, when Penn State went on the road and took down No. 15 Virginia Tech 75-55. The Nittany Lions dominated from start to finish on both ends. The Lions forced 14 turnovers and knocked down 12 3-pointers in the win. Penn State was led by junior Izaiah Brockington, who scored 24 points on 10 of 14 shooting. The Nittany Lions lost a heartbreaker to Seton Hall on Sunday, but this bounce-back win means that there is another team that can be dangerous in a loaded Big Ten.
The first game of conference play starts on Sunday when Penn State travels to Michigan to take on the Wolverines. This is a matchup between two teams with tournament hopes, and both teams have the opportunity to get a big win to start conference play. Both Michigan and Penn State are extremely balanced, with both teams having four players averaging at least 10 points. Both teams love the 3-point line as well, with Penn State averaging 11.25 triples per game and Michigan averaging eight. This game should make for an exciting matchup and should be a preview of what to expect every night in an extremely competitive Big Ten conference.
With non-conference play finishing up and conference play right around the corner, the Big Ten race should begin to heat up. Expect great competition from the deepest conference in all of college basketball.
Adam Sheetz is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ads360@psu.edu.
About the Contributors
Logan Bourandas
Third-Year / Broadcast Journalism
Logan Bourandas is a third-year broadcast journalism major from Long Island, NY. He is a the news director for CommRadio and the host of Ducks on the Pond, which is an all-baseball talk show on CommRadio. He is also a sports writer, broadcaster and podcaster for CommRadio. He got his start as the station manager for his high school radio station WPOB in his hometown of Plainview, NY, where he hosted numerous radio shows and was involved in sports broadcasts. You can contact him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Adam Sheetz
Junior / Broadcast Journalism
Adam Sheetz is a third year student from Reedsville, Pennsylvania majoring in broadcast journalism. He has been a broadcaster for WCHX 105.5 FM in Mifflin County covering high school sports. He has also been a member of CommRadio since his first semester at Penn State, being involved in both the Arts and Sports departments. Adam has extensive experience in a play-by-play setting within CommRadio, covering football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer and volleyball for the station. He has done written content for CommRadio ranging from Penn State football articles all the way to discussing Disney Channel movies. To contact Adam, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Jonathan Draeger
Third Year / Broadcast Journalism
Jonathan “Jon” Draeger is a third-year student from Butler, Pennsylvania, majoring in broadcast journalism at Penn State University. He is the Production Director for CommRadio, alongside his work as a broadcaster and producer for the Sports department and insider for Penn State Men’s Basketball. Jon also works on the “After The Whistle” live show. He was apart of the social media and on-field entertainment crew for the Butler Bluesox in the summer of 2021 and worked as a Broadcast Intern for the Saugerties Stallions of the PGCBL in the summer of 2022. If you would like to contact him, you can do so at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Austin Groft
Senior / Broadcast Journalism
Austin Groft is a senior student from Lancaster, Pennsylvania majoring in broadcast journalism at Penn State. He is a play-by-play announcer for CommRadio and Big Ten Plus. Austin also is a reporter for the Centre County Report and After the Whistle. To contact Austin, email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
