Zach Edey and nine other players to watch at the Big Ten tournament at Target Center
Target Center has now hosted the Big Ten women's basketball tournament twice. Now, for the first time ever, the men's Big Ten tourney comes to Minneapolis this week from Wednesday to Sunday. There's no cultural icon like Caitlin Clark to see, but Purdue's reigning national player of the year Zach Edey is the closest thing in the men's game. Here are 10 players to watch:
Zach Edey
Purdue - 7-4 - sr. - center
The Canadian giant's legacy is solidified as one of the all-time greats. Edey's a lock to be the first back-to-back NCAA player of the year since Ralph Sampson in the early 1980s. Purdue lost in the first round of the NCAAs last year, so Edey's quest to finish his career with more postseason success starts with a conference tourney title run in Minneapolis. That could bring a possible No. 1 overall NCAA seed for the back-to-back Big Ten outright regular-season champions.
Braden Smith
Purdue - 6-0 - so. - guard
For the Boilermakers to reach their potential, they'll need Edey's broad shoulders as well as the backcourt of Smith and Fletcher Loyer. No point guard nationally means more to their team than Smith, an elite passer and the Big Ten's best rebounding guard. The former Indiana Mr. Basketball also became a clutch scorer with 12 straight double-figure games, including 23 points to outduel Michigan State's Tyson Walker earlier this month.
Boo Buie
Northwestern - 6-2 - sr. - guard
Would Northwestern be in line to reach back-to-back NCAA tournaments for the first time ever without Buie? No way. The Wildcats' all-time leading scorer used to be an emotional roller coaster, but now he's as confident and composed as it comes in big games, including 11 games with 20 points or more in Big Ten play. Tops was his 31-point, nine-assist performance to upset Purdue in December.
Terrence Shannon Jr.
Illinois - 6-6 - sr. - guard
The Big Ten's top NBA prospect can finish at the basket as easily as he can pull up from beyond the arc. There's really nobody who can stop Shannon but himself. During a four-game Big Ten stretch, he averaged 30 points -- and has seven games with 27 or more points this season. With Shannon No. 1 on defensive scouting reports, teammate Marcus Domask was able to emerge as a top scorer in the league as well.
Dawson Garcia
Gophers - 6-11 - jr. - forward
The Gophers' leading scorer and rebounder played for the same program in back-to-back seasons for the first time after starting his career at Marquette and North Carolina. His comfort level showed under coach Ben Johnson with 20 points or more in 11 games this season, including three 30-point games. The Prior Lake product's impact, along with that of Elijah Hawkins, Cam Christie and others, helped lead the U's turnaround this season.
Jahmir Young
Maryland - 6-1 - sr. - guard
Not many players have made transferring up from the midmajor level look so easy. Young has been one of the Big Ten's top scorers since he arrived from Charlotte last season. His 37-point game vs. UCLA remains the Big Ten's highest scoring mark this year. He's also tied for the second-highest scoring game with 36 points at Northwestern. A disappointing year for the Terps didn't demean his impact in the league.
Kel'el Ware
Indiana - 7-0 - so. - center
Edey is the Big Ten's top big man. Ware is the top NBA frontcourt prospect. Look no further than his three-point range, mobility and 7-6 wingspan. He's one of the most improved players in the country, too. His scoring jumped from 6.6 to 16.1 points per game after transferring from Oregon. Ask Gophers fans how they feel about Ware, who dominated with 26 points and 11 rebounds in the U's final home game.
AJ Storr
Wisconsin - 6-7 - so. - wing
The Badgers rose to No. 6 nationally with Storr taking the Big Ten by surprise as a talented scorer and exciting finisher. The transfer from St. John's (N.Y.) has a double-figure scoring streak of 26 straight games, which include back-to-back 28-point performances vs. Michigan State and Nebraska. His shooting struggles as of late contributed to Wisconsin losing eight of 11 games.
Tyson Walker
Michigan State - 6-1 - sr. - guard
Walker was a consensus preseason All-America pick when the Spartans entered the season as a top 10 team in the country. A rough start to the year for Tom Izzo's team made the crafty point guard drop off the radar for a while. He's not one to sleep on. Walker, a 2,000-point career scorer, had 25 points in an upset against Baylor and 22 points vs. Duke earlier this season.
Payton Sandfort
Iowa - 6-7 - jr. - wing
The Hawkeyes sneaked onto the NCAA tournament bubble late this season with Sandfort saving his best basketball for last. He averaged 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists when Iowa won five games during a recent seven-game stretch. That included a Caitlin Clark-type performance with 26 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds Feb. 27 vs. Penn State. It was the first triple-double in Iowa men's hoops history. Clark has 17 in her career.
