Big games on the B1G schedule

Congrats on making it to Friday! The NFL season has officially kicked off and there’s a good chance that 80 percent of you reading this have already lost your respective fantasy football leagues.

But rather than cry about your poor drafting skills, check out the latest batch of college basketball commits, as well as which Big Ten games should be on your radar.

THREE POINTERS

1. The 7 can’t-miss Big Ten games

Throughout the week, many of the top conferences have announced their respective league schedules for the upcoming season. The Big Ten took its turn Thursday with a 20-game schedule for each team. Among loads of quality matchups here are the top seven.

7. Iowa at Wisconsin, Feb. 22

Both teams are expected to take a dip after losing stars to the NBA (Johnny Davis and Keegan Murray), so this late-season matchup could be a bubble battle of sorts. It’s also a fun game contrast of styles, with the Badgers’ typically strong defense vs. the Hawkeyes’ potent offense.

6. Indiana at Rutgers, Dec. 3

It’s the second Big Ten game of the season (following Maryland-Illinois on Dec 2), but it’s critical for the Hoosiers, who enter as a conference favorite — and will be coming off their ACC-Big Ten matchup with UNC. The RAC has derailed would-be champions before (ask Purdue last season). Can Indiana come away with a road win?

5. Ohio State at Michigan State, March 4

The Buckeyes might be a middle-of-the-pack team in 2022-23. Replacing five starters — including two NBA draft picks in Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell — isn’t a small thing. This is their regular-season finale and may be their last chance at a Q1 win if they’re on the bubble.

4. Purdue at Michigan, Jan 26

A throwback matchup. Dickinson and Zach Edey are the conference’s two best big men, and perhaps the two best players. Still, question marks about both teams’ supporting casts mean that an X-factor could decide this game.

3. Michigan State at Illinois, Jan 17

Both feature balanced rosters and rotations. But are there any stars between Michigan State and Illinois? It’s a significant early game for both teams, particularly the Spartans. Their brutal non-conference schedule means they can’t afford many road losses in league play.

2. Michigan at Michigan State, Jan 7

Forget the blowouts from last season. This in-state rivalry is one of the rare home-and-home matchups (hard to do when you have 20 conference games) and there’s plenty of intrigue in this matchup. Do the Spartans have an answer for Dickinson? Can the Wolverines handle the veteran backcourt of Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard? When they see each other again on Feb. 18, it’ll be interesting to see what it means for Big Ten tourney seeding.

1. Michigan at Indiana; Illinois at Purdue, March 5

OK, we cheated. The last day of conference play features two games that will likely decide the regular-season champ.

Can you imagine the environment at Assembly Hall if the Hoosiers need the win to clinch a title and a 1-seed in the conference tournament? Or if Michigan needs to win for its resume? Can the Illini piece together yet another top 2 finish, or can the Boilermakers play spoiler — and potentially get a Q1 win of their own?

2. The forgotten Ace in the hole?

The countdown continues for the top 100 players in college hoops for The Almanac, which is ON SALE RIGHT NOW!! The latest tease comes in the ranking of players 60-57.

Oddly enough, these are four completely different players. Roach is the talented yet enigmatic point guard for Duke. Gardner is a steady and consistent scoring forward for Virginia. Ware is a 5-star freshman big with incredible athleticism. And Baldwin may be the most underrated individual not only of this group but possibly in all of college basketball.

Despite rupturing his Achilles tendon last offseason and missing the first eights of the 2021-22 campaign, Baldwin came back and looked as good as ever. He averaged 11.4 ppg, 5.5 apg, and 2.5 steals per game last season. While those numbers don’t jump off the page, VCU plays at a slower pace offensively, which naturally affects everyone’s numbers.

Baldwin came onto the scene as an elite perimeter defender but his offensive game has caught up. And yet, he’s getting nowhere near the attention of fellow A-10 floor generals like Malachi Smith (Dayton) and Yuri Collins (Saint Louis). Those two are on the preseason favorites of the conference, with Baldwin and the Rams projected around the 3-spot. But don’t be surprised if the junior playmaking guard takes VCU into a three-team race for the A-10 regular-season title.

3. Three programs land 2023 commits

The steady flow of 2023 recruits committing to schools continued Thursday. Here’s a snapshot of who went where.

Kachi Nzeh, Xavier

Nzeh is a 3-star frontcourt prospect who picked Xavier over Saint Louis, Iowa and VCU. The 6-9, 220-pound big plays with high energy and effort and is a physical player down low.

For the Musketeers, he’s potentially the final piece in an already loaded recruiting class. They landed a trio of top-100 perimeter players in (Tre Green, Reid Ducharme, Dailyn Swain) and needed a frontcourt player, with both Zach Freemantle and Jack Nunge set to leave after next season.

Austin Ball, George Mason

A 3-star sharpshooter out of Charlottesville, Virginia, Ball picked George Mason over fellow A-10 program Richmond. He’s a 6-7 small forward who can shoot the lights out. His size makes it easy to get his shot off.

The Patriots will need Ball to have an impact early on once he gets onto campus. They’re likely to lose star forward and leading scorer Josh Oduro after the season, as well as sharpshooter veteran DeVon Cooper. And if 6-7 wing Davonte Gaines doesn’t opt to take a fifth year, Ball could see a sizeable role as a freshman.

Babacar Mbengue, DePaul

The 7-foot center is a borderline 4-star prospect according to 247sports. He’s got good mobility for a big man and can be an impactful defender. DePaul was in big need of a big man commit; their current bigs (Yor Anei and Nick Ongenda) are seniors. So t it’s likely the Blue Demons just landed their future starting center.

TRIVIA TIME

Different eras

Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday after a reign of 70 years as the United Kingdom Monarch. That’s a ton of NCAA Tournament brackets to complete!

What program won when she first assumed the throne?

Answer at the bottom of the Daily.

THE FAST BREAK

Links as you keep checking Twitter for tributes to (and memes of) Queen Elizabeth II.

• John Brannen and Cincinnati reached a settlement agreement in his firing.

• North Carolina added its first recruit of 2024 in 4-star wing Drake Powell.

• Antoine Davis has a shot at Pistol Pete’s record … not to mention a lot of NIL money flowing in.

• There’s zero doubt more conference expansion is coming. “When” is the question.

• Fox Sports’ John Fanta talks with new Florida coach Todd Golden.

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Trivia answer: Kansas, meaning the Jayhawks were the first and last teams that won the Big Dance during her reign.