In a conference full of uncertainty, Illinois may be the most unpredictable team, not just from game to game but within games themselves. Along with leading scorer Warren Carter and Rich McBride leaving, any sort of reliability has left as well. When Illinois can score, they are a tough team to beat, but not even Michael Jordan’s son has been able to get the team above 60 points every night.

What we know:
On any given night, Illinois can beat almost any good team or lose to any not so good team. They did everything but win the game against a very good Arizona team, and played respectably (at least better than most Big Ten schools) against Maryland and Duke. They regained bragging rights over up and coming Missouri, but can you brag that much after home losses Miami of Ohio and Tennessee State? Illinois might still be good enough to reach the NCAA tournament, but not unless they gain some semblance of consistency. Bruce Weber has his work cut out for him.

Who to watch:

• Chester Frasier may be the best guard without a jump shot in the Big Ten. He averages only 5 ppg, but more than makes up for it with 4 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game. And he is only 6′2″.

• Shaun Pruitt continues to build off last year remarkable improvement. He has upped his scoring average to 13 ppg and his rebounding more than 8 per game. He also has learned that passing the ball is occasionally a good thing, having already doubled last seasons assist total ( 14 this season, 7 last season).

How they’ll do:

Wins: Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, at Purdue, Northwestern, Purdue, at Penn State, Wisconsin, at Michigan, at Iowa, Minnesota

Losses: at Wisconsin, at Indiana, at Ohio State, at Michigan State, Indiana, at Minnesota, at Michigan State

Record: 11-7 (19-12 overall) and firmly on the bubble

What we don’t know:

Which is the real Illinois, the team that all but beat Arizona or the team that lost to Tennessee State?

So far this year Northwestern is known for its star player leaving taking a leave of absence to be with his cancer-stricken mother and losing to Brown. It is going to be another long year in Evanston. The loss to Brown (don’t worry Northwestern, you’ll always have academics) wasn’t a complete surprise, Kevin Coble’s decision to be with his mother while she underwent chemotherapy was, but a pleasant one. It is a nice to see a kid keep things in perspective, and realize that family is more important than a few basketball games. I just hope opposing fans realize this too.

What we know:

Northwestern is terrible, horrible, no good, and very bad, and they don’t really have an excuse. Iowa has a new coach and lost their best player, Michigan lost their starting line up, has a new coach, and played a ridiculous non-conference schedule. Northwestern is just…Northwestern. In addition to their aforementioned loss to Brown, they’ve won games that most other teams would consider losses. A two point victory against at Western Michigan and a 10 point win at home over Savannah State aren’t much to brag about. But, NU has won four in a row, so maybe things are at least looking horizontally in Evansville (maybe someday things will be looking up).

Who to watch:

• If and when Kevin Coble returns to the team (he hopes to be back for the Big Ten season) he is a force to be reckoned with. He led the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding last year, and is already considered to be the best player in Northwestern history. This is a bit like being considered the best mountain climber in the Netherlands, but its something.
• Michael Thompson is just a freshman, but he sure isn’t acting like it. He averages 13 points, 5 assists, and only two turnovers per game.

How they’ll do:

Wins: Michigan, Minnesota (Whelsh-Ryan is cursed), Iowa

Losses: Penn State, at Ohio State, at Minnesota, at Wisconsin, Michigan State, at Illinois, at Indiana, at Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, at Iowa, Indiana, at Michigan, at Purdue, Wisconsin

Record: 3-15 (9-20 assuming the split against Chicago State and Texas-Pan American)

What we don’t know:

What impact will Coble have after sitting out for for the first couple months of the season?

After watching last year’s edition of the Gopher basketball team, I know the despair and frustration of watching a helpless basketball team led by a hopeless coach. I know how heartbroken Jay Gatsby felt when thought he had rejected by Daisy. I know the excruciating pain Opheila experienced when Hamlet stabbed Polonius, and I understand the heart-wrenching anguish of King Lear when he was betrayed by his sons. One would think that this intimate understanding with disappoint would lead me to at least be slightly empathetic to the plight of Iowa Hawkeyes fans this year. Well, one would be wrong. Who hates Iowa?

What we know:
The days of Jess Settles, Chris Kingsbury, and Dr. Tom Davis’s famous airball jump pass are long gone, and won’t be back any time soon. New coach Todd Lickliter was able to turn Butler into a sort of mid-western Gonzaga, but Iowa City isn’t a basketball hot-bed like Indianapolis, and Lickliter probably wasn’t expecting this when he signed on to coach an above .500 in conference play team.

Like Michigan, many of Iowa’s struggles have been due to departures. Steve Alford decided that Iowa City wasn’t nearly desolate enough, and headed southwest to New Mexico, and leading scorers and rebounders Adam Haluska and Tyler Smith ran out of eligibility. The cupboard wasn’t left completely bare, but Iowa’s four projected senior starts haven’t been able to contribute because of injuries or that they were never any good to begin with.

Iowa doesn’t have Michigan’s excuse of an overly ambitious non-conference schedule. Even when Tony Freeman’s injury is taken into account, they shouldn’t be this bad. In half their games, the Hawkeyes have failed to score 60+ points, including in bad losses at home against Iowa State and Louisiana Monroe.

Who to watch:

• Justin Johnson is one Iowa senior who has stepped it up, raising his scoring average by 10 while regularly jacking up more than 10 three pointers a game (and missing at least 9 three times. Maybe the days of Chris Kingsbury aren’t completely over?
• Jeff Peterson has the job of filling Tony Freeman’s shoes until he is healthy. He won’t be able to play like a freshman if Iowa hopes to turn this lost season around.

How they’ll do:

Wins: Penn State, Michigan, Northwestern
Losses: Indiana, at Wisconsin, at Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue, at Michigan, at Indiana, at Purdue, Ohio State, Wisconsin, at Michigan State, at Penn State, Illinois, at Northwestern

Record: 3-15 (10-21 assuming they beat SE Louisiana on December 29

What we don’t know:

Will a healthy Tony Freeman be enough to at least make Iowa look like a team with four senior starters?

Michigan knew it would be a long year long before the season began. They lost their four leading scorers, top assist man, top two rebounds, and their best shot blocker during the off season. With the hiring of Jim Beilein, thing could be looking up in the not to distant future. Until then, at least they have a coach who owns a tie.

What we know
The Michigan Wolverines come into the Big Ten Season as the only sub-.500 team in the conference. Part of the reason for their woeful record is that they have played one of the most difficult schedules in the Big Ten. Most teams would have struggled against UCLA and at Duke, Butler, and Georgetown, but it is hard to come up with excuses for losses to Central Michigan and Harvard, neither of which were particularly close games. Coaches are often criticized for easy non-conference schedules, but this year’s Michigan team proves that the real goal of non-conference schedule should be to prepare a team for success, regardless of the quality of the opponents.

Who to watch:

• Deshawn Sims has emerged as the teams second leading scorer, improving from last year by 10 ppg
• Manny Harris, a 6′5″ freshman guard averages almost 16 ppg. He isn’t shy about shooting the three, and will have plenty opportunities in Beilien’s system, but hasn’t consistently been able to knock them down.

How they’ll do:

Wins: Iowa, Penn State, Northwestern
Losses: Wisconsin, at Purdue, Indiana, at Illinois, at Wisconsin, at Michigan State, Minnesota, at Ohio State, at Iowa, Ohio State, at Minnesota, Illinois, at Northwestern, Purdue, at Penn State

Record: 3-15 (7-23 overall)

What we don’t know
How will Michigan’s player adjust to Beilien’s…interesting system, and what happens if they are the wrong players or its the wrong system? Where art though Pittsnogle 2.0?

College basketball, more so than any other sport, is difficult to predict at the beginning of the season. Graduating seniors, underclassmen leaving early, players transferring or leaving for any number of reasons, incoming transfers and freshman, and coaching changes (among other factors) can dramatically alter a teams chances of success from season to season. While some teams are more or less a sure thing at the beginning of a season, for many teams, it is simply better to wait and see.

This is especially true in the Big Ten this season. Everyone knew Michigan State and Indiana would be the class of the conference, but no one really knew just how good they would be. Iowa and Northwestern were predicted to struggle, but did anyone really think they would lose to Louisiana Monroe and Brown respectively? The rest of the conference was even more unpredictable in early November when most previews were published, either because of graduating superstars (Wisconsin, Ohio State), a new coach (Michigan), new future superstars (Purdue and Ohio State again), past underachievers (Penn State), or will struggle getting by without their racist dancing mascot (Illinois).

Now that we finally know something about each team, as the non-conference schedule winds down and the excitement about the conference season winds up, I’ll be writing previews (many of them terribly ill-informed), hopefully a couple each day, during the next several days. When I get to your team, feel free to share your thoughts as well. After all, I couldn’t spell Okrzesik, Obradovic, Finkelmeier, or Kosta Koufos without looking them up.