BTP Team of the Week, Feb 17th-23rd: Stauskas Rejuvenated

We're nearing the end of the B1G's regular season (so sad, I know) but we've been getting the best out of some of the conference's top players recently and golly gee that is always fun to watch. Last week gave us a battle of the conference's leaders and surprise surprise, the victors had a couple of their stalwarts land on this edition of Team of the Week. But we mustn't forget about the league's hottest team in Lincoln and their stud scorer. So without further ado, your Team of the Week:

Co-Player of the Week: Terran Petteway, Nebraska - 2 GP, 27.5 ppg, 3 rpg, 15-31 FG (48%)

If you haven't started giving Petteway serious consideration for B1G player of the year, well, what are you waiting for? The sophomore Husker leads the conference in scoring at 18.4 ppg (19.4 in B1G games) and had perhaps his best scoring stretch last week with 26 against Penn State and 29 against Purdue, both games that Nebraska won handily. Tim Miles' team is peaking at the right time and with two more wins, they'll finish conference play with a winning record. I'd like to see the selection committee try and keep them out of the NCAA tournament with 10 wins in the B1G.

Co-Player of the Week: Nik Stauskas, Michigan - 1 GP, 25 pts, 5 ast, 3 reb, 9-13 FG (69%)

Stauskas' Wolverines only played one game last week, but it was a big one - Michigan squared off with fellow conference-toppers Michigan State and came out victorious, 79-70. It vaulted Michigan into sole possession of first place in the B1G and they now control their own destiny in the race for the conference title. John Beilein has done another fantastic job, but he should thank his lucky stars that he has a weapon like Stauskas on the floor. How good has the sophomore been this season? His true shooting percentage of 65.9% is second to only Wisconsin's Josh Gasser among B1G players who play at least 60% of available minutes, and Stauskas' usage rate (23.2%) is nearly double that of Gasser's (12.7%). This is all to say - Stauskas takes a lot of shots and makes a lot of them. And in the game of basketball, this is a decidedly good thing.

Caris LeVert, Michigan - 1 GP, 23 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 7-15 FG (47%)

There was a lot of talk about where LeVert *should* have ended up in college, having originally committed to John Groce's Ohio before he left to become Illinois' head man. Beilein swooped in, as he is wont to do (did you know Trey Burke was originally committed to Penn State? /hits head on desk) and the rest is ongoing history, as Michigan State witnessed on Sunday. LeVert dropped 23 at Crisler and coupled with Stauskas' efforts, the Wolverines handled Sparty with about as much ease as possible against a Tom Izzo team.

Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin - 1 GP, 21 ppg, 7 rpg, 8-13 FG (61.5%)

From our resident Badger slash pork products expert (I assume) Drew Hamm:

Wisconsin only had one game this past week, a slugfest victory over Iowa on Saturday, but Frank the Tank still made an impact on our contributors. Kaminsky filled up the stat sheet and added a block, a game-changing steal, and two assists. The big fella commanded double teams down low and if he continues to play at this level, the Badgers will be a tough out come tourney time.

Roy Devyn Marble, Iowa - 1 GP, 21 points, 11 assists, 8-19 FG (42%), 2-4 3pt FG (50%)

And now, here's something we hope you'll really enjoy - Aaron Yorke on Roy Devyn Marble:

Thanks to a beam falling down at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Marble and the Hawekeys only played one game this week. They lost that game to Wisconsin 79-74, but it wouldn't have even been that close without Marble's outstanding effort. The senior scored 21 points while posting a season-high 11 assists to pace Iowa, which became the first big Ten team in 15 years to lose despite having a player put up at least 20 points and 10 assists. A major beneficiary was Josh Oglesby, who matched a season high with 17 points despite not being great at setting up his own shot.