THIS IS A WEEKLY BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH, by Luke Maiers.

Is it the year of the big man in the Big Ten? It only makes sense that it would be because looking at the standings for the conference right now, no one team is pulling away. Part of this could be because the Big Ten as a whole is down this year. Or it could be that everyone in the conference is just bullying each other. After all, that is the way the Big Ten has always been. Hard, physical play inside resulting in the success of big men. Here are this week’s rankings.

5. Nate Mason- Next to Northwestern, the Gophers are probably the second most surprising team in the conference. Mason shoots, passes, and rebounds well, and if Minnesota could have finished out the power house that is Michigan State, they would only have one loss 17 games into their season. Mason has his team playing amazing right now, so if they keep balling, Mason’s stock will keep rising.

4. Thomas Bryant- Coming into this season, you could have said that Bryant was going to win Player of the Year for the Big Ten. Looking at it now, he is still in contention but his team has hit a bit of a skid. Bryant is probably the best all around player in the Big Ten, shooting 55% from the field, 74% on free throws, and 48% from deep. Bryant is one of those players that can bully you down low too.

3. Peter Jok- All Peter Jok does is bang from all spots on the floor. He can create his own shot, shoot off the dribble, and come off of pick-n-pops and sink shots all day. His defense can struggle at times, but he is one of the top players in the nation in scoring. On top of all of this, the Hawkeyes start four freshman and have a winning record. Jok is doing a lot for his team this year, and if he topples some of the names above him, he could win this award.

2. Ethan Happ- Are the Badgers ever a bad team? Bo Ryan left this team last season before conference play, and this team was in shambles, but the emergence of Happ helped this team make a run in the tournament last season. This season, Bucky is in the top 25 and Happ is damn near averaging a double-double. Happ struggled last game on the glass against the person who is number one in these rankings, but I’m sure he will get back at it here soon.

1. Caleb Swanigan- This kid is a stud. Swanigan has shooting numbers just as good as Bryant does, plus he is a way better rebounder and defender. The best thing about having Swanigan on your team is that even when he has a bad game, the other team has game planned around him so those annoying snipers Purdue has are just waiting to feast on the double teams down low, and bang threes. There is no good game plan for the Boilermakers. Just hope you are man enough to play them.