BREAKING: John Tonje now the favorite to win the Big Ten Player of the Year
The race for the Big Ten Player of the Year has changed dramatically over the last month. The season is in the final stretch of games and the preseason pick for this award has tripped over himself in the latest games while other players have emerged to steal the glory. The one that national pundits are pointing to right now is John Tonje. He truly may have taken over as the favorite to win the award.
Braden Smith has not played well lately and Tonje has exploded
The preseason pick and really the early season favorite was Purdue’s star point guard Braden Smith. The Boilermakers were looking to make it the third year in a row with the Big Ten Player of the Year. However, lately Smith has barely looked like a starter in the league, much less the best player. It doesn’t help that Purdue is on a dramatic descent with four straight losses.
Smith has scored 24, 6, 17, 8 in those losses. However, his last two games alone he’s turned the ball over six times in each contest. That’s rough.
Smith still could make a case as on the season he is at 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 8.7 assists on 44.4% shooting from the field. However, the Player of the Year awards often go to teams in the top part of the league. Which is why a player like Nick Martinelli from Northwestern who is leading the Big Ten in scoring won’t win it. Or even Dawson Garcia who may be the only reason Minnesota has found any success this year.
John Tonje has been impressive lately, even in the Oregon loss, he was turning heads and making a splash in the Big Ten Player of the Year race. He is averaging 19.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists on 48% shooting AND Wisconsin is one of the top teams in the Big Ten. They were predicted to finish 12th in the Big Ten but are currently in 3rd and one of the highest ranked Big Ten teams, you could argue that a big reason for that is Tonje.
This is a good case for the Big Ten Player of the Year. He may have emerged as the favorite to win it.
