Another year, another puzzling coaches’ All-Big Ten defensive team.
Last season, to the shock of many, the coaches selected Maryland point guard Anthony Cowan, Jr. rather than Michigan point guard Zavier Simpson for their All-Big Ten defensive team. Little evidence, if any, supported this decision. Simpson led the third-best defense in the country, was 10th in the Big Ten in defensive rating, and was sixth in the Big Ten in defensive win shares. The Terps, on the other hand, were 67th in adjusted defensive efficiency and 12th in Big Ten-only defensive efficiency, and Cowan, Jr. was nowhere to be found on the conference leaderboard for defensive rating. Simpson had clearly been a better defender than Cowan, Jr., and the snub motivated Simpson to further prove as such in the postseason.
This season, the coaches rightfully remembered to add Simpson to their list.
However, the rest of this season’s All-Big Ten defensive team defies the numbers.
