Athlon Sports tabs Zeller as Big Ten freshman of the year

  • 09/25/2011 8:54 pm in

The third preseason college basketball preview magazine of the fall is out and Indiana forward Cody Zeller is the preseason pick for Big Ten freshman of the year by Athlon Sports.

As we mentioned back on September 6, Athlon has the Hoosiers finishing ninth in the conference with a bit to the N.I.T.

Here is the complete order of finish for the league, according to Athlon: 1. Ohio State, 2. Wisconsin, 3. Michigan State, 4. Michigan, 5. Illinois, 6. Purdue, 7. Northwestern, 8. Minnesota, 9. Indiana, 10. Iowa, 11. Nebraska, 12. Penn State.

Christian Watford also received some accolades as he was selected preseason third team All-Big Ten. Athlon’s first team All-Big Ten is Jared Sullinger, Jordan Taylor, William Buford, Trevor Mbawke and John Shurna.

The two other hoops previews on newsstands see the Big Ten as follows:

Sporting News: 1. Ohio State, 2. Wisconsin, 3. Michigan, 4. Michigan State, 5. Purdue, 6. Indiana, 7. Northwestern, 8. Minnesota, 9. Illinois, 10. Iowa, 11. Nebraska, 12. Penn State.

Lindy’s: 1. Ohio State, 2. Michigan, 3. Michigan State, 4. Illinois, 5. Wisconsin, 6. Purdue, 7. Northwestern, 8. Minnesota, 9. Iowa, 10. Indiana, 11. Nebraska, 12. Penn State.

If you average the finishes of all three, here’s a look at how the league could shake out:

Composite: 1. Ohio State, 2. Michigan, 2. Wisconsin, 4. Michigan State, 5. Purdue, 6. Illinois, 7. Northwestern, 8. Minnesota, 9. Indiana, 10. Iowa, 11. Nebraska, 12. Penn State.

Filed to: ,