BTN's Tom Dienhart: B1G Buy/Sell Stock

It’s Friday and time for my Big Ten basketball 3-Pointers, my look back at the week that was in the Big Ten—with a sneak peek at what’s to come. It has been a good week to be Minnesota and Indiana. It hasn’t been such a good week to be Ohio State and Illinois. And if you’re Richard Pitno’s jacket from Thursday night, you had a little bit of good and bad this week. Read on, Big Ten fans!
Three Stocks to Buy:

1. Minnesota. Dinkytown residents probably woke up this morning to hear chants of “Ski-U-Mah!” Why not? Minnesota looks legit after last night’s win over visiting Ohio State, ranked No. 11. The Golden Gophers are 3-2 in the Big Ten. And the losses were a three-point defeat at home to Michigan and an overtime setback at Michigan State. Both teams remain unbeaten in conference action. No doubt, the Gophers are early surprise in the Big Ten.

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Three Things I Learned:

2. Yes, Minnesota’s Richard Pitino has been impressive. But John Beilein is my early leader for Big Ten Coach of the Year. Not only has he had to deal with replacing stalwarts like Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr., but Beilein also has had to make do without Mitch McGary for much of this season. The result: a 12-4 overall mark and 4-0 Big Ten record all while playing one of the nation’s top schedules.
3. Speaking of Richard Pitino, his Gophers are legit. The win over Ohio State last night was yet another brick in the wall for a young coach and his overlooked team that continues to cobble together a resume that may be NCAA tourney worthy when it’s all said and done. The Minnesota mojo is off the charts right now.

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Three Impressive Wins:

3. Minnesota 63, Ohio State 53

The Gophers roll on, moving to 3-2 in the Big Ten with a victory over the No. 11 team in the nation. Minnesota may have a gem in JC transfer point man DeAndre Mathieu, who outplayed the more ballyhooed Aaron Craft in helping propel Minnesota to victory. This is the signature win of the Richard Pitino era—for now. Elliott Eliason (12 points; 13 rebounds) helped the Gophers dominate in the paint vs. an OSU team that has lost three in a row.

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