2020 Maven/Sports Illustrated All-Big Ten Selections

In a private vote of the publishers/editors of Maven/Sports Illustrated news sites, Iowa center Luka Garza was unanimously selected as the league’s player of the year selection and Wisconsin’s Greg Gard unanimously named the conference’s coach of the year selection.

The Maven/SI first-team selections were Garza, Minnesota’s Daniel Oturu, Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu, Michigan State’s Cassius Winston and Maryland’s Anthony Cowan.

Each publisher of a site in a Big Ten Conference market was asked to submit a ballot with five first-team selections, five second-team selections, five all-defensive team selections, five all-freshman team selections, a player of the year, a coach of the year and a defensive player of the year.

Gard, who officially won the league’s coach of the year, was selected by every participant of the Maven/SI voting after leading Wisconsin to a three-way share of the Big Ten regular-season championship with Maryland and Michigan State. The Badgers enter the upcoming conference tournament with eight consecutive wins and a 21-10 overall record.

The defensive player of the year selection was a tie between Oturu and Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman. Tillman, who was also named to the league’s second-team, was officially named to the league’s defensive award earlier Monday afternoon.

The second-team All-Big Ten voted by Maven/SI publishers was Michigan’s Zavier Simpson, Penn State’s Lamar Stevens, Tillman, Ohio State’s Kaleb Wesson and Mayland’s Jalen Smith. Maven/SI publishers voted Michigan State’s duo of Winston and Tillman to the league's all-defensive team along with Penn State’s Jamari Wheeler, Maryland’s Jalen Smith and Minnesota’s Oturu.

Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis was voted by Maven/SI publishers as the league’s freshman of the year. Illinois center Kofi Cockburn was officially named to the league’s first-year award. The Maven/SI all-freshman team was Jackson-Davis, Cockburn, Michigan’s Franz Wagner, Iowa’s CJ Frederick and a tie for the final spot between Northwestern’s Ryan Young and Iowa’s Joe Toussaint.

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NOTE: The following was my individual ballot as part of the first annual Maven/SI All-Big Ten voting process.

First Team

Luka Garza - Iowa

Jalen Smith - Maryland

Lamar Stevens - Penn State

Cassius Winston - MSU

Ayo Dosunmu - Illinois

Second Team

Kaleb Wesson - OSU

Xavier Tillman - MSU

Anthony Cowan - Maryland

Daniel Oturu - Minnesota

Nate Reuvers - Wisconsin

All-Defensive Team

Tillman

Smith

Da'Monte Williams - Illinois

Zavier Simpson - Michigan

CJ Walker - Ohio State

All-Freshman Team

Trayce Jackson-Davis - Indiana

Kofi Cockburn - Illinois

Franz Wagner - Michigan

Ryan Young - Northwestern

CJ Frederick - Iowa

Player of the Year: Garza

Freshman of the Year: Jackson-Davis

Defensive Player of the Year: Tillman

Coach of the Year: Greg Gard - Wisconsin

Sixth Man of the Year: Micah Potter, Wisconsin

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