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Three B1G coaches named to Naismith Coach of the Year late season watch list
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Three B1G head coaches have found their names on the late season watch list for the Naismith Coach of the Year award.
Friday, 15 finalists for the prestigious coaching award were named to the late season watch list, with three of those names coming out of the B1G. Penn State’s Pat Chambers, Rutgers’ Steve Pikiell and Illinois’ Brad Underwood were the three names to be named to the watch list.
The Big 12 and Big East also had three coaches each selected.
Penn State is enjoying one of the best basketball seasons in recent memory, sitting 20-6 on the season with a 10-5 mark in conference play. Currently, the Nittany Lions are alone in second place in the B1G, two games behind Maryland at the top spot. PSU is 4-1 against teams ranked in the Associated Press poll this year.
Rutgers has been a great story in college basketball, particularly while playing at home. The Scarlet Knights were an outstanding 17-0 at The RAC this season, before dropping their first home contest to Michigan earlier in the week. Pikiell has had Rutgers ranked occasionally throughout the year, and the team is currently 9-7 against B1G competition and 18-9 overall.
Illinois has also filtered in and out of the rankings this season, positing a 17-9 record with a 9-6 mark in league games. The Fighting Illini have been one of the better teams in the conference away from home this year, posting a 5-5 mark in true road games.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB