Column: Sunday could decide the Big Ten POY race

Could Sunday’s game between No. 2 Indiana and No. 7 Michigan decide the Big Ten Player of the Year race between Victor Oladipo and Michigan’s Trey Burke?

Burke certainly thinks so.

“There’s some great players in this league, and I don’t want to sound like a guy who says ‘I should be player of the year,’” Burke said to Nick Baumgardner of annarbor.com. “But I definitely think I should be in consideration. I think it’ll just come down to Sunday, honestly.”

Entering Sunday, here’s how Burke and Oladipo stack up statistically after 30 games apiece. (Big Ten Conference rankings in parentheses.)

Oladipo: 27.7 minutes per game, 13.7 PPG (10th), 6.0 RPG (14th), 2.1 Assists per game, 2.3 steals per game (first), .083 blocks per game, 63.1 field goal percentage (first) and 49.1 three-point percentage (does not have enough attempts to qualify for conference rankings).

Burke: 35.1 minutes per game (fourth), 19.1 PPG (second), 3.2 RPG, 6.9 assists per game (first), 1.6 steals per game (sixth), .037 blocks per game, 49.2 field goal percentage (11th) and 38.4 three-point percentage (11th).

What makes both of these players special – outside of the box scores – is their ability to affect every aspect of the game in their own unique ways.

For the 6-foot point guard from Michigan, the way in which he uses his body to create space amongst the trees while scoring is truly remarkable.

Not only can he explode off of the ground like a jackrabbit, but once he’s in the air, Burke can contort his body in ways that would make Cirque du Soleil performers jealous.

This ability is unmatched in the college game and it is part of the reason why he finishes so well at the rim.

If there is one player in basketball who plays anything like Burke, it’s Derrick Rose because Rose utilizes the same type of body control that makes Burke an efficient finisher.

The difference between Rose’s game in college and where Burke stands in his sophomore season at Michigan is Burke’s refined jump-shooting ability and consistency.

In every Big Ten game this season, Burke has scored at least 15 points, including 26 points March 6, to help Michigan beat Purdue 80-76.

“He is a tremendous player,” Tom Crean said after IU defeated Michigan 81-73 Feb. 2 at Assembly Hall. “I get it. I’ve had a lot of respect for him for a long time but now you get in the game with him and he just plays. He doesn’t say anything to him or talks to his team. He just plays. He’s outstanding.”

For the junior from Upper Marlboro, Md., wearing the Crimson and Cream, it’s Oladipo’s quickness, efficiency and defensive play that has set him apart from the rest of Big Ten pack.

Oladipo has always been an exciting player to watch, but now he has become a guy you can’t take your eyes off on both ends of the floor because he never takes a play off.

His transformation into one of the most efficient players in the country was displayed when he scored a career-high 26 points on only 10 shots from the field during the Hoosiers’ win over Ohio State in February.

“I’ve seen a lot of players,” Michigan coach John Beilein said after losing to the Hoosiers in February. “I don’t know if I have seen one quicker or faster, more athletic than Oladipo. It’s tough to stay in front of him.”

Since the Big Ten started honoring the conference Player of the Year with an award in 1985, there have only been three seasons in which the conference gave out co-POY awards.

The last time this happened was in 1999-2000 season when IU’s A.J. Guyton and Michigan State’s Morris Peterson shared the distinction.

Can that happen this year?

I would say that the possibility of it happening is perhaps greater than any year since 2000, but realistically, both Burke and Oladipo have the opportunity to make a statement that pushes them ahead in the final game of the year.

That is why the outcome of Sunday’s game is huge. Aside from the impact on seeding for the Big Ten tournament, big performances can give one of these players an advantage in the minds of the voters.

Think about it.

Michigan was pretty much dead-and-buried after losing to Penn State last week, but then Trey Burke — in his signature moment of the season — carried the Wolverines on his back in a crucial victory against Michigan State that resurrected the Maize and Blue’s chances at sharing the Big Ten title.

If it wasn’t for Burke’s 21 points and eight assists, and more importantly, his two steals in the final 30 seconds of the game that sealed the victory for Michigan, the Wolverines could have fallen into a fifth seed for the Big Ten tournament, forcing them to play in the opening round of the tournament next Thursday.

Instead, Michigan’s stock is once again rising as they enter the final regular season contest of the season – largely thanks to Burke.

For Oladipo and the Hoosiers, Sunday was supposed to be the icing on top of the outright Big Ten regular season title cake that could have been captured March 5, against the Buckeyes.

Hoosier fans don’t need to be reminded of how that contest turned out, but now IU faces the potential predicament of a two-game losing streak to end the season if they lose to Michigan.

To outsiders looking in, an IU loss will be perceived as the Big Red machine losing steam and Oladipo’s chances to win the POY award could be affected by the negativity surrounding IU’s first losing streak of the year.

Of course, there is still a dark horse candidate out there in Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas, who leads the conference with an average of 19.8 PPG, while bringing in 6.2 rebounds per game.

But considering what’s at stake for Michigan and IU, the race for POY in the Big Ten could be decided by the victor on March 10.

That afternoon will be a battle for all the marbles in Ann Arbor.

Let the best man win.

Prediction: Hoosiers narrowly avoid their first two-game losing streak of the season. IU wins 73-71.

­— mdnorman@indiana.edu