Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, February 4, 2014

Now that all but one team (Nebraska) has officially reached the halfway point of the conference hoops season, it's time unveil the first installment of my weekly Big Ten Player of the Year tracker. Michigan State's Gary Harris tops my first list. Agree? Feel free to enter your thoughts in the comment box at the bottom of the post.

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1. Gary Harris, So., G – 44%, 18.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.0 spg. Have you heard Michigan State has had an injury-riddled season? Of course, you have. Well, Harris has been the steadying force for the shorthanded Spartans, and he's chipped in across the board. Most importantly, the sophomore star hasn't missed any time.

2. Nik Stauskas, So., G – 49%, 17.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.7 apg. Admittedly, had it not been for Sunday's clunker at Indiana, Stauskas would sit atop this list. The 1-of-6 effort, however, can't spoil what has been a special season for Stauskas, who is still averaging 17.2 points in Big Ten play, to go along with an eye-popping 2.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

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3. Devyn Marble, Sr., G. – 42%, 16.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.0 spg. Marble is the best player on the Big Ten's deepest team. Everyone knows the senior can score – he's averaged at least 11.5 points since his sophomore season – but he contributes in every facet of the game and on both ends of the floor.

4. Terran Petteway, So., G/F – 47%, 18.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.6 apg. The Texas Tech transfer has been fantastic all season, but he's averaging 19.5 points and 6.1 rebounds in Big Ten play for the surprising Huskers. He's been consistent, too, not having scored fewer than 15 points in any league game.

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5. Yogi Ferrell, So., G – 44%, 17.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.0 apg. Ferrell, not Nik Stauskas, leads the Big Ten in 3-pointers this season. The Indiana point man hit a career-high seven treys last time out vs. Michigan, while also shutting down the aforementioned Stauskas (1-of-6).

Others considered: Aaron White, Iowa; Keith Appling, Michigan State; Drew Crawford, Northwestern; Tim Frazier, Penn State; D.J. Newbill, Penn State; Sam Dekker, Wisconsin.

About Brent Yarina BTN.com senior editor Brent Yarina covers football and men's basketball for BTN.com. He writes the popular uniform feature "Clothes Call," which also focuses on the latest cosmetic changes across Big Ten arenas and stadiums. Read all of his work here. You can subscribe to Yarina's RSS feed and follow him on Twitter @BTNBrentYarina.