Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, February 6, 2015

Who is the Big Ten coach of the year up to this point? There are some good candidates. You can make a case for Purdue?s Matt Painter, Maryland?s Mark Turgeon and Wisconsin?s Bo Ryan, among others.

I asked five leading Big Ten writers for their choices.

Lee Barfknecht, Omaha World Herald: Bo Ryan. Who else loses his three-year starting point guard and keeps winning? Get off my lawn, Bo says.

Mike Miller, Bloomington Herald-Times: Everyone else has been a flavor of the week. The Badgers have more talent than before, but they're still a reflection of Ryan's consistency.

Matt Charboneau, Detroit News: Bo Ryan. Not always easy being the favorite and the Badgers are still winning without Traevon Jackson.

Marcus Jackson, Champaign News-Gazette: Bo Ryan. They entered the season with huge expectations and have met them so far and they're doing it now without their starting point guard.

Scott Dochterman, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Purdue's Matt Painter. It seems this award rotates every few days since mid-January, from (Fran) McCaffery to (Tom) Crean and Turgeon to (John) Beilein. But Painter's squad finished last a year ago and now is tied for second. He lost several key parts but has reignited Purdue's traditional toughness. Many of his players have gotten better from non-conference play, which is a hallmark of a great coach.

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About Tom Dienhart BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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