None of this week’s games pits two teams with winning records in the Big Ten against one another. Let’s just get through this together, huh?
Tuesday
#22 Iowa Hawkeyes at Ohio State Buckeyes
IA: 21-6 (10-6 B1G) | OSU: 17-10 (7-9)
6pm | BTN | OSU -3.5 | O/U 140.5
Stewmonkey13: Iowa will attack Kaleb Wesson to get him in foul trouble. Given his history, it seems likely he’ll comply. This should let Garza and Cook feast in the post, which should lead to open looks from the outside, provided they’re willing to leave Jordan Bohannon.
It’s a road game in the Big Ten, though, and OSU is playing for a tourney spot, so I expect this to be yet another nail biter down the stretch.
Poll
Who you got?
#19 wisconsin badgers at Indiana Hoosiers
wi: 19-8 (11-5) | IU: 13-14 (4-12)
8pm | ESPN | wisc -2 | O/U 125.5
beezer07: Wisconsin has somehow won 19 of the last 21 games against Indiana, including several in a row. Indiana still has some very talented players and a seemingly good coach.
Which team shows up? The one that beat MSU somehow, or the one that has lost to basically everyone else? Hopefully it’s the latter and no Wisconsin players get injured and everyone ahead of Wisconsin in the standings loses and also Iowa.
Poll
How do you like your stripes?
Wednesday
#17 Maryland Terrapins at Penn State Nittany Lions
MD: 21-7 (12-5) | PSU: 11-16 (4-12)
5:30pm | BTN
DJ Carver: Maryland will make this game much closer than it should be. Penn State is playing very well lately, and Maryland has ratcheted its turnover game up, so I expect this to come to the wire with a mild expectation of an upset in Happy Valley.
Poll
Do you agree with DJ?
This poll is closed
-
40%
Yep! Upset alert in the Bryce Jord—OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
-
59%
No. Maryland wins, at a nice, respectable volume.
Illinois Fighting Illini at #14 Purdue Boilermakers
IL: 10-17 (6-10) | PU: 20-7 (13-3)
7:30pm | BTN
Boilerman31: I’m just going to point out the elephant in the room if you’re a Purdue fan. Carsen Edwards is in a funk. I’ve wondered aloud that he might be sick as I noticed during the Nebraska game that he was drinking from a separate Gatorade bottle than the team.
Regardless of what it is, he needs to find a way out of Funkytown if Purdue is going to claim at least a share of the B1G title. The schedule is friendly enough starting with a resurgent Illinois team that should be beatable enough. Assuming the funk continues, here’s hoping the emergence of Matt Haarms is enough to will the Boilers to a win in Mackey.
Thumpasaurus: Mediocre team loses to mediocre team. Meh. If this bothered you as a fan, you weren’t living in reality. That being said, I absolutely hate the way Pat Chambers’ Penn State team is and always has been a goon squad. Do us all a favor and either get fired or step up to a better job like Maryland-Eastern Shore.
Boilerman31: Psst, @thumpasaurus, this is a preview thread.
Thump: lmfao...dumb
Thump: Alright well, this will be a good test to see just how much Giorgi Bezhanishvili has progressed, because if he can stay on the court this whole game, Illinois will ruin some seasons in the Big Ten Tournament.
Expectations are kind of low, but we’re playing with house money. we established early on that we’re shitty enough to have no postseason, but then we established that we’re good enough to beat decent teams when they’re careless with the ball.
idunno, it feels like we’ll lose and the fans that were proclaiming ILLINOIS BAK will be screaming about how this is the end of the world.
Poll
That was...bleak.
This poll is closed
-
68%
And it only gets bleaker.
-
31%
A brief ray of hope in Illinois’ depressing existence.
Thursday
Nebraska Cornhuskers at #9 Michigan Wolverines
UNL: 15-13 (5-12) | MI: 24-4 (13-4)
6pm | ESPN | Mich -12.5 | O/U 130.5
I think our Nebraska contingent has given up. So have I.
Minnesota Golden Gophers at Northwestern Wildcats
MN: 17-11 (7-10) | NU: 12-15 (3-13)
8pm | ESPN2 | NU -1.5 | O/U 130.5
WhiteSpeedReceiver: The Timberwolves are 9-10 under Ryan Saunders, and he’s got three games against the Kings, Hawks, and Pacers. In a perfect world he’d be able to get 2 out of the 3, but they just haven’t been sharp lately.
Eric Mussleman’s Nevada bounced back nicely from their lackadaisical loss to SDSU and beat Fresno State on Saturday, and I hope they find a way to continue that momentum in their game Wednesday night against UNLV. The Rebs are a middle of the pack MWC team and shouldn’t be much of a problem at home for the Wolfpack (insert nWo Wolfpac theme song here).
Hopefully it’s a good week for people who should be interviewed by the Gophers in the near future.
MNW: lol this is on ESPN2 whyyyyy
Poll
Rate this preview on a helpful scale
This poll is closed
-
40%
1/10, and Minnesota wins
-
11%
1/10, and Northwestern wins
-
19%
10/10, and Minnesota wins
-
28%
10/10, and Northwestern wins, and this is MNW’s mother voting
Here’s your open thread for the week’s basketball. Stew and DJ promised something on Big Ten Tournament seeding coming soon, so be on the lookout for that, and I owe y’all some bracketology. In the meantime, don’t burn the place down.