Big Ten Basketball Midweek? Weekend? Wherever we are, this is a kinda-preview.

Honestly I don’t have much for you.

There was a fucking coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol yesterday.

Here’s some basketball shit happening tonight and this weekend. We recorded a podcast yesterday as this was all unfolding. I drank three beers over the course of the hour and twenty minutes it took. Maybe we’ll post that soon.

There was a fucking coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol yesterday.

Thursday

[This was supposed to go out yesterday, so I’ll c/p WSR’s preview of Minnesota-Michigan below. WSR didn’t know, he had no idea, and Michigan is scary good.]

WSR: Hello. Yes. I like basketball.

We’ve now beaten the hell out of two of the three state schools, and I like it. We’re still not a finished product, but this Gopher team may be the best one that Pitino’s assembled. I can’t wait for the rest of the season to prove me wrong.

I hope we get good Liam and not fouly Liam Robbins for this one. We’re going to need him.

Narrator: It...uh...

{WBB} #12 Maryland at #23 Michigan State

4pm | BTN

Ranked WBB on the main channel! Tune in!

{WBB} Nebraska at #15 Michigan

5pm | BTN+

{WBB} #19 Indiana at Penn State

5pm | BTN+

#16 Ohio State at Illinois

6pm | BTN+

#5 Iowa Hawkeyes at Maryland Terrapins

6pm | ESPN2 | Iowa -6 | O/U 154.5

lol enjoy dakich, jerks

DJ: Reports are that Turgeon is losing the locker room. And the long remainder of the season begins until he is let go after the season. Not entirely sure on the exact reason, but apparently players are just in FU mode not listening to him on passing the ball are the reports. I’d heavily guess sub patterns play a part as he’s continually playing a walk on guard for over ten minutes a night that make his offenses 4 on 5.

He’s been calling it out in press conferences, etc. and that’s not sitting well.

Fans are frustrated he punted on recruiting a center or pg for this year. It’s no secret that after a senior season you do need a PG to replace the departing one and all.

Oh, this is for previews? Luka Garza puts up a 20/20 night, if not 30/20. Maryland has no interior defense whatsoever.

Indiana Hoosiers at #8 wisconsin badgers

6pm | FS1 | wisc -8 | O/U 130.5

Candystripes: When the Hoosiers can get more people than just TJD going on offense, they have a much easier time winning games than when they’re a 1 or 0 person offense. This statement is pretty much evergreen for this season. Apparently, Maryland didn’t get the memo, and for that, I’m grateful.

Onto Wisconsin, uh..... oh, wait, this is at the Kohl Center? Badgers by whatever margin they want to name, probably.

beezer: Wisconsin is 17-3 against Indiana since 2010, and there’s absolutely no reason this Wisconsin team should lose to this Indiana team. But then this is the same Wisconsin team that shat the bed against a middling Maryland squad, so...

Should I be more confident about Wisconsin’s chances, given that they are one of only two teams in the top 10 on both offense and defense in this year’s KenPom? Sure. But again, Maryland.

#12 Illinois Fighting Illini at Northwestern Wildcats

8pm | BTN | Illinois -7 | O/U 150

MNW: I said it on the podcast as well, but this is like playing against Iowa’s lineup, only they play defense.

Focus on stopping Ayo Dosunmu and doubling Kofi Cockburn, spin the Chase Audige and Boo Buie wheel, and see where it comes up. Go ‘Cats.

Friday, January 8

Purdue Boilermakers at #23 Michigan State Spartans

6pm | FS1

Andrew K: In an unforgivable act wherein the teams scored 5 fewer total points than in the Indiana/Maryland game the same day, MSU put the clamps on Rutgers, though they were helped a bit by a spectacularly bad free throw shooting exhibition from the visitors.

Aaron Henry had his second consecutive excellent game, AJ Hoggard took another step as the new starting point guard, and after a 14-turnover first half, MSU looked more like a functional team after the break. Still want to see more of Mady Sissoko.

Saturday, January 9

[#10 Michigan at Penn State is postponed.]

Ohio State Buckeyes at #15 Rutgers Scarlet Knights

11am | BTN

This is a basketball game that will happen, for some reason. It’s on at 11am on a Saturday where there’s NFL and probably other basketball that’s actually good, so don’t bother.

{WBB} Iowa at #22 Northwestern

6pm | BTN

Acquaint yourself with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, who is getting deserved All-Big Ten looks for the eye-popping stat lines she’s putting up...as a freshman.

Put that up against a Northwestern team that’s scuffling as of late but has gotten a huge jump from junior Veronica Burton—part of the Northwestern legacy family—and is always a defensive threat with HC Joe McKeown’s Blizzard defense, and it’ll be a good one. Contrast in styles, two excellent coaches in McKeown and Lisa Bluder, worth a watch.

Sunday, January 10

What a day of basketball. Rutgers-Ohio State in women’s action on the U, ranked Iowa-Minnesota happening at 1:30, and also a night double-header on BTN that...well, it’s sure basketball!

{WBB} Purdue at #12 Maryland

11am | BTN+

{WBB} Illinois at #15 Michigan

12pm | BTN+

{WBB} Rutgers at #16 Ohio State

1pm | ESPNU

#16 Minnesota at #5 Iowa

1:30pm | BTN

{WBB} Wisconsin at #19 Indiana

2pm | BTN+

{WBB} Nebraska at #23 Michigan State

2pm | BTN+

{WBB} Penn State at Minnesota

4pm | BTN+

Indiana at Nebraska

5pm | BTN

Maryland at #12 Illinois

7pm | BTN

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That’s what we’ve got for you in the Big Ten world. Of course, you know I like to fuck around on weekday afternoons and watch bad basketball on weird channels, so here’s where I’ll be doing that on Thursday:

Other Basketball I’m Watching

NEC on the Run!

Central Connecticut Blue Devils at Bryant Bulldogs

3pm | NEC on the Run app | Bryant -13.5 | O/U 164.5

Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers at St. Francis (Brooklyn) Terriers

3pm | NEC on the Run app | SFBK -2.5 | O/U 135.5

Free app. On your Roku, Google Play, Apple, etc. You can now watch bad basketball a whole hour earlier than you otherwise would’ve!

Central Connecticut is one of the worst teams in the country, but Bryant is one of the fastest (4th in AdjT, a reasonable 142nd in AdjO), so that’s fun right off the bat.

On the other side, Mount St. Mary’s is one of the slowest teams (353rd AdjT) and the Terriers are one of the fastest (33rd AdjT) and worst defensively (311th AdjD).

Let’s get weird.

Idaho State Bengals at Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

7pm | PlutoTV | NAU -1.5 | O/U 132.5

Montana State Bobcats at Northern Colorado Bears

7:30pm | PlutoTV | UNC -4 | O/U 137

PlutoTV: Come for the Big Sky basketball, stay for the free reruns of Degrassi and Doctor Who! Or the other way around. Do you.

Also every. single. time. I see Northern Arizona abbreviated as NAU, I hear this blaring in my head over and over:

BYU Cougars at #1 Gonzaga Bulldogs

7:30pm | ESPN | Zaga -17 | O/U 163

Look, Gonzaga is one of the best college basketball teams I’ve ever seen...but BYU should be able to hang for a little bit. Dave Rose’s teams can usually shoot the ball, and hey look, it’s Matt Haarms!

UCLA Bruins at Arizona State Sun Devils

9:30pm | ESPN | UCLA -1 | O/U 148.5

Always watch the last game.

Various Soccerings

Lots of Spanish soccer on ESPN+ right now.

The Spanish Football Federation did a kind of fun thing with the Copa del Rey (their national professional knockout tournament like the FA Cup or US Open Cup, you get it): they guaranteed that upper-division teams would be forced to travel to the lower-division sides. Think if Alabama had to open the season by going TO Western Carolina, for example.

Copa Sudamericana

Coquimbo Unido vs. Defensa y Justicia

6:30pm | beIN

There is literally South American Champions League-type stuff on EVERY NIGHT. I have no idea how they play so many games, but gods bless ‘em.

Australian A-League

Newcastle Jets vs. Sydney FC

11:35pm | ESPN+

You currently are not spending your night owl time wisely—Australian soccer is back, and it’s as bad as ever!

Seriously, it’s like when you watch those old NBA clips from the 1990s and wonder “how the FUCK were the Pistons allowed to do that to anyone?!?”

Usually the games don’t kick off until 2:05am CT, but tonight we get a treat, for whatever reason! There are accents, fouls, bad soccer, and occasionally bangin’ goals. If you like soccer and are a night owl like me, stay up after Illinois-Northwestern and tune in.

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That’s what I’ve got for you! Here’s the hoops schedule, which I’ll try to update tomorrow.

Lemme know if they shoot any more terrorists. Here’s your thread for hoops.