Thursday, January 19th

Michigan State Spartans 70, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 57

MaximumSam: Rutgers continues its War on the Basket. The Knights went 6-41 on shots that weren’t at the rim, a truly confounding number for a team filled with what you imagine are Division 1 basketball players. For Sparty, freshman Jaxon Kohler put up a double double, which was important since Mady Sissoko has apparently given up scoring for 2023.

Maryland Terrapins 64, Michigan Wolverines 58

Indiana Hoosiers 80, Illinois Fighting Illini 65

MaximumSam: The TJD game. The game of TJD. The Hoosiers went to Champaign and put a whoopin’ on the Illini, led by TJD’s 35 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. Indiana went up double digits about halfway through the first half, and that was that. With this game and a whooping on Wisconsin, the Hoosiers are back in the race for the Big Ten and have responded well to some unfortunate injuries.

Purdue Boilermakers 61, Minnesota Gophers 39

MaximumSam: This game happened and and that is as much as I’m contractually obligated to say about it.

Saturday, January 21st

#46 Iowa Hawkeyes (12-6, 4-3) at #20 Ohio State Buckeyes (10-8, 2-5), 1 pm, FOX

MaximumSam: All right Buckeyes. Let’s call the past five games a bump in the road. Iowa knows all about bumps, having lost to Eastern Illinois and getting blown out by Nebraska. And they’ve responded! Four straight wins, including ones over Indiana and Rutgers. I think the key is Justice Sueing’s hair. Since switching from his usual poofy curls to the flat braids, the Buckeyes have lost to Minnesota and Nebraska and he has combined for 24 points total. It’s time to let his hair fly again. Holtmann must make this substitution. Torvik says OSU, 75-68.

#108 Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-9, 3-5) at #35 Penn State Nittany Lions (12-6, 3-4), 1:15 pm, BTN

MaximumSam: Nebraska will try to put together a winning streak in the Big Ten for the first time this season. Maybe ever under Hoiberg? I dunno, not looking it up. Derrick Walker will need to come up big underneath the basket. Torvik says PSU, 69-60.

Wisconsin Badgers at Northwestern Wildcats POSTPONED

MaximumSam: COVID has saved us from having to watch this game, at least for a moment. All hail COVID.