Sunday, January 29th

Purdue Boilermakers 77, Michigan State Spartans 61

BoilerUp89: Zach Edey set a new career high with 38 points, Mackey Arena set a new decibel record at 123.2, and Purdue was in control for most of this one. The Boilers were 41.7% from three, which makes them fairly difficult to defend when combined with Edey.

Michigan State didn’t actually shoot poorly (47.9% from the field and 50% from three), but they had 10 less field goal attempts than Purdue due to having 5 more turnovers and being outrebounded by 11.

Penn State Nittany Lions 83, Michigan Wolverines 61

MaximumSam: The Nits went to plaid in this game. They were up 31-30 with a few minutes left in the first half. PSU went into bombs away mode, Michigan couldn’t generate any offense, and ten minutes into the second half it was 72-41 and everyone was making plans for Sunday gravy.

BoilerUp89: Penn State went with a new lineup and found a way to attack Hunter Dickinsons defense. Micah Shrewsberry is a really good coach.

Iowa Hawkeyes 93, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 82

MaximumSam: A high tempo, high scoring game is about the dead opposite of what Rutgers is trying to do, and this game was the Anti-Rutgers Experience. They could never get Iowa off their rhythm, and the Hawkeyes shot the ball well from deep (12/24). With Purdue sweeping Sparty and Rutgers now with four losses, it’s tough to see anyone but Purdue winning the conference. Only Northwestern can save us.

Tuesday, January 31st

#117 Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-12, 3-8) at #39 Illinois Fighting Illini (15-6, 6-4), 6 pm, BTN

MaximumSam: It’s been a rocky road, but Illinois is resembling the team that we expected before the season. Over the last 7 games they are 6-1 and outside of getting ripped by TJD they’ve been pretty dominant. Matt Mayer has developed into that versatile second option, so they have two major scoring threats in him and Terrence Shannon. Torvik picks them here, too, 72-62.

#30 Indiana Hoosiers (15-6, 6-4) at #61 Maryland Terrapins (14-7, 5-5), 8 pm, ESPN2

MaximumSam: Ditto for the Hoosiers, who are rolling with five straight wins and only getting pushed by, uh, Minnesota. TJD has been a beast under the basket, but they also have four guys shooting over 40% from three. Sometimes the game is simple - have a big guy and surround him with shooters. They face a Maryland team that has righted the ship a little bit. Torvik picks the Terps, 71-70.

BoilerUp89: Willard has been extremely complementary of TJD calling him the best player in the conference. Indiana has been rolling, but it's a bit of a trap game being just days before the highly anticipated home game vs Purdue. Maryland is a good squad with challenging defense and needs a big win to boost their tournament resume.

#43 Northwestern Wildcats (15-5, 6-3) at #50 Iowa Hawkeyes (13-8, 5-5), 8 pm, BTN

MaximumSam: The Great White (and Purple) Hope, Northwestern is in second place in the conference and has the second best record overall. They get a tough trip to Iowa to try and keep pace. In their favor is the fact that you can see the recap of the game Iowa just played Sunday, so perhaps their little legs are tired and they probably got a lot of elbows from Rutgers. Torvik picks the Hawkeyes, 77-73.

BoilerUp89: This is a makeup game for the original NU-Iowa game that was postponed due to COVID. If Iowa loses I expect their fanbase will be completely reasonable and in no way blame this loss