Saturday, February 4th

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 61, Michigan State Spartans 55

MaximumSam: Rutgers gets sole possession of second place and is the biggest threat to the Purdue hegemony. This one was a rock fight early - at the ten minute mark it was 7-6. I was sitting at Roosters and someone said the only reason to watch the game was if I was betting on it. Nonsense - this is BIG TEN BASKETBALL.

Iowa Hawkeyes 81, Illinois Fighting Illini 79

MaximumSam: Heck of a game. The arena was rocking, the teams went back and forth, but ultimately Tony Perkins of all people was the hero. He dropped 32 points on just 11 shots and Iowa needed every one of them. Well, I guess they could’ve gotten by if he scored 31, in retrospect.

Indiana Hoosiers79, Purdue Boilermakers 74

BoilerUp89: A really disappointing first half for Purdue as they let Indiana get hot, the Hoosiers scored 48 points, and the Boilermakers turned the ball over again and again. While the second half was a lot better (Indiana scored just 29 points), you can’t dig yourself a 16 point hole against a quality opponent and give yourself a good shot in a game.

Going 10 of 17 from the free throw was another back breaker and arguably the difference in the game. Indiana went 15 of 18 from the charity stripe.

Edey had 33 points and 18 rebounds. TJD had 25 points and 7 rebounds.

MaximumSam: Great game, and we got the Hoosiers rushing the court at the end, which always leads to Discourse on when teams should be allowed to rush the court.

Maryland Terrapins 81, Minnesota Gophers 46

MaximumSam: Damn Maryland. It’s better to be the ass kicker than the ass kickee, huh?

Sunday, February 5th

#36 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-11, 3-8) at #63 Michigan Wolverines (12-10, 6-5), 12 pm, CBS

BoilerUp89: If this was football someone might care. Instead it’s basketball. Both fanbases are discussing whether their coach should be fired, but neither will be. Primarily because their ADs don’t want to spend that much money on basketball, but also because they have good recruiting classes.

#43 Penn State Nittany Lions (14-8, 5-6) at #121 Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-13, 3-9), 3:30 pm, BTN

BoilerUp89: Penn State will try to rejoin the ranks of the .500+ squads while Nebraska clings to respectability.

MaximumSam: Penn State is on the back end of the mushy middle and needs a win to keep pace. Teams ranked 2nd through 11th are in a log jam, though an 11th place finish means an extra game against Minnesota, so there is that. Torvik goes Nits, 68-65.

#54 Northwestern Wildcats (15-7, 6-5) at #75 Wisconsin Badgers (13-8, 5-6), 5:30 pm, BTN

BoilerUp89: Northwestern has had a tough week. This will either be their bounce back game or the back breaker that officially sends their season into a nosedive.

MaximumSam: The Cats are in a bit of a tailspin, having loss two straight in mostly uncompetitive fashion. From second place to the mushy middle, they have a tough slate to finish. They could really use a 35-32 win today, is what I’m saying. Torvik goes Badgers in a barnburner, 62-60.