Tuesday, February 28th

Iowa Hawkeyes 90, Indiana Hoosiers 68

MaximumSam: I’ll let Mike Woodson recap this one.

BoilerUp89: Since Fran stared down the ref, the Hawkeyes have scored 121 points in under 47 minutes of play.

Michigan State Spartans 80, Nebraska Cornhuskers 67

BigRedTwice: Well, the Huskers had a great night for a half and a bit more. MSU was ice cold, while the Huskers had a great deal of success finding the basket, racking up an impressive lead. However, fortunes flipped in the second half, as Nebraska struggled to find points (and hang on to the ball) as MSU simply could not miss from 3 (or really, from anywhere else as the second half wore on.)

While this was disappointing, it wasn’t wholly surprising, as MSU is a step up from most of the teams the Huskers faced (and beat) in February. Nebraska is spicy, but has significant limitations, and MSU had more than enough tools to exploit that. It’s a shame the Huskers had to end their home season with such a black eye, but it’s been a terrific February for them when no one from Michigan was involved, so I’ll focus on that.

MaximumSam: A tale of two halves. The Cornhuskers were up 12 at the break and looking like another case of Overachieving Husker. Then, the second half occurred. Nebraska still had a lead with fewer than nine minutes left, but then found themselves down 17. Sparty was great from deep (16-29) and A.J. Hoggard dished 14 assists. Guards are important!

Wednesday, March 1st

#25 Maryland Terrapins (20-9, 11-7) at #68 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-17, 4-14), 6 pm, BTN

MaximumSam: The Terps finish with OSU and PSU, and have a great shot to get the double bye (and possibly even part of the conference). That does require them to do something not in their DNA, which is win on the road. Maryland is 1-7 on the road in the conference, and the Buckeyes did show a little bit in beating Illinois on Sunday. Could be a fun matchup between guards Jahmir Young and Bruce Thonrton. Torvik goes Maryland, barely, 71-70.

BoilerUp89: Maryland's best road win is Minnesota. Their road woes are real.

#39 Penn State Nittany Lions (17-12, 8-10) at #50 Northwestern Wildcats (20-9, 11-7), 8 pm, BTN

MaximumSam: Northwestern is still in contention for the conference, and definitely the double bye, but they need a win after losing two straight. They welcome Penn State, who are in Defcon 2 mode to get back on the bubble. Currently in the last eight out of the tourney on Bracketology, the Nits could still get to .500 in conference play, which would help a lot. Torvik tips the Cats, 71-66.