Big Ten Basketball December 21 Recaps, Previews, and Open Thread

Yesterday's Games

Michigan State Spartans 79, Oakland Golden Grizzlies 70

BoilerUp89: Things I learned this game: 1) Tom Izzo is on the naughty list. 2) Greg Kampe is on the nice list.

HoustonBoiler: ^This checks out.

North Carolina Tarheels 71, The Ohio State Buckeyes 70

MaximumSam: Looking inept at the end of game is becoming a Buckeye staple.

Virginia Cavaliers 80, Maryland Terrapins 72

Indiana Hoosiers 78, Chicago State Cougars 58

Butler Bulldogs 61, Northwestern Wildcats 58

MaximumSam: With the Detective in the infirmary, the rest of the force gave a spirited but doomed effort against previous conference villain Thad Matta.

Iowa Hawkeyes 94, Bucknell Bison 39

BoilerUp89: Not Fran's team anymore. 39 points given up was a good defensive half for the Hawkeyes under him.

Purdue Boilermakers 88, Auburn Tigers 60

BoilerUp89: Tahaad Pettiford over the offseason: "We beat every Big Ten team by 40. Every Big Ten team we play, we smack them." Well, well, well.

Braden Smith had more assists (14) than the entire Auburn roster combined. Purdue won the rebounding game 36-25, and the defense suffocating Auburn's offense.

HoustonBoiler: What a difference a year makes! Purdue absolutely pounded Auburn. After being blown out in Birmingham by Auburn a year ago, TKR had this game circled on his calendar. BU89 already covered some key points, one of which, rebounding, I will be harping on all season. will also harp on turnovers, another key point. Purdue had 11 turnovers while Auburn had 10, which isn't terrible if you're rebounding and shooting well. Speaking of which, Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith were 0-7 and 1-3, respectively on 3-point shots, but the rest of the team was on fire, going 11-16. Overall, Purdue shot 33-59, which will win some games. Auburn was 7-25 on 3-point shots and 21-58 overall. Purdue also outscored Auburn 40-20 in the paint, which always is a great sign for Purdue.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 70, Pennsylvania Quakers 69

Today's Games

#115 Pittsburgh Panthers (6-6) v. #101 Penn State Nittany Lions (8-3)

Hershey, PA
Noon ET, BTN

BoilerUp89: Play this series at home with the students in session.

HoustonBoiler: Having grown up in Pennsylvania, I absolutely agree that this should be a home and home series with the students present. I support their playing, but a game at Hershey Park is some weak tea.

#255 La Salle Explorers (4-8) at #1 Michigan Wolverines (10-0)

4 ET, Peacock

BoilerUp89: La Salle lost to a middling Temple team by 27. Those hoping for Michigan's first loss are unlikely to see it here.

UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs (Division III) at #38 USC Trojans (11-1)

4 ET

BoilerUp89: The Banana Slugs are a late replacement for Brown University as USC and Brown mutually agreed to cancel the originally scheduled game due to the shooting that took place at Brown last Saturday.

HoustonBoiler: More roadkill for USC.

#66 Oregon Ducks (6-5) at #5 Gonzaga Bulldogs (11-1)

6 ET, Peacock

MaximumSam: Oregon needs to channel their inner Michigan for this one. The Ducks rebounded from a five game losing streak to knock off a couple overmatched teams. But their best nonconference win is a one point game over Hawaii, so this is a big opportunity.

#232 Campbell Fighting Camels (5-6) at #92 Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-5)

6 ET, BTN

MaximumSam: We need more Camels or camel adjacent mascots.

#333 North Dakota Hawks (5-9) at #21 Nebraska Cornhuskers (11-0)

8 ET, BTN

BoilerUp89: Nebrasketball is unstoppable.

Non-B1G Games Of Interest

#9 Vanderbilt Commodores (11-0) at #49 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-3), 1 ET, the CW
#65 Mississippi Traitors (7-4) at #28 NC State Wolfpack (8-4), 1 ET, ESPN
#120 Columbia Lions (9-2) at #80 California Golden Bears (11-1), 5 ET, ACC Extra
#126 UC Irvine Anteaters (7-5) v. #135 North Dakota State Bison (10-3), 7 ET, Youtube