Big Ten Basketball January 27 Recaps, Previews, and Open Thread

Last Night's Game

The Ohio State Buckeyes 84, Penn State Nittany Lions 78

MaximumSam: Dozens of fans watched the Buckeyes build up a big lead then nearly but not quite squander it. Puff Johnson appeared and scored 2 points. Maybe he can get a court order that no one guards him.

Kind of...: Is Puff Johnson the new Colin White? Our crew investigates...

Tonight's Games

#5 Michigan State Spartans (18-2, 8-1) at #172 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-11, 2-7)

6:30 ET, FS1

MaximumSam: The Sparty defense is primed to stuff Rutgers into a trash can. The RAC is primed to stuff the Sparty offense into a trash can. Which trash can is stinkiest? Tune in!

Kind of...: Michigan State is the team that shares a color with Oscar the Grouch, so I'm taking them. (That, and seeing them win games like this about 259 times under Izzo.)

#13 Nebraska Cornhuskers (20-0, 9-0) at #1 Michigan Wolverines (18-1, 8-1)

7 ET, Peacock

MaximumSam: The Streak faces its toughest test, the long Gumby arms of Aday Mara. Did they even have Gumby in the Netherlands? Rienk Mast is about to go man on man with a claymation character that he's never even heard of.

Kind of...: I don't know, but somebody in Amsterdam is willing to sell you a Gumby figurine.

Anyway, B1G game of the year (part 2) in the B1G tonight. For Nebraska to win, they'll need to minimize scoring droughts. They don't get to the line much or grab many offensives rebounds. So, they need some combination of: breaking one of those tendencies, protecting the ball, and shooting well. (Braden Frager being a game-time decision isn't great, either.)

Michigan leads the nation is 2 pt shooting (64.3%) AND Nebraska isn't all that deep, especially if Frager can't go. Would assume Hoiberg has a couple of zone looks at the ready, even if only to buy a couple of minutes here and there.

So, yeah, I can see a few ways where this could go sidways for Nebraska. But make no mistake: they're a legit team (12 in KP, 13 in Torvik (but 3 in WAB), and 5 in NET). Whatever happens, the Huskers will wake up tomorrow no worse than tied for first halfway through the conference season needing to get ready for B1G game of the year (part 4) on Sunday when they host Illinois (part 3 is Friday when MSU hosts Michigan).

HoustonBoiler: Huge game in Ann Arbor tonight. A win by Nebraska will cement them into the driver's seat for the regular season championship at the halfway point. A loss merely leaves them tied with Michigan.

#8 Purdue Boilermakers (17-3, 7-2) at #26 Indiana Hoosiers (13-7, 4-5)

9 ET, Peacock

MaximumSam: Purdue finds themselves in fifth place after dropping a game to Illinois. Now they head to Assembly Hall in the Battle for Indiana.

What's the feeling on Darian DeVries? Is it good for him that Curt Cignetti has sucked up all the sports mojo and turned the Hoosiers into a football school? Or will fans start turning in and wondering why the basketball team is kind of meh?

Kind of...: We'll soon be coming up on the 10 year anniversary of the last Indiana team to make the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. I would counsel patience, but I realize that sounds like old-world, pre-Cignetti talk.

But honestly, look at that roster. There's just not much there. Sure, with the portal, that's now less of an excuse, but, still, this just isn't a high quality B1G team. He did a really impressive job of flipping Drake's roster from '23 to '24 (winning Arch Madness both year), and last year's West Virginia had some nice wins and was on the bubble despite Tucker DeVries missing most of the year. See what happens in the portal this offseason. If any of that Indiana NIL money finds its way to DeVries, he will probably spend it well.

As for Purdue, it's simple. Saturday was a gut punch. But you get Michigan and MSU coming to West Lafayette, and you seem to match up well with Nebraska (that game is in Lincoln). Nothing is off the table (especially if Michigan wins tonight...have fun rooting for the Wolverines, Boiler Bots)...unless you let Illinois beat you twice. Plus, it's a rivalry game.

HoustonBoiler: Rivalry game tonight in Bloomington. Purdue has dropped two tough games in a row and Boiler Bots will be watching to see how they respond. Unlike last season's squad, this Indiana team is loaded with shooters. If they get hot (see Keaton Wagler), they could win this game. When Purdue visits Assembly Hall, you just never know what's going to happen. Purdue needs to focus on rebounding, limiting their turnovers, and containing dribble penetration. Making shots would also be nice. If they do all of these well, they'll have a chance though I, mostly likely, will be long asleep by the time this one ends.

BoilerUp89: I view this similar to the UCLA matchup except toss in the rivalry matchup. Indiana can definitely win particularly if Purdue doesnt rebound.

Non-B1G Games of Interest

#141 Richmond Spiders (13-8, 3-5) at #67 VCU Rams (14-5, 5-2), 7 ET, CBSSN
#171 Toledo Rockets (11-9, 5-3) at #50 Akron Zips (16-4, 7-1), 7 ET, ESPN+
#239 Ohio Bobcats (11-10, 5-4) at #140 Kent State Golden Flashes (15-5, 6-2), 7 ET, ESPN+
#71 George Washington Revolutionaries (13-7, 4-3) at #21 Saint Louis Billikens (19-1, 7-0), 8 ET, ESPN+
#64 Missouri Tigers (14-6, 4-3) at #18 Alabama Crimson Tide (13-6, 3-3), 8 ET, SECN
#40 Kentucky Wildcats (14-6, 5-2) at #9 Vanderbilt Commodores (17-3, 4-3), 9 ET, ESPN
#55 Grand Canyon Antelopes (13-6, 6-2) at #58 Nevada Wolfpack (14-6, 6-3), 10:30 ET, FS1
#43 New Mexico Lobos (16-4, 7-2) at #119 UNLV Rebels (10-9, 5-3), 11 ET, CBSSN

Kind of...: Quick: who's in sole possession of first in the SEC right now? Maybe not quite as surprising (or as good) as Nebraska, but Bucky McMillan is getting it done at College Station. Kentucky and Vandy meet tonight with both trying to stay in contact (Kentucky's a game back; Vandy is two). Between McMillan and Vandy's Mark Byington, it would be easy to talk about the talented, young faces in this years SEC. Except they're both older than Todd Golden. Ugh.

So maybe just stick with the B1G tonight and, if you're not too tired when Purdue/Indiana wraps up, give one of the MWC games a look. Sadly, things are going poorly. Utah State's skid dropped them to a 9-seed at bracketmatrix, and the same site has both New Mexico and San Diego State in the play-in game, with nobody else in any of the brackets. Obviously, New Mexico has the most to lose tonight, but both should be competitive.