Big Ten Basketball January 29 Recaps, Previews, and Open Thread

Yesterday

Iowa Hawkeyes 73, USC Trojans 72

MaximumSam: I stopped paying attention when Iowa was up 15 with 6 minutes left. So I missed USC coming all the way back to take the lead with 9 seconds left, then fouling Bennett Stirtz with 5 seconds left to give the lead right back. Tough break, Mussel Men.

Kind of...: Iowa got a win they probably didn't deserve which prevented USC from getting a win they probably didn't deserve. On the bright side, a close home win over a lower-ranked team probably hurt Iowa's analytics while helping their raw numbers profile, bringing those two assessments closer together and the world one step closer to global harmony.

HoustonBoiler: Was this Iowa's FAFO moment?

Wisconsin Badgers 67, Minnesota Golden Gophers 63

MaximumSam: The Badgers were behind almost the whole way. But it's the end of the game that counts, and Wiscy moves to 7-3 in the conference an tied with Purdue and UCLA for fifth place.

Kind of...: Speaking of undeserved wins...Wisconsin scored 17 first half points. Just gross (and I'm a Wisconsin fan). Medved has the Gophers doing impressive things, but remember the famous proverb: "the path to success is paved with multiple kicks to the groin." I think I got that right.

HoustonBoiler: Kind Of... got the path to success right! Medved has done a terrific job thus far and has Minnesota playing much better than expected. Minnesota was close, so very close, to winning last night. With a minute and a half to go, Minnesota had a 61-60 lead and the ball. Unfortunately, they then turned the ball over and John Blackwell scored the next 5 points for Wisconsin. D'oh!

UCLA Bruins 73, Oregon Ducks 57

Kind of...: Congrats, Bruins, on not kicking yourself in the groin.

Today

#136 Penn State Nittany Lions (0-9) at #63 Northwestern Wildcats (1-8)

8 pm, Peacock

MaximumSam: The Detective investigates whether the Nits are on the take with the mob.

Kind of...: Oh my. Two bad teams, but the clearly better one is at home, so it might not be close. Sounds like fun!

#46 Washington Huskies (3-6) at #6 Illinois Fighting Illini (8-1)

9 pm, FS1

MaximumSam: Keaton Wagler has been awesome and has probably taken the lead for Freshman of the Year against Hannes Steinbach. Also fortunate for the Illini, who have lost guard Kylan Boswell to injury and lost guard Mihailo Petrovic to sucking at basketball.

Kind of...: Yeah, I'll still tout Steinbach, or at least his offensive game. But Frosh of Year is settled, and it's Wagler. Only drama here is if Illinois puts things away early so Underwood can watch Nebraska film at halftime, or if he has to wait until after the game.

Non-B1G Games of Interest

#182 Charleston (13-8, 6-2) @ #125 Hofstra (13-8, 4-4), 7:00 pm, FloSports

#92 Colorado (12-8, 2-5) @ #11 Iowa State (18-2, 5-2), 7:00 pm, FS1

#137 Montana (12-9, 6-2) @ #151 Portland State (13-5, 7-0) 10:00 pm, ESPN+

#82 Hawaii (15-4, 7-2) @ #111 UC-Irvine (14-7, 7-2), 11:00 pm, ESPNU

Kind of...: It appears Colorado/Iowa State is the only non-B1G power conference matchup, so have fun if you want to see a really good team roll. Ton of one-bid league games, but not many true conference title showdowns. Hoftstra is scuffling, but KenPom will tell you they're the best Colonial League (I don't care about the name change, okay Myanmar?) team, so them hosting second-place Charleston is worthwhile. Portland State is two games clear of all Big Sky competition, but the analytics view Montana as basically their equal, so if you want a nightcap, but not too late, there you go.

But the game of the night is the battle for first in the Big West. Hawaii and UC-Irvine are tied for first...at least until about 1:00 am Eastern. If you're feeling reckless (about sleep), this is the game you want to watch tonight.

HoustonBoiler: The best games are the late night Big Sky and Big West matchups featuring some of their top teams going head-to-head. I'll be asleep but I suppose that's why DVRs were invented.