Big Ten Basketball January 6 Recaps, Previews, and Open Thread

Yesterday's Games

Nebraska Cornhuskers 72, The Ohio State Buckeyes 69

MaximumSam: The Streak continues. The Huskers have a tough game coming up as they travel to the Hoosiers next. Win that, and they are favored in every game until a tilt with Michigan at the end of the month. Never say never.

Kind Of...: Yep, the Indiana game will be a challenge. Of course road wins against Illinois and Ohio State have given Nebraska a margin of error already. If we're doing the "Michigan is unstoppable, and Purdue is better than everybody else" thing, the Nebraska is really playing with house money and can afford---

screw that: "NATION'S LONGEST WINNING STREAK!!! NATION'S LONGEST WINNING STREAK!!! NATION'S LONGEST WINNING STREAK!!! NATION'S LONGEST WINNING STREAK!!!"

HoustonBoiler: The combines are rolling on to Bloomington.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 88, Oregon Ducks 85 (OT)

MaximumSam: Well that probably puts a cap on Oregon's season. Tariq Francis dropped 30 on the Ducks and Rutgers gets a much needed win. It would be annoying for a lot of B10 teams if Rutgers gets it figured out and grabs a few upsets against the bubble teams.

Kind of...: The Ducks are cooked. And not in some moist, succulent way, either. In theory, it's only January 5. But, um, even if they beat Ohio State in Eugene, here are the three after that: @Nebraska, vs. Michigan, vs. Michigan State.

On the plus side, if they do The Crown again, the B1G will likely be well represented: Oregon, Wisconsin, Washington, Northwestern...

Michigan State Spartans 80, USC Trojans 51

MaximumSam: Sparty must have been watching Michigan and said we can do a Splattening, too.

Kind of... Evidently this year there in the B1G there are a lot of empty lockers demanding to have some unsuspecting mediocre team stuffed into them.

BoilerUp89: Michigan State has a great defense and that showed in this game. USC was held below 20 points in the first half.

MaximumSam: I should mention that Tom Izzo kicked former Spartan Paul Davis out of the arena for something he said to High Knees. That's a new one.

Kind of...: Might as well share Paul Davis powering MSU to the Elite Eight in '03.

Today's Games

#1 Michigan Wolverines (13-0, 3-0) at #142 Penn State Nittany Lions (9-5, 0-3)

7 ET, FS1

MaximumSam: The last time Michigan went on the road they were pushed a little bit and "only" won by 18. Can the Nits jam up the works? Probably not. Sorry Nits.

Kind of...: Michigan got Rutgers at home, so they might not be able to top that 41 point victory. But would you really be surprised if they do?

BoilerUp89: You guys remember when Unstoppable Wisconsin went on the road and lost to laughably bad Rutgers late in Bo's tenure? Michigan should stomp but sometimes bad teams get up for a game and have a hot shooting night before the favorite wakes up.

Kind of...: Remember it? I was AT that game. Kaminsky missed it with a concussion. And Traevon Jackson got hurt early-ish in the second half and missed the rest of the regular season. Miserable. Just checked. The win moved Rutgers to 10-7/2-2. They lost their next 15 games. Thanks for the reminder...

#16 Iowa Hawkeyes (12-2, 2-1) at #84 Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-5, 2-1)

8 ET, BTN

MaximumSam: The Gophs have shown a little moxy under Niko, and they sit at 2-1 with a win over Indiana and a road win over Northwestern. Cade Tyson has been sensational and is shooting nearly 40 percent from deep. The Hawkeyes are 0-2 on the road, though against slightly difficult teams Iowa State and Sparty.

Kind of...: Yeah, for Iowa, the problem isn't who they lost to on the road, it's that they only played one road game in the non-conference. Then again, they gave Iowa State all they could handle. And McCollum's "style" travels. Still, this is no easy place to win. Good measuring stick for both teams. Would be wild for the Gophers to see 3-1 in conference play, especially with home games against USC and Wisconsin next.

HoustonBoiler: This could be a sneaky good game and might show how much the Gophers have progressed thus far under Niko.

#35 UCLA Bruins (10-3, 2-1) at #49 Wisconsin Badgers (9-5, 1-2)

9 ET, Peacock

MaximumSam: Mick Cronin takes on his old nemesis, airplanes.

Kind of...: I know Cronin laments his team's lack of defensive intensity, but the Badgers have been even worse on that end. And Donovan Dent is better than Nick Boyd. Wisconsin is staring down the season unraveling in a hurry if they don't get a win tonight. And I don't think they will.

Non-B1G Games of Interest

#13 Duke Blue Devils (13-1) at #12 Louisville Cardinals (11-3), 7 ET, ESPN
#22 St. John's Red Storm (9-5) at #48 Butler Bulldogs (10-5), 7 ET, Peacock
#30 Georgia Bulldogs (13-1) at #17 Florida Gators (9-5), 7 ET, SECN
#110 Bowling Green Falcons (11-4) at #134 Kent State Golden Flashes (11-3), 7 ET, ESPN+
#68 George Washington Revolutionaries (11-4) at #78 Dayton Flyers (11-4), 8 ET, CBSSN
#43 UCF Knights (12-1) at #71 Oklahoma State Cowboys (12-2), 8 ET, ESPN+
#24 Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-3) at #8 Houston Cougars (13-1), 9 ET, FS1
#47 TCU Horned Frogs (11-3) at #14 Kansas Jayhawks (10-4), 9 ET, ESPN
#66 New Mexico Lobos (11-3) at #81 Colorado State Rams (10-4), 9 ET
#50 San Diego State Aztecs (9-4) at #65 Nevada Wolfpack (11-3), 11 ET, FS1

Kind of...: Duke/Louisville is a big-time matchup, but also just repulsive. GW/Dayton should be fun, and is an important early A-10 tilt. Houston has looked less impressive than expected so far this year, but are still really good. Could say the same about JT Toppin. That's an interesting game.

And in the MWC, four teams who are usually all in the hunt tangle tonight. Utah State looks like the class of the conference, but the SDSU/Nevada winner will move to 4-0. New Mexico/Colorado State is a bit more desperate, especially for the Rams, who really can't afford to fall to 1-3 with a home loss and a relatively poor NET of 78.