Big Ten Basketball January 7 Recaps, Previews, and Open Thread

Yesterday's Games

Michigan Wolverines 74, Penn State Nittany Lions 72

MaximumSam: Well why wouldn't Penn State almost beat Michigan despite being without Kayden Mingo? Of course that's what we all thought would happen.

Misdreavus79: This is the first time a top 10 Michigan team has won at Bryce Jordan since the early 2000s. Also I don't know WTF they were doing on that last possession. Could have tied it and gone to OT, or could have drawn up a much better play if they were going for the win. Anyway. At least Jurić is starting to get accustomed to Big Ten bigs.

BoilerUp89: Michigan survives on one of the worst end of game execution sequences coming out of a timeout I've ever seen. Down 2 and coming out of a timeout, Penn State proceeded to dribble aimlessly around halfcourt for 14 seconds before casually drifting towards the three point line and heaving a contested, off balance three. No screens, no movement. Just one guy dribbling the ball that didn't come close to creating space for a shot. After the game, coach Rhoades said someone set a screen on the wrong side of the court. It was quite the Penn State way to seal the loss. For Michigan, I wouldn't read into this at all other than its hard to play in front of dozens of Penn State fans and thousands of Northwestern football fans. The Wolverines are still going 39-1 with a loss in the national championship. Traditions are important.

Kind of...: I'll some crow below, so here I'll gladly note that I was calling for people to pump the breaks earlier this week.

My overall view is that May has the $$$ and insight to have effectively zagged where everybody else zigged, and he's got a monster front line that can overwhelm you. At the same time, basketball, especially CBB, is still guard-driven and I don't know that the Wolverines have had to deal with elite guards yet. They will in March. Yesterday was also at 71 possession game, close to the SLOWEST game they've had all year (70). More than 250 teams play at a temple that averages less than 70 possession per game. They're almost certain to meet a couple of those teams in March. They certainly will in B1G play.

This is an excellent team doing great things and it's easy enough to see them winning it all. Claims of all-time historical greatness continue to be premature.

Minnesota Golden Gophers 70, Iowa Hawkeyes 67

MaximumSam: The Gophs now sit at 3-1 and are tied with Sparty for fourth in the conference. Langston Reynolds dropped 22 to lead everyone. Bennett Stirtz struggled with foul trouble in the first half, but had 21 in the second as Iowa couldn't quite grab the win.

BoilerUp89: Medved quietly trying to establish himself as the best former Drake coach after beating both of the others at home this season. Minnesota led by 14 but Iowa staged a furious comeback late in the 2nd half to take a late lead. Credit to the Gophers, they didn't crumble and responded with a big three pointer of their own.

Kind of...: Time to eat some crow. Somewhere, but probably in the comments, I called Iowa the 5th best team in the league. They still might be, but even if they are, they're much closer to 6th than 4th. That said, I do think the record is clear tht I've been high on Minnesota and Medved. And Iowa did make a helluva comeback.

Let's keep it simple. Both Medved and McCollum are off to great starts, and both fanbases should be optimistic about the future. In the present, though, Iowa probably feels like they let one slip away. And, no matter who your coach is, some things about life in the B1G will never change, like lamenting close road losses.

HoustonBoiler: I had a feeling this was going to be a good game. Nice win Gophers!

Wisconsin Badgers 80, UCLA Bruins 72

MaximumSam: The Bruins shot 1/17 from three against the Badgers. Pretty sure we could pic five random commenters that could beat that.

BoilerUp89: I guess we are just done with Xavier Booker? UCLA plays some of the least analytically sound basketball. Lots of long two point attempts. Nate Oats would probably punch Mick Cronin after hearing his offensive gameplans.

Kind of...: Thought Wisconsin would lose. They didn't. I'm happy about that. UCLA looks like a mess and they still probably do get the W if they're shooting from distance is any better than "atrocious." Bruins get to host Maryland before heading to Penn State and Ohio State, so the time to right the ship is now. Badgers next two are at Michigan and at Minnesota. Gulp. Buckle in.

Today's Games

#18 Indiana Hoosiers (11-3, 2-1) at #124 Maryland Terrapins (7-7, 0-3)

6:30 ET, BTN

MaximumSam: The Hoosiers need a win to keep pace with...Minnesota.

BoilerUp89: A win means Indiana has a coach that remains focused against lower tier opponents. A loss... well, let's cross that bridge if it happens.

Kind of...: Indiana didn't look great against Washington, but certainly good enough. Maryland just lost at home to Oregon, who couldn't beat Rutgers, and the Terps best win of the year remains a Marquette team that is circling the drain. Teams improve as the season goes on, and Buzz has a track record. Still, Indiana would be well-advised to get the win.

#53 Washington Huskies (9-5, 1-2) at #2 Purdue Boilermakers (13-1, 3-0)

8:30 ET, BTN

MaximumSam: I missed that Wesley Yates had wrist surgery and will be out indefinitely. That's a real bummer for the Huskies, who are unlikely to have a whole lot for Purdue tonight.

BoilerUp89: Really interested to see how Purdue defends Steinbach. Washington has guys but are not a well put together team. The pieces don't work very well together. There are a few guys (Claude, Diallo, Steinbach) that could take over the game and will their way to a win but on paper Purdue appears to have decent answers to them.

Kind of...: Even if Yates were healthy, this would've been a bad matchup. Purdue would seem to have the bodies to D-up Steinbach, though I'll defer to @BoilerUp89 on that. Without Yates, the outcome seems all the more guaranteed. Lost in the Michigan adulation is that Purdue is one bad day (against a team better than anybody Michigan has faced) away from having advanced metrics that would put them very close to where the Wolverines are at.

HoustonBoiler: Washington has some legit size and Steinbach has been great thus far. I expect a battle in the paint. As per usual, Purdue needs to focus on rebounding, limit their turnovers, and contain dribble penetration. If they can do these things reasonably well while making some shots, I believe Purdue will win.

Non-B1G Games of Interest

#3 Connecticut Huskies (14-1) at #87 Providence Friars (8-6), 7 ET, NBCSN
#84 Belmont Bruins (13-3) at #61 Northern Iowa Panthers (12-3), 7 ET, ESPN+
#35 Saint Louis Billikens (13-1) at #54 VCU Rams (11-4), 7 ET, CBSSN
#34 Miami Florida Hurricanes (12-2) at #57 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-5), 7 ET, ESPNU
#63 Stanford Cardinal (12-3) at #65 Virginia Tech Hokies (12-3), 7 ET, ACCN
#58 Missouri Tigers (11-3) at #31 Kentucky Wildcats (9-5), 7 ET, ESPN2
#107 FAU Owls (9-5) at #104 UAB Blazers (10-5), 7:30 ET, ESPN+
#43 Creighton Bluejays (9-6) at #32 Villanova Wildcats (12-2), 7:30 ET, Peacock
#75 South Florida Bulls (8-6) at #160 North Texas Mean Green (10-5), 8 ET, ESPN+
#6 Iowa State Cyclones (14-0) at #46 Baylor NBA Draftees (10-3), 8 ET, ESPN+
#125 Troy Trojans (10-5) at #139 Arkansas State Red Wolves (10-5), 8 ET, ESPN+
#10 Alabama Crimson Tide (11-3) at #5 Vanderbilt Commodores (14-0), 9 ET, ESPN2
#81 California Golden Bears (13-2) at #20 Virginia Cavaliers (12-2), 9 ET, ACCN
#29 SMU Mustangs (12-2) at #27 Clemson Tigers (12-3), 9 ET, ESPNU

BoilerUp89: Can Providence knock off UConn after beating St. John's? We've also got battles between the two Sun Belt favorites and the two A10 favorites, along with ACC, SEC, Big 12, and American play.

MaximumSam: I threw out Josh Shertz as a guy OSU should have hired. His Saint Louis team is now ranked higher than the Buckeyes. Maybe give him a look again? I'm sure the OSU athletic director is a regular reader.

BoilerUp89: Interesting you mention Schertz. I was just talking about him as a decent candidate to replace Matta to my Butler friend last night.

Kind of...: Belmont has a couple of MVC losses already to the middle of the pack, and there are three teams--Murray State, UNI, and Illinois State--already two games ahead of them. But the Bruins are still KenPom's highest rate MVC team. Interesting game tonight. Saint Louis (29 in NET) and VCU (51) clearly have the two best at-large cases in the A-10. You probably want to cheer for VCU to hold serve at home if you're looking for multiple bids (and then see where things are at when the rematch comes around in February).

Finally, three of the six remaining unbeatens are in action tonight. Arizona isn't even listed above, and should have no problem at home against KSU. Iowa State IS listed, and you should give them a look if you haven't seen them yet. They're basically out-Houstoning Houston so far the year (though the Cougars are really good, and will be fine). Finally, #10 vs. #5 looks like a premiere matchup, but you still might not be familiar with what Mark Byington has cooking with Vandy. You should. He's the real deal, and KenPom says that Commodores should be Alabama by 7 tonight.

BoilerUp89: Arizona isnt listed because K State is bad and I dont expect that game to be anything of note. Second that Iowa State is really good.