Big Ten Recaps
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 101, NJIT Highlanders 64
BoilerUp89: Yawn
Michigan State Spartans 79, Duke Blue Devils 73
BoilerUp89: Down goes #1! Down goes #1!
MaximumSam: Sparty looked the part, just a gaggle of arms and legs and running that had Duke in a tizzy all evening.
glass: In the last 4 days Stater has taken down Michigan football and Duke basketball. Sparty out there doing the Lord's work.
Virginia Tech Hokies 93, Iowa Hawkeyes 88 (OT)
MaximumSam: This was a fun game despite color guy Greg McDermott trying to put everyone to sleep. Cooper Koch was great with 26, but Iowa couldn't stop Tech's backcourt at all. Guards Ben Hammond and Jaylen Curry combined for 57 points and had Ben McCollum ripping out his remaining hairs.
Kind of...: McDermott's a big guy, so now I'm imagining him as an uninspiring professional wrestling with a weak finishing move.
Interesting data point for the "How good of a coach is Ben McCollum?" referendum. Stirtz wasn't on any of his four D-II title teams. But he was essential to his success at Drake and Iowa the last two years (and check out his numbers so far for OKC). Might it be that McCollum just has to be good enough to keep Kansas's interest? (Yes, I'm flogging that horse until Self is replaced.)
Texas Tech Red Raiders 84, Illinois Fighting Illini 78
BoilerUp89: Before the game Brad Underwood told his team that an anonymous benefactor had pledged money for every free throw the Illini made that night. All funds raised would go to restoring the Habsburg to the throne of Austria and restoring the Austro-Hungarian empire and its claims to southeastern Europe.
glass: It's a shame that the Illini are top 10 good this season, because when they are down big seeing Thump imitate the existential struggle of a 19th century Russian serf in the gamethread is pure uncut entertainment.
Wisconsin Badgers 89, Fairfield Stags 42
Kind of...: After single-digit victories over upper 200-ranked Denver and Delaware, the Badgers looked further down the 200s and found Fairfield. Mission accomplished.
Wednesday Night Previews
#23 Marquette Golden Eagles (2-0) at #21 Michigan Wolverines (1-1)
7 EST, FS1
MaximumSam: Shaka Smart and company have destroyed the Mercy part of their schedule in Mercyhurst and Detroit Mercy. Now they come to Michigan and bring big man Sanandra Fru. It's too bad Marquette doesn't play Sparty. We could have had FRU v. BONK.
BoilerUp89: I believe Michigan and Marquette played during exhibition season.
#363 Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions (0-2) at #17 UCLA Bruins (2-0)
9 EST, Peacock
glass: 45 point spread...
#286 Lindenwood Lions (2-1) at #14 Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0)
9 EST, FS1
glass: 35 point spread...
#361 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (0-2) at #42 Oregon Ducks (2-0)
10 EST, B1G+
glass: With all due respect to Oregon St, we will continue to know absolutely nothing about this version of Ducks basketball until the Players Era tournament/UCLA/USC games in late November early February.
Kind of...: "With all due respect to Oregon State..." Their Elite Eight run in 2021 is still one of the most bizarre, out-of-nowhere occurrences in the 64(+) team era (i.e. since 1985).
#34 Southern Cal Trojans (2-0) at #98 California Golden Bears (2-1)
11 EST, ESPN2
MaximumSam: Night Owl basketball. Cal has gone all in on guys whose names drive announcers nuts. Watch out for Nojus Indrusaitis, Dominykas Daubaris, and Dhaiaukuei Manyiel Dut.
glass: Cal's Haas Pavilion holds about 12,000 so expect a loooooot of empty seats out in Berkley tonight.
Other Games of Note
#131 Saint Joseph's Hawks (2-0) vs #95 South Florida Bulls (1-1) Annapolis, 3 EST, CBSSN
#147 Charleston Cougars (0-0) at #138 Temple Owls (1-1) 630 EST, ESPN+
#79 Santa Clara Broncos (3-0) at #117 North Texas Mean Green (1-0) 8 EST, ESPN+ (TIL UNT's home arena is called "THE SUPER PIT")
#77 Nevada Wolfpack (2-0) at #102 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (1-0) 9 EST, ESPN+ (TIL UCSB's home arena is called "THE THUNDERDOME")
glass: WE HAVE DAYTIME BASKETBALL! Due to the holiday, 10 games will have tipped off before 6 o'clock, the first of which begins at 1030 local time at (Sooner slayer) East Texas A&M.
Sicko's Special:
#328 Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles (0-2) at #287 IU Indianapolis Jaguars (1-0) 630 EST, ESPN+
glass: This is going to be a terrible game between two terrible teams. But did you know that at IU Indy's Morris Arena you can pick up front row seats behind the away bench for $25 each? And when the Jaguars host Oakland on Saturday, December 5 you'll have to wonder if Greg Kampe and his team will be prepared for the absolute shit storm that will be raging in the stands because a 5 year old with ADHD is all the way loaded up on hot dogs and Welch's grape soda.
