Big Ten Basketball November 16 Recaps, Previews, and Open Thread

All numbers via Torvik. All predictions not financial advice.

Friday's and Saturday's Games

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 84, Lehigh Mountain Hawks 72

BoilerUp89: Rutgers got the double digit victory but there were some concerns. The Scarlet Knights outrebounded the Mountain Hawks by 19 and pounded the ball inside for 42 paint points and just 13 three-point attempts. What happens when they aren't facing a completely overmatched opponent in the interior?

Kind of...: I think what happens is that they finish 17th in the conference.

USC Trojans 87, Illinois State Redbirds 67

BoilerUp89: Rodney Rice secured a triple-double (21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) and USC managed a 20 point victory. Only having 4 turnovers played a big part in that as Illinois State actually outrebounded USC 39-36.

Kind of...: So is it time to talk about USC? Maui Invitation is looking interesting. Trojans play Boise State, then likely NC State in what would be their biggest non-conference challenge.

Iowa Hawkeyes 81, Xavier Musketeers 62

BoilerUp89: Iowa pulled away late in the first half and never looked back.

Kind of...: I am 100% convinced Ben McCollum's shit works in the sense that Bo Ryan's shit obviously worked. But, despite the four national titles at D-II, the naysayers will point to Bennett Stirtz as a big reason why Iowa is off to the start they are. And fair enough. I tend to think coaches are overrated generally. So the proof of McCollum will come in subsequent years. Just know this: Iowa is #359 in tempo, but in the top ten in EFG% and FT Rate. That's all you need to know. They're going to make you defend longer than you want, and if you slip up, they're getting a layup, drawing a foul, or both. Your game against them might not be a loss, but unless you just overwhelm them with talent, it's not going to be enjoyable.

Northwestern Wildcats 81, DePaul Blue Demons 79

BoilerUp89: I'm sure this game was annoying for Northwestern fans but it was highly entertaining as a neutral. Northwestern struggled to rebound and left a lot of points at the charity stripe, but superior shooting from the field helped them stave off the upset.

Nick Martinelli was superb as usual and hit the game winning free throws after securing an offensive rebound in the closing seconds. Shoutout to forward Arrinten Page as well who was 10 of 11 from the field and couldn't be stopped by DePaul.

Kind of...: Plenty of things for the Wildcats to work on, but a nice road win for the selection committee to note. And now a week to prepare for a pretty important neutral site game against Virginia. Win that, and the Detective's chances or staying in business until mid-March are greatly enhanced.

Michigan Wolverines 67, TCU Horned Frogs 63

BoilerUp89: Michigan didn't have a great game. 22 turnovers put TCU in the lead for much of the game (Mara had 5 and Cadeau 6). Morez Johnson came to play though and his rebounding helped Michigan outrebound TCU 44-23. Former Hawkeye Brock Harding had his best game and scored 15 points for the Horned Frogs.

MaximumSam: Turnovers were a bugaboo for Michigan last season and it appears they will be again.

Kind of...: So, are you selling Michigan, or are you a buy-and-hold type? I feel like a bought too high so I have to hold for a while. But...not an impressive last couple of games. T'giving tournaments are just around the corner. Like a lot of other teams, will be interesting to see how things look on December 1.

BoilerUp89: Holding. I don't love the three big lineups or the guard play but Yaxel, Morez, and Mara just have such a high ceiling that I can't sell yet.

Illinois Fighting Illini 84, Colgate Raiders 65

He was a high school QB: Mirkovic with 21 points and 20 rebounds with 7 minutes left in the game.

BoilerUp89: Mirkovic finished with 27 points and 21 rebounds. It was an impressive showing. The rest of the team was just okay. Outside of Mirkovic, the Illini were 8 of 30 from three and honestly struggled to hit shots. Only 8 Illini played though (and just 7 more than 7 minutes) so I'd give them a break. It was still a 19 point win. Also, belated congratulations to Kylan Boswell on joining the 1000 point club in Division 1 against Texas Tech.

More behind the scenes reporting. For those wondering why Illinois scheduled Colgate this year. Current Illini assistant coach Camryn Crocker was an assistant at Colgate the past three seasons.

Kind of...: TRANSITIVE ALERT! TRANSITIVE ALERT! The Illini play Alabama Wednesday at the United Center. Purdue already set the bar with a seven point win in Tuscaloosa. Ball's in your court, Illini.

Arizona Wildcats 69, UCLA Bruins 65

BoilerUp89: Really high level game from UCLA and Arizona. Arizona hit a go-ahead three pointer with just over a minute to go and were able to follow that up with a stop and another score. I'd be encouraged if I was a UCLA fan as Arizona has looked every part of a national contender early this season.

A few of points of concern though... the bench scored just three points. The starters were awesome, but that's going to be a problem if it becomes a trend. The 16 turnovers is uncharacteristic for UCLA and it's also a shame the Bruins couldn't get a win when they shot 53% from three.

Kind of...: I'm going to go the other way on this one. UCLA let one slip away. Their only other non-conference game of note is against Gonzaga in Seattle. They were underwhelming in their wins. And they lack of depth suggests they might end playing a lot of slugfests in conference play. The front-end talent is there to be dangerous. But this is starting to feel like a "oh that's a dangerous 6- or 7-seed" type of dangerous than "this team is a Final Four contender" dangerous.

Washington Huskies 81, Washington State Cougars 69

BoilerUp89: Washington was in control for most of this game. Wesley Yates III had 26 points and Zoom Diallo scored 20 of his own. Hannes Steinbach continues to be a freshman sensation: 14 points, 13 rebounds for him in this one.

Kind of...: My batting average isn't always great, so let me quote myself while I still look good (RE: Steinbach): "keep an eye on this guy. Might be most productive frosh in the conference this year."

Penn State Nittany Lions 83, La Salle Explorers 69

MaximumSam: Melih Tunca led the Nits in scoring with 20. Does he need a nickname? The Turkish Tunca?

Kind of...: I said the numbers didn't suggest La Salle had much of a shot, but my gut told me otherwise, and...PSU jumped on them from the start. This game tells us nothing. Wisconsin routed MTSU in football, and both teams are near the bottom of their respective conferences. That's the vibe I'm getting here.

Maryland Terrapins 89, Marquette Golden Eagles 82

BoilerUp89: Is Marquette just a lot worse than last year? Chase Ross scored 31 for them and they still lost.

MaximumSam: Pharrel Payne went down after a dunk in extremely awkward fashion and was taken out on a stretcher. He was in tremendous, uh, pain, but it's unclear what the extent of his injury is.

Kind of...: It might be time to talk about Shaka Smart. In 2011 he took VCU from the play-in game to the Final Four as a 33 year-old wunderkind. Since then? Five NCAA tournament wins in 14 years. And the lone Sweet 16 appearance ended with a loss to 11-seed NC State. As a Wisconsin fan, I hope Marquette keeps him long term. As an objective observed, the record gets thinner and thinner.

Too bad about Payne. That's tough for an already thin roster. Maryland's in the Player's Era Festival next week, but A) The UNLV game will do virtually nothing for their profile as the Runnin' Rebels are 120 in KenPom, and B) Gonzaga will probably smoke them. They DID beat Marquette, and on the road, but this year might get tough in a hurry.

Nebraska Cornhuskers 105, Oklahoma Sooners 99

MaximumSam: The Unstoppable Huskers absolutely blistered the nets, shooting 56% from deep. Pryce Sandfort dropped 28 and The Rienk had 26. Is scoring up this year or is that just me?

Kind of...: It was clear at Iowa that Sandfort had talent, and it sure seemed like Hoiberg was a guy who could unlock it. Basically, he's a bigger, better Connor Essegian (who's minutes have gone down appreciably). We know there's a good home court advantage for the Huskers. What we don't know: will they be able to get stops. (Currently #86 in D, per KenPom).

But, obligatory: NATION'S LONGEST WINNING STREAK!!!

BoilerUp89: Absolutely massive W for Nebrasketball. They have some pieces to compete with this year.

Minnesota Golden Gophers 72, Green Bay Phoenix 65 (OT)

MaximumSam: Didn't count, but still fun.

BoilerUp89 note - I accidentally deleted this video while editing. Hopefully this is the one you wanted in the article.

Kind of...: Gotta quote myself again:

Kind of...: As a loyal Wisconsin fan, I have no problem cheering for Minnesota if Doug Gottlieb is on the other sideline. And no problem laughing at Minnesota if they somehow lose this game. They won't. KenPom call for a 21 point margin, but I'm thinking 30-plus.

Minnesota needing OT (on their home court!) to beat #343 Green Bay AND Doug Gottlieb suffering a gut punch loss. Best of both worlds!!!

AlmaOtter: Just here to drop this magisterial profile of Gottlieb (and his double car-wreck day in February in Green Bay). What a delightfully kind human being.

Sunday's Big Ten Games

#65 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-0) at #22 THE Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0)

12:30 ET, FS1

BoilerUp89: vomits

MaximumSam: Old Boss Friend Micah Shrewsberry comes back to the B1G. Both of these teams are facing their first real competition of the year. Sounds like Devin Royal may be out for some time, so that's just great.

Kind of...: Notre Dame might not be good enough for a Buckeye win to mean much...but the Buckeyes still need to win this.

#189 Incarnate Word Cardinals (2-1) at #26 Indiana Hoosiers (3-0)

5:30 ET, BTN

BoilerUp89: Don't let your game run over Indiana. The Hoosiers are up to 18th on KenPom. Their offense has been incredible, fueled by 47.5% three point shooting. Incarnate Word has played a single Division 1 game to date (a 34 point loss at Colorado State).

Kind of...: Gonna be ugly.

#83 Akron Zips (3-0) at #6 Purdue Boilermakers (2, 3-0)

7:30 ET, BTN

BoilerUp89: Akron is really a pretty decent team so Purdue will have to come out focused to get the win here. If they are too high on their own praises coming off the Alabama victory this could get interesting. Akron does a great job of limiting turnovers and a pretty good job of causing them, so Purdue will need to win the rebounding battle to get more possessions.

HoustonBoiler: Purdue needs to rebound, take care of the basketball, and limit their opponent's dribble penetration. These are Purdue's keys for every game this season. Yes, I will be a broken record.

Kind of...: Please read BoilerUp89 above. See what I have to deal with? Purdue does NOT have to come out focused to get the win. They just have to not urinate all over themselves. Which they won't. A sluggish first half, with the Boilers only up by a couple? Maybe. 40 minutes of stress. No. Or, let's put it this way. If Akron upsets Purdue, some enterprising B1G school really ought to keep HC John Groce in mind for a future opening, no?

BoilerUp89: Akron is much better than Oakland who Purdue let hang around for 30 minutes. Purdue shouldn't have problems here but let's not pretend Akron isn't the 13 seed nobody wants to face. They are considered better than 3 Big Ten teams on KenPom and Purdue (and everyone else for that matter) is completely capable of losing to any conference team if they walk into a game unfocused.

Today's Non-Big Ten Games of Interest

#195 Wright State Raiders v. #126 Kent State Golden Flashes, Greenbrier, 12 ET, Not Televised
#63 South Florida Bulls at #123 Kennesaw State Owls, 2 ET, ESPN+
#1 Houston Cougars v. #31 Auburn Tigers, Birmingham, 3 ET, ESPN
#77 Colorado State Rams at #135 Loyola Chicago Ramblers, 5 ET, ESPN+
#99 UNLV Running Rebels at #69 Memphis Tigers, 5 ET, ESPN
#9 Florida Gators v. #52 Miami FL Hurricanes, Jacksonville, 8:30 ET, ESPN

BoilerUp89: I hate neutral site games especially in rivalry games. Florida and Miami should not be playing at a neutral site. That's disgusting. Also, apparently I missed it but congratulations to New Haven on their first and second Division 1 victories (over UMass Lowell and Delaware State).

HoustonBoiler: Cougs and Tigers has potential to be entertaining.

Kind of...: Probably won't watch much today. Since I've been noting how bad the MVC looks, I should also note (prodded by Colorado State and UNLV rankings above) that the MWC appears to be down. Might even slip behind the A-10 this year. Understandable given the coaching and player exodus, but, yeah, already some really bad losses, including from hotshot newbie Grand Canyon. Have had 4+ NCAA teams each of last four seasons, but I don't see that happening this year.