Big Ten Basketball November 23 Recaps, Previews, and Open Thread

Purdue and Nebraska won championships! The rest of the conference didn't cover themselves in glory on Friday and Saturday.

Today, Northwestern tries to manage a 3rd place result.

All numbers via Torvik. All predictions not financial advice.

Friday and Saturday Night's Games

BYU Cougars 98, Wisconsin Badgers 70

BoilerUp89: Wisconsin got the double digit halftime deficit down to 7 after AJ Dybantsa picked up his fourth foul and looked like they might make a game of things, but BYU proceeded to blow the game wide open. Wisconsin had a massive shooting drought for a ten minute period that allowed BYU to go on a 31-9 run.

Virginia Cavaliers 83, Northwestern Wildcats 78

BoilerUp89: This was a close game all the way thru, but Virginia made their free throws (30 of 36) while the Wildcats were just 17 of 24. UVA absolutely dominated the glass nearly doubling up Northwestern and getting more of their misses back than Northwestern secured. The Detective had an unusually quit game with 9 points on 3 of 12 shooting.

Michigan State Spartans 84, Detroit Mercy Titans 56

BoilerUp89: No mercy for the Titans. Double-double for Jeremy Fears Jr. who had 18 points and 11 assists.

Central Connecticut Blue Devils 67, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 54

BoilerUp89: It's okay everyone loses to Northeast Conference teams from time to time... right? Oh, you learned it by watching Purdue? That's not good. Central Connecticut State outrebounded Rutgers and Rutgers shot just 36% from the field. This wasn't a competitive game which means Pikiell could very well be entering his final Big Ten season. Going to suck watching Rutgers beat Purdue.

Purdue Boilermakers 86, Texas Tech Red Raiders 56

BoilerUp89: Purdue won their 5th straight MTE (2021 Hall of Fame Tip-Off, 2022 PK85, 2023 Maui, 2024 Rady Children's) in convincing style. A 31-3 run from 7 minutes to go in the 1st half to 14:29 in the 2nd half sealed this one. Purdue held JT Toppin to just 15 points on 13 shots. All five Boilermakers starters (and two bench players) finished with double figures in scoring. Purdue won the rebounding battle 43-25 and shot 57% from three. Complete and total asskicking.

Nebraska Cornhuskers 86, Kansas State Wildcats 85

BoilerUp89: Nebrasketball can't be beaten! In a tie game with time winding down Sandfort missed a three pointer, but Sam Hoiberg secured the offensive rebound and was fouled in the process. Hoiberg made the first free throw to give the Cornhuskers the lead and secure the win.

UCLA Bruins 86, Presbyterian Blue Hose 46

BoilerUp89: Presbyterian was just outmatched completely. UCLA shot 63% from the field (50% from three), outrebounded their opponent, and held the Blue Hose to very poor shooting numbers. Skyy Clark had 22 points.

Illinois Fighting Illini 98, Long Island University Sharks 58

BoilerUp89: Illinois won the first half 54-19. We don't need to say anything else about this game.

Providence Friars 77, Penn State Nittany Lions 65

BoilerUp89: Providence was 6 of 33 from three and had a double digit victory over Penn State. Freddie Dilione V played 35 minutes for PSU off the bench and scored 22 points. Why is he coming off the bench? The rest of the team combined to go 14 of 48 from the field. That's really bad.

San Francisco Dons 77, Minnesota Gophers 65

BoilerUp89: 4 bid WCC! The Dons are a solid team and shot 50% from behind the arc. That's difficult to overcome and to top that off San Francisco outrebounded the Gophers.

Today's Big Ten Games

#99 South Carolina Gamecocks (4-1) v. #53 Northwestern Wildcats (4-1)

Greenbrier Tip-Off - Mountain Division 3rd Place Game
5 ET, CBSSN

BoilerUp89: Why was Northwestern in a MTE where they could face Butler when they are already scheduled to play Butler in December? The Gamecocks shoot a ton of threes and try to run opponents off the line. They aren't a great rebounding team and I think Northwestern's interior defense will take advantage of South Carolina, but this is somewhat of a must win game for Northwestern's resume.

MaximumSam: The Detective on the case of Meechie Johnson, wanted for stealing a bunch of NIL money in Ohio then fleeing the state.

Sunday's Non-Big Ten Games of Interest

#39 Clemson Tigers v. #31 Georgia Bulldogs, Charleston Classic, 1 ET, ESPN
#28 Virginia Cavaliers v. #24 Butler Bulldogs, Greenbrier, 2 ET, CBSSN
#48 George Washington Revolutionaries v #100 McNeese Cowboys, Cayman, 5 ET, FloSports
#46 West Virginia Mountaineers v. #94 Xavier Musketeers, Charleston Classic, 3:30 ET, ESPN
#60 Utah State Aggies v. #122 Davidson Wildcats, Charleston Classic, 9 ET, ESPN2
#139 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders v. #108 Murray State Racers, Cayman, 7:30 ET, FloSports