Big Ten Basketball November 26 Recaps, Previews, and Open Thread

Happy Feast Week everyone!

All numbers via Torvik. All predictions not financial advice.

Yesterday's Games

Michigan State Spartans 89, East Carolina Pirates 56

BoilerUp89: There's a reason Michigan State's MTE brought down their non-conference schedule grade this year. This game was why. The walk-ons got a lot of minutes.

Kind of...: Sometimes all you want for Thanksgiving is a quiet day at home with a basic meal.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish 68, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 63

BoilerUp89: I think this score is more an indictment of the Shrewsberry era than a sign of life for Rutgers. Notre Dame led by 19 before allowing Rutgers to claw back to within 4.

Kind of...: Saudi investment capital at work!

USC Trojans 83, Seton Hall Pirates 81

BoilerUp89: Scrappy game by the Trojans who used their size to control the glass, score in the paint, and make up for their 16 turnovers. Ezra Ausar had 25 points.

Kind of...: USC looks destined to be the most frustrating--not disappointing, frustrating--team in the B1G. Not #teamchaos, but #teamvariance.

THE Ohio State Buckeyes 113, Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers 60

MaximumSam: The Buckeyes' shooting was just filthy in this game. 26/33 from two and 15/31 will put a team away in a hurry.

Kind of...: Cool. I still don't believe they're anything more than a fringe NCAA team.

Penn State Nittany Lions 96, Boston Terriers 87

BoilerUp89: We could talk about how Penn State outrebounded Boston by just 2. Or how they let Boston make 16 three pointers. Instead, I'll mention that all five starters finished in double-figures and the team combined for just 3 turnovers.

Kind of...: If nothing else, the win allowed "worst team in B1G" talk to drift eastward to Rutgers.

Indiana Hoosiers 88, Kansas State Wildcats 69

BoilerUp89: Indiana slowed down Kansas State star PJ Haggerty, holding the junior to just 16 points on 7 of 17 shooting (Haggerty was leading the country in points/game). Indiana also outrebounded the Wildcats by 7 and won convincingly despite 17 turnovers and shooting just 30% from three. Really good job of overcoming some issues to still make this an easy win.

Kind of...: It is absolutely a great sign for the Hoosiers that this performance felt expected, if not rote. Indiana is now #20 in KenPom, good for 5th in the conference. DeVries and Co. couldn't have asked for a better start.

Michigan Wolverines 102, Auburn Tigers 72

BoilerUp89: I think the Big Ten has three national contenders. Don't ask me to rank them. They've all got slightly different strengths and different weaknesses.

Michigan crushed Bruce Pearl's son in front of Bruce Pearl. For that we are grateful.

MaximumSam: Michigan wins the title of The One True Auburn.

Kind of...: Michigan is USC--capable of being very frustrating--but on a much higher level. Compare/contrast the Wake Forest game with this. We all know the reasons, but it's still...something.

Nebraska Cornhuskers 80, Winthrop Eagles 73

BoilerUp89: I'm more concerned about Nebraska because of the Kansas State/Indiana game than this close win over Winthrop. Winthrop isn't that bad. They are better than Rutgers. No it's not great that Nebraska needed Rienk Mast to score 31 and go 7 of 10 from three. Or that Winthrop outrebounded them by 10. But the Cornhuskers survived an off night from Frager and Sandfort to get the win and extend their winning streak to 11.

Kind of...: THE NATION'S LONGEST WINNING STREAK IS NOW AT 11! THAT'S 12.5% OF THE WAY TO UCLA'S RECORD. WHEN SHOULD WE START THE COUNTER???

Gonzaga Bulldogs 100, Maryland Terrapins 61

BoilerUp89: Two things: 1) Gonzaga is really good this season. 2) Maryland isn't making the NCAA tournament barring some massive changes to their approach. The shooting is bad and the defense was shredded.

Kind of...: Gonzaga has now leaped to 1 in KenPom's ratings. They've looked terrifying so far this year. Pretty soon, WCC player will arrive, we'll all mostly tune out, and we'll see if they can recapture this in March.

Iowa Hawkeyes 74, Mississippi Traitors 69

BoilerUp89: Hard fought win for the Hawkeyes and a good one for the resume sheet. Bennett Stirtz had 29 points on 6 of 8 three-point shooting.

Kind of...: Stirtz played every second against a Chris Beard defense and his only turnover came in the last minute when he pushed off on an inbounds play.

Look, I've tried to be polite, but you all need to take Iowa really seriously. They're not a Final Four contender, but they absolutely could make the second weekend. Started the season 48 in KenPom and they're now 22. There's a lot of former Drake players in the rotation so it's fair to wonder what the ceiling can be. But Folgueiras and Koch would've been the second and third best players on Drake last year, and Tavion Banks and Cam Manyawu both look improved. And Drake hung around with Texas Tech for 30-plus minutes last year. Next Tuesday the Hawkeyes go to East Lansing. You should watch. It will be quite an interesting test.

California Golden Bears 80, UCLA Bruins 72

BoilerUp89: Whoa. Did not see this one coming. Still no Bilodeau for UCLA so it's not time to panic consider the lack of depth on this roster, but giving up 50% from three to Cal won't feel good. Dent had a bad game and then appeared to be favoring his left leg late in the game as he limped to the bench.

Kind of...: As long as Dent is still healthy, I'm not counting out UCLA on the season, but it sure looks more like a "oh my goodness, that 7-seed is rounding into form at the right time" sort of ceiling than "this is a top four B1G team" ceiling.

San Diego State Aztecs 97, Oregon Ducks 80

BoilerUp89: It's panic time for Dana Altman. The close wins in buy games to start the season were concerning, but now that the Ducks are losing pretty handily to good teams, they appear to be much worse than last year.

Kind of...: Yep. No disrespect to Altman, but last year Oregon won the pre-complete-monstrosity Players Era event and then bumbled through much of B1G play until catching fire over the last half dozen games or so. The back end of the schedule means you can squint and see something similar happening. Except for what's actually happening on the court right now. Shelstad and Evans were good last night. Bittle was...fine. The rest of the team went 5-21 from 2 and 4-12 from 3. It's not a complete lack of talent. But it's gone on long enough that you can't just assume Altman Alchemy (patent pending) will fix it.

Today's Big Ten Games

#26 USC Trojans (6-0) v. #91 Arizona State Sun Devils (6-1)

Maui Invitational Championship Game
2:30 ET, ESPN

MaximumSam: There are great mysteries in life, and one of them is figuring out why Bobby Hurley remains the coach at Arizona State. He's in his 11th season and has more losing seasons than tourney bids. They've never been any good despite his reputation as a "recruiter." And he got an extension! And a raise! WTF!

Kind of...: Two former Pac-12 schools fight for the championship of a hollowed out tournament. I'm sure somebody my current age at the time felt similarly about the descent of the Great Alaska Shootout, but I don't feel like stoically commenting on the wheel of time right now.

#25 Iowa Hawkeyes (6-0) v. #87 Grand Canyon Antelopes (4-2)

Acrisure Classic Championship Game
9:30 ET, TV CBSSN

MaximumSam: Grand Canyon sports some Old Friends in Wilhelm Breidenbach, formerly of Washington and Nebraska, as well as Jaden Henley, who played at Minnesota as a freshman. He's now a senior and leading them in scoring. Also watch for Nana Owusu-Anane, who likes to rebound and get out on the break.

Kind of...: "TV TBD"? Yeah, not a great sign for our event. I'll be watching, trying not to sneak looks at Michigan/Gonzaga. I'll probably fail because of my fallen nature, but I'm all aboard the McCollum/Stirtz ride for this year.

BoilerUp89's editor note - The article was updated to show CBSSN after publishing.

#1 Michigan Wolverines (6-0) v. #4 Gonzaga Bulldogs (7-0)

Players Era Championship Game
9:30 ET, TNT

MaximumSam: All right Players Era, I will grant you that this looks like a fun game. The Zags like to turn you over and run, which they will need to do to avoid trying to play in the halfcourt against Michigan's Gigantor lineup. Just wish this game was earlier in the day.

Kind of...: KenPom has Gonzaga #1 and Michigan #4, so analytics nerd bragging rights are on the line. Ike and Huff aren't tiny, so I like Gonzaga to win this one. Not going away, but by high single digits. I've been wrong before. Just my gut.

#80 Maryland Terrapins (5-2) v. #15 Alabama Crimson Tide (4-2)

Players Era Festival
11:59 pm, TNT

MaximumSam: If you stay up to watch this game you get an OTR star.

Kind of...: Bear Bryant's coaching career started in Maryland. Sorry Crab People, nobody said life was fair. I just you should just hope Alabama doesn't start a lacrosse program.

Wednesday's Non-Big Ten Games of Interest

Battle 4 Atlantis - Opening Round

#16 Vanderbilt Commodores (24, 5-0) v. #147 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (4-0), 12 ET, ESPN
#59 VCU Rams (3-2) v. #61 South Florida Bulls (3-2), 2:30 ET, ESPN2
#65 Virginia Tech Hokies (5-0) v. #89 Colorado State Rams (4-1), 5 ET, ESPNU
#27 Saint Mary's Gaels (6-0) v. #103 Wichita State Shockers (4-1), 7:30 ET, ESPN2

Kind of...: A perfectly reasonably field. Please not that number by Vanderbilt. Not a fluke. Mark Byington has it going on in Nashville. Reasonable to think it might not be a long one, so Commodore fans should enjoy the right. If form holds, a Vandy/Saint Mary's title game would be damn fine.

Try to remember to give VCU/South Florida a look today. They're both in the top 10% nationally in terms of pace. Should be fun as hell.

Maui Invitational - Placement Games

#86 Seton Hall Pirates (6-1) v. #154 Washington State Cougars (3-4), 3rd Place Game, 5:30 ET, ESPN2
#33 NC State Wolfpack (23, 5-1) v. #36 Texas Longhorns (5-2), 5th Place Game, 9:30 ET
#52 Boise State Broncos (4-3) v. Chaminade Silverswords, 7th Place Game, 11:59 ET, ESPN2

Kind of...: Even with a weakened field, it feels like Boise State has torpedoed their at-large chances. I feel melancholy.

ESPN Events Invitational Adventure Bracket - Placement Games

#131 Towson Tigers (5-2) v. #123 UC San Diego Tritons (6-0), Championship Game, 12 ET, ESPN2
#72 Liberty Donkeys (5-1) v. #129 Bradley Braves (3-4), 3rd Place Game, 2:30 ET, ESPNU
#220 Vermont Catamounts (4-3) v. #227 Princeton Tigers (3-5), 7th Place Game, 5 ET, ESPNU
#127 Rhode Island Rams (5-2) v. #142 Temple Owls (4-2), 5th Place Game, 7:30 ET, ESPN+

Kind of...: I'm sure during championship week, you'll be able to pull out this bracket and say "Wow, I wouldn't have seen THIS coming based on what happened in November!" But I have no idea who you will be talking about. Or if it will be a good or bad thing for the team you're discussing. I want to will Temple into being better. But, even if they are on that trajectory, it's probably still a year premature. You still probably don't have anything better to do at noon than check out the title game, though. Should be really competitive.

Acrisure Classic Placement Games

#45 Mississippi Traitors (5-1) v. #112 Utah Utes (5-2), 3rd Place Game, 11:59 ET, CBSSN

Kind of...: If you're awake at midnight there are still better options (Maryland/Alabama).

Players Error Festival

BoilerUp89: I don't know. There are probably some games in this stupid ass tournament festival, but considering the stupid ass format I (and everyone else) don't know what they are. It's 1 in the morning on the east coast. Games start at 1 in the afternoon (11 local time in Vegas) for this disaster. Not only do we not know one of the teams that is playing, we don't know any of the teams in any of the games! How the hell are teams supposed to scout their opponents? How does this make for a good product? How are alumni and fans supposed to know whether they are taking a long lunch or leaving work early? This is asinine. I'm so glad Purdue won't be participating in this.

Okay, now it makes sense.

MaximumSam: Isn't that the guy who just makes stuff up?

Kind of...: "The guy?" Like there's only one of them.

Look. I hate this thing. Generally, and now for a specific reason. The major conference, non-B1G school I typically want the best things for is Iowa State. They beat St. John's in a great game, and then handled Creighton with ease. They're one of five teams to be 2-0 at this event. The other four are playing each other in the 1st-place and 3rd-place games. Iowa State gets to play...Syracuse...who has gone 0-2 and would seem to be 14th of 18 competitors. And the game tips at 10:00 am in Vegas. Burn it to the ground. (And yes, I did acknowledge I might find Michigan/Gonzaga irresistible and tune it.)

Acrisure Holiday Invitational Placement Games

#233 Loyola Chicago Ramblers (1-6) v. #212 San Jose State Spartans (2-4), Consolation Game, 2 ET, CBSSN
#75 Northern Iowa Panthers (6-0) v. #115 Tulsa Golden Hurricane (5-1), Championship Game, 4:30 ET, CBSSN

Kind of...: See below. It would appear that Northern Iowa and Belmont are the class of the MVC this year. Each has a game today outside of prime time hours. If you're a die-hard, would be a good chance to do a little compare/contrast, except...neither seems to be on TV. So, um, compare the boxscores or something?

Coconut Palms - Royal Palm Division Placement Games

#114 Troy Trojans (4-4) v. #357 Saint Francis Red Flash (0-5), Consolation Game, 11 AM ET
#203 Toledo Rockets (4-2) v. #104 Belmont Bruins (6-0), Championship Game, 1:30 ET

Kind of...: See above. Belmont shouldn't be challenged. As a MVC die-hard, I still favor UNI as a long-time member, but I still want good things for all MVC children.

Coconut Palms - Tarpon Bay Division (Round Robin, day 3)

#307 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (3-5) v. #191 Rice Owls (2-6), 3:30 ET
#140 Kennesaw State Owls (4-2) v. #164 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (5-2), 7 ET

Kind of...: Oral Roberts pulled a sizable upset over Kennesaw State yesterday, meaning Eagles are 2-0 vs. Owls. Today will be riveting.

Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Division

#330 VMI Keydets (3-5) v. #160 Bowling Green Falcons (4-2), 11 AM ET
#301 Buffalo Bulls (6-0) v. #299 Bucknell Bison (2-5), 1:30 ET

Kind of...: I'm only writing something here 1) to prove to BoilerUp89 that I will comment on anything, and 2) to see if anybody reads this.

Cancun Challenge (non-bracketed, day 3)

#329 Georgia State Panthers (1-6) v. #105 New Mexico State Aggies (5-0), 3 ET
#230 Samford Bulldogs (4-4) v. #110 Utah State Wolverines (4-2), 6 ET
#138 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (4-3) v. #122 UC Irvine Anteaters (3-4), 8:30 ET

Kind of...: Jackrabbits/Anteaters is probably the coolest sounding matchup today, and might really be a really good game (that isn't on TV).

Other

#137 Southern Illinois Salukis (3-3) at #79 Memphis Tigers (1-4), 8 ET, ESPN+

Kind of...: "Other" indeed. I think one of SIU, Bradley, and Drake will be a real factor in the MVC. But don't ask me which one right now.