As we warned you, the only game worth watching this week was Nebraska hosting Michigan State at a sold-out Pinnacle Bank Arena. The rest were exactly what we warned you—a couple blowouts, along with Iowa playing at the Blue Morgue.
That’s basically how things went, but WAIT A MINUTE, one of those blowouts didn’t quite go as we expected!
Purdue Boilermakers 89, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 54
Boilerman31: Purdue did bad things to a bad team. buttgre still doesn’t belong in B1G Basketball.
[This was not the unexpected blowout.]
#23 Iowa Hawkeyes 89, Penn State Nittany Lions 82
DJ: Sounds like the Northwestern screamer made it to Penn State to yell at Iowa.
Aaron Yorke: It always sounds like that. So annoying.
Stewmonkey13: Hey, Iowa won another road game without Tyler Cook!
Illinois Fighting Illini 95, Minnesota Golden Gophers 68
Thump: This doesn’t move the needle for me much but it’s nice that we’re not gonna go 0-20. Brad remains immensely hateable and I don’t want him around anymore, and we still really suck.
We’re not suddenly good, we’re not even suddenly dangerous. but I now believe we can compete with the worst teams in the league.
MNW: I think my favorite result of this blowout has been the hand-wringing, spittle-flecked takes from Twin Cities media figures who are insisting that maybe, just maybe the Richard Pitino regime has not been all it has been cracked up to be! That Minnesota basketball is in a state of crisis! That this is beneath Minnesota!
Honey, this is who you’ve always been. This is Sudan hosting Live Aid because they’re concerned about the Ethiopian famine.
WhiteSpeedReceiver: Per Rev. Proc. 2004-34, income can be deferred to the next taxable year if it is prepaid, refundable fees for services to be performed as long as your entity uses the accrual method of accounting.
#6 Michigan State Spartans 70, Nebraska Cornhuskers 64
Andrew Kraszewski: I’ll be equal parts despondent and furious if this MSU team flames out early in the tournament.
But over the course of a season it’s pretty great to have a Cassius Winston, because there are going to be nights on the road when the game comes down to we have him and the opponent doesn’t and this was one of those games and that’s all I have to say about that.
Jesse Collins: Well. We stayed in it. What an infuriating night shooting.
Previews
#19 Maryland Terrapins (15-3, 6-1 B1G) at Ohio State Buckeyes (12-4, 2-3)
5:30pm CT | FS1 | OSU -3 | O/U 139.5
DJ Carver: Maryland travels to OSU for another big road matchup in conference.
A key test here to see if Maryland can keep this win streak going will be the matchup inside between Kaleb Wessen and Bruno Fernando. Wessen, and OSU in general, love to foul—so if Maryland can sideline him early, another win is in the books. If they don’t take advantage of the foul-happy Buckeyes to sideline key players early, then this will grind out until the very end.
Poll
Which is harder to crack?
Northwestern Wildcats (10-7, 1-5) at Rutgers (8-8, 1-5)
6pm | BTN | NU -1.5 | O/U 131.5
A line of 131.5 feels way too high for what we’re about to witness here.
Even after Michigan bombing them out of existence from deep, Northwestern is still the 15th-best three-point defense in the country. The problem? Rutgers doesn’t shoot a ton of threes and, when they do, are 80th-percentile at offensive rebounding! I’m already shaking at thinking what Eugene Omaruyi is going to do to a Northwestern defensive rebounding troupe that may be without Vic Law.
Keep Geo Baker from hitting from deep, hold Rutgers until 30% Oreb efficiency (not even win the offensive rebounding battle! that’s how low my expectations are for Northwestern and how shit they are on the glass!), and hope that Dererk Pardon can handle either Issa Thiam or Shaquille Doorson inside. Otherwise this is going to devolve into Anthony Gaines driving aimlessly at the basket over and over and over, with the occasional Ryan Taylor three to make me think “No wait, there’s hope, we may not be totally pathe—oh no, wait, we are.”
LAST THING! Rutgers is apparently giving out hats at tonight’s game that say “North Jersey,” “South Jersey,” or “Central Jersey,” the latter of which, we’ll remind you, is a complete and utter fabrication. There is no Central Jersey.
Poll
it’s cold and everything hurts
This poll is closed.
40%
you deserve it
(17 votes)
59%
just wait until northwestern loses to rutgre
(25 votes)
42 votes total
Vote Now
Here’s an open thread for the evening’s sporting activity. Enjoy! Don’t burn the place down.