Not only are the Nebraska Cornhuskers proving they have arrived in the Big Ten, they are also coming from the throne in the conference. The Michigan Wolverines were the consensus top team in the conference; in their last two games, however, their flaws have been clearly evident. Michigan’s loss to the Wisconsin Badgers makes things even more interesting for this conference the rest of the season.
Here is my overview of how things played out in the Big Ten this past weekend in college hoops:
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Here are the scores from Friday:
USC 70-69 vs Minnesota
USC got a big, thrilling win over the Gophers. Chad Baker-Mazara stepped up big with a 29-point outing, also chipping in 8 assists. Eric Mussellman notched a signature win in his tenure at USC. The Trojans are trying to build more and more confidence in conference play, and they have another chance with a game against the Wisconsin Badgers coming up.
Here are the scores from Saturday:
No. 10 Nebraska 83-77 vs Indiana
Lamar Wilkerson for Indiana and Jamarques Lawrence both were trading buckets and made this game a classic Big Ten match. Wilkerson kept his hot streak going, as he put up 32 points. He did not have much help, other than Tucker DeVries’ 17 points. Nebraska, on the other hand, showed its depth in this win.
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Wisconsin 91-88 vs No. 2 Michigan
The Badgers humbled the Wolverines, as they handed Michigan its first loss of the season. It took everything out of the Badgers, and a lot of key players stepped up, but this win could lead to a great run for UW.
No. 5 Purdue 93-85 vs Penn State
Braden Smith put on another masterful performance, scoring 26 points on efficient shooting and dishing out 14 assists. It wasn’t just him controlling the offense; he also tallied up two steals. Oscar Cluff was the perfect right-hand man as he put up 23 points, only missing 1 shot. The two-man game was working, and it was more than enough for Purdue to get the victory.
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UCLA 67-55 vs Maryland
Maryland dominated the glass, but the Bruins dominated everything else, resulting in a big 12-point victory. The Terrapins moved to the bottom of the Big Ten after this loss.
In the final stretch of games to close out the weekend, here is how things played out on Sunday:
No. 16 Illinois 75-69 vs No. 19 Iowa
Illinois proved to be the bigger contender in the Big Ten in a win over Iowa. Illinois had three starters post 17 points or more and got solid production from Zvonimir Ivisic off the bench. Iowa’s hot shooter Bennett Stirtz had one of his coldest games of the season.
Rutgers 77-75 vs Northwestern
The Wildcats suffered another heartbreaking loss as Nick Martinelli had another 30-point game go to waste. Tariq Francis for the Scarlet Knights matched the hot shooting day by Martinelli, with 30 points of his own, and his scoring outburst came at the most important time of the game.
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Washington 81-74 vs Ohio State
Bruce Thornton shined again, and Andrew Bynum followed suit as both Buckeyes posted 20-point outings. That was not enough for the Buckeyes, however, because their scoring mainly just came from two players. The Huskies had more production from their starting lineup, and their stars thrived in this game. Hannes Steinbach continued to be one of the Big Ten’s finest. He chipped in 21 points to lead Washington.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Biggest winners and losers from January 9-11 in Big Ten basketball
