There was little to no drama this week in the Big Ten which sets up a wild race to the finish. Purdue, Michigan and Michigan State are tied at the top with 12-3 conference records. Maryland is a game and a half back, and Wisconsin is two games back. Barring complete chaos, the Big Ten regular season will come from one of the top three teams. Which one is totally up for grabs. Brace yourselves because the last five games of the regular season could get wild.
Games of the Week
#1 #10 Michigan State @ #7 Michigan (3:45 E.T. CBS)
Sunday, February 24
Players to Watch:
Michigan State. Cassius Winston (18.5 PPG), Matt McQuaid (8.7 PPG)
Michigan: Ignas Brazdeikis (14.5 PPG), Charles Matthews (13.2 PPG)
The matchup we have all been waiting for is finally here. The two preseason frontrunners meet in Ann Arbor Sunday afternoon for the Big Ten game of the year so far. The Spartans lost a huge part of their team last week in Nick Ward. Ward suffered a hairline fracture in his left hand and will be out for most of the regular season. Kenny Goins and Xavier Simpson will need to pick up the slack. Michigan bounced back from their loss at Penn State with a win over Maryland. The Wolverines haven’t been playing great recently, but Ward’s injury and home court advantage will be enough for Big Blue to pull off the win.
Michigan State 70 Michigan 77
#2 Penn State @ Illinois (12:00 E.T. BTN)
Saturday, February 23
Players to Watch:
Penn State: Lamar Stevens (19.5 PPG), Rasir Bolton(12.5 PPG)
Illinois: Trent Frazier (14.4 PPG), Ayo Dosunmu (14.1 PPG)
I bet you didn’t see this one coming. Truth be told, there is no game this week that even comes close Michigan vs. Michigan State, but this has some implications. Penn State is currently in last place in the Big Ten Standings, as they have been all season. This game is big for one reason. The loser will most likely be in the bottom four of the Big Ten and play in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State is two games back from the 10th spot. Illinois is currently ahead one game of the tenth spot. Illinois has won five out of their last seven which I think will put them above Penn State on Saturday.
Penn State 67 Illinois 71
Team of the Week: Michigan
Not many teams caught my eye this week, but Michigan bounced back from their inexplicable loss at Penn State with a win over Maryland. Props to Coach Beilein for having his team ready and not letting a loss snowball on their Big Ten Title hopes. The Wolverines have another chance to make a big statement against Michigan State on Sunday.
Player of the Week: Lamar Stevens (Penn State)
Lamar Stevens is quietly the second leading scorer in the Big Ten at 19.5 points per game. As bad as Penn State has been, Stevens is a bright spot for the Nittany Lions. In the win against Nebraska, Stevens put up 29 points and eight rebounds. He also posted 18 points in their loss against Purdue. The Nittany Lions are playing better, and Stevens will need to continue to be himself if they want to make a little run.
Sleeper team: Ohio State
There is no way around it. The Buckeyes have been struggling lately with two bad losses to Michigan State in Illinois this past week. OSU is sitting at 16-9 and a nine seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket. The rest of the schedule is no easy task with Maryland, Iowa, Purdue and Wisconsin still left on the schedule. The Buckeyes get Northwestern and Maryland this week and will need to at least win one of those games to keep their spot in the tournament.
My Power Rankings.
- Purdue
- Michigan
- Michigan State
- Maryland
- Wisconsin
- Iowa
- Ohio State
- Minnesota
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Rutgers
- Penn State
- Nebraska
- Northwestern