B1G Life, B1G Stage
Game Winner vs Indiana
What’s up brotato chips! I’m back with yet another Big Ten weekly recap for all you guys and gals out there! I know you guys just love these articles of the best college basketball conference….(maybe a close second?) so I wouldn’t enjoy anything less than to pound another one out for you guys to read! This week, just like the last two weeks hasn’t been as crazy but, was still pretty intense, so let’s get right down to it!
Games of the Week
Wednesday, February 15th
After an off day for the conference on Monday, the games on Tuesday weren’t anything to write home about. Going to Wednesday, there were only two games worth talking about, the first of which being the #23 Maryland Terrapins visiting the pesky Northwestern Wildcats. Maryland ended up winning the game 74-64, after a comeback attempt from the Wildcats feel short. The Terrapins were led by Melo Trimble, who put up 32 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Secondly, the game of the night featured the very bright Minnesota Golden Gophers hosting the Indiana Hoosiers in a tough battle that went all the way to the end. When the first half buzzer rang, it saw the Gophers clinging to a 33-29 lead, after a back and forth first half. The second half is where it got really interesting.With about 8 seconds left, Minnesota had the ball while trailing by a point at 74-73. Gophers’ Akeem Springs followed his own missed 3-pointer with a flip from the baseline with 3 seconds left that went in, lifting Minnesota to a 75-74 victory over Indiana to hand the Hoosiers their fourth straight loss and give the Gophers their fourth consecutive win. Before that shot went in, Springs’ first 10 shots had ricocheted off the rim, but that didn’t deter him at all. Letting Indiana take the lead down the stretch didn’t rattle Minnesota as they came out on top. The Hoosiers were led by Justin Blackmon Jr who poured in 22 points on 7-17 shooting and 6 rebounds, but he was over matched by Minnesota’s Nate Mason who tallied 30 points on 8-19 shooting, 3-6 from three-point range, with 4 assists for the win.
Thursday, February 16th
The next day, we only had one game on our hands and my god it was a beautiful one! This matchup saw the Michigan Wolverines at home going up against the #11 Wisconsin Badgers. This game, much like the last game I wrote in depth about was awesome all the way down to the last whistle. With the first half coming to an end, we saw a surprising score, with Wisconsin only holding on to a one-point lead at 31-30. Michigan came out firing in the second half, determined to pull the upset over one of their rivals. Wolverines’ Zak Irvin broke out of a slump with 18 points, 6-12 shooting and 2-5 from behind the arc, and he actually completely air-balled his first three-point shot of the night over the shot clock. Not to forget about Moe Wagner, who scored 21 points, going 8-14 from the field, 3-6 from three-point land, and pulling down three rebounds to help the Wolverines upset No. 11 Wisconsin 64-58 on Thursday night. A huge play in the game was with around three minutes remaining in the game, Michigan was on a fast break after they stole the ball on their side of the court. The ball made it to Wagner, who threw down a massive two-handed slam that absolutely blew the roof off the place, and in my opinion, brought all the momentum to UM’s side. You can see the nasty play here:
Saturday, February 18th
With no games on Friday, we were gifted with a full slate of games on Saturday, four of them to be exact. I narrowed it down to just one: Nebraska vs. Ohio State in the heart of Columbus, Ohio. The reason why I picked this one was because there was a huge collapse in the game at the end and the other team took advantage. The Buckeyes led 57-52 before Nebraska’s Jack McVeigh hit a 3-pointer from the corner with about 25 seconds on the clock to cut the lead to two points at 57-55. THEN a sloppy Ohio State turnover led to a Glynn Watson tough layup to tie the score with 12 seconds left. But during the layup, Watson was fouled on the shot, and his following free throw put Nebraska ahead for the first time in the second half at 58-57. Ohio State had a solid 7.8 seconds to work with to set up for a shot to win it, but the play blew up terribly. Jae’Sean Tate picked up his dribble and was forced to throw up an errant jump shot just before the buzzer. The Huskers were able to pull out a 58-57 victory in a sloppy game, marked by lousy shooting and careless ball-handling by both sides. Ohio State was led by Jae’Sean Tate with 14 points on 4-8 shooting and 10 rebounds while Nebraska was led by Tai Webster with 17 points on 7-12 shooting, 2-5 from deep, three boards and assists. Here is that clutch, clutch layup and one with 15 seconds to go:
Sunday, February 19th
For our last game of the week, I went with my game I picked as the “Game to Keep Your Eyes On” in last week’s article. Everyone should know what game I’m talking about, as it was #23 Maryland on the road to face #11 Wisconsin with first place in the Big Ten up for grabs! Maryland had a very strong first half and was up 33-27 after the first half buzzer rang. Wisconsin wasn’t having any of this, and in the second half they exploded for 44 points to come from behind, and come out on top with the 71-60 win in front of a rocking home crowd. Nigel Hayes was in vintage form, going strong to the hoop, making seemingly every shot. Bronson Koenig returned from a leg injury to provide a jump-shooting boost off the bench that they really needed. Wisconsin played like it was fighting to get into the NCAA Tournament, even if the Badgers are, basically guaranteed a spot for the Big Dance. Hayes scored 14 of his 21 points on 6-15 shooting overall in the second half, and Ethan Happ had 20 points going 7-11 from the field to beat No. 23 Maryland 71-60 in a choppy, foul-filled game on Sunday. Maryland was led on a comeback that came up short by star guard Melo Trimble, who recorded 27 points 9-17 shooting, 4-7 from three-point range, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Clutch Shot of the Week
This weeks insanely clutch shot goes to Akeem Springs of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Like I said up above in the recap of the game Springs took to the baseline with about 3 seconds left after grabbing his own miss. He threw the ball up and in off the glass for the leading basket with two seconds left which provided to be the game winning shot!
Player of the Week
My player of the week is going to have to be the stud guard from Maryland, Melo Trimble. I mean after his last two games this week, he clearly deserves it. In Maryland’s first game he led all scorers with 32 points, going an amazing 12-17 from the field, a stunning 4-5 from deep, 4-5 from the FT line, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, a block and a steal each in a comfortable win over Northwestern. In a disappointing loss to Maryland, he still poured in 27 points, on 9-17 shooting, 5-10 from the charity strike, 4-7 from behind the arch, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Games to Keep your Eyes On
#16 Wisconsin at Ohio State- Thursday the 23rd
Ohio State is always tough on the road, and Wisconsin is a poor 5-3 away from home. So keep your eyes out, OSU may pull the upset.
#16 Wisconsin at Michigan State- Sunday the 26th
This will be a great matchup for the ages, well maybe not that hype, but a good one none the less. The reason why you ask? Because like I said before Wisconsin is 5-3 on the road and MSU always has a rowdy crowd. Wisconsin also just lost to Michigan on the road so I doubt they want to lose to both of them.