It was a humbling day in the Big Ten for some contending teams and a day in which the Michigan Wolverines earned their No. 1 ranking. Michigan does not care who is stepping on the court; the Wolverines can make the best of teams look like they do not belong. Ohio State showed up versus Wisconsin, showing that when they are at their best, the Buckeyes can cool down the hottest teams in the country.
Here are the scores and the rest of my analysis from the Tuesday games in Big Ten basketball:
No. 1 Michigan 91-80 vs No. 7 Purdue
Michigan had its way with a Purdue basketball that seemed to be finding its footing. The Boilermakers entered this game with a 4-game inning streak and two huge conference wins. None of that mattered as the Wolverines had a 16-point lead in this game at halftime and controlled this game for the rest of the way. Michigan was clicking on all cylinders in this game as they had 24 assists on 30 made field goals. Finding great looks for each other equated to a 56.5% 3 point shooting game and a 52.6% shooting night from the field as a whole. The Wolverines are on a crash course to the #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and they are taking down every team in their way, no matter how formidable the opponent is. While momentum was riding high for the Boilermakers, it is back to the drawing board after this loss.
No. 15 Michigan State 82-59 vs UCLA
Michigan State responded perfectly after their embarrassing loss to the Wisconsin Badgers, handing the Bruins an embarrassing loss as well. UCLA crumbled very early in this game. Michigan State’s defense and 3-point shooting did a lot of heavy lifting in this game. The Spartans, after the Bruins got a lead early in the first half,ended up outscoring the Bruins 42-23 to end the half. Things were completely lost at that point, and the Bruins were trying everything in their power to get out of this game as fast as possible. This game was a bad showing all around by the Bruins, as head coach Mick Cronin lost his cool and ejected his own player from the game after a hard foul. Hard to imagine that something like that is the answer to bringing this team together and saving their season. Tyler Bilodeau was the only good thing for the Bruins in this one as he was efficient as can be with 22 points, shooting 3-5 from 3 and 8-16 from the field. This game very well could put an end to the Bruins’ hopes for the tournament, and on the flipside, this was a huge win for the Spartans as they looked like a dominant title contender again.
Ohio State 86-69 vs No. 24 Wisconsin
Each week, the Buckeyes and the Badgers look like completely different teams. For a stretch of games, the Wisconsin Badgers look like one of the best teams in the conference, then they follow that up by getting blown out or losing a close game. The Buckeyes look like a team that can compete with anybody in the conference, and then they lose to Michigan by 20. Both teams need to decide what type of team they want to be fast. In this game, the Buckeyes were at their best. Bruce Thornton and Devin Royal were the best two players on the court. The Buckeyes duo combined for 52 points in this one. The Badgers’ top scorers mustered up only 14 points each. The Buckeyes cooled off the hottest team in the country by shooting 57.1% from 3. Without the other star, John Mobley Jr., this was as impressive a win as you can ask for from Ohio State, and it keeps the Buckeyes in great position to head to the tournament.
Iowa 57-52 vs No. 9 Nebraska
Both teams in this matchup could not buy a bucket in the second half and had a lot of turnovers. Iowa, however, had a 14-2 run to finish the first half that gave them just enough of an edge to play this game ahead. Although it was a tough shooting night for star Bennett Stirtz, he still was exactly what he needed to be down the stretch of this game, 10 of his team’s last 14 points. The Cornhuskers’ star, Pryce Sandfort, was not able to match that as he only had 13 points off of just 7 shot attempts. The Hawkeyes got a much-needed win to end a two-game losing streak. The Cornhuskers suffer another loss to a tough competitor, really lessening their credibility. Thankfully for the Cornhuskers, they have two upcoming games versus the two worst teams in the conference, Penn State and Maryland.
Minnesota 61-44 vs Oregon
After an encouraging win by the Ducks on Saturday and good performances from top scorers, Oregon falls flat on Tuesday vs the Gophers. Nate Bittle had a poor shooting night from behind the arc and only managed to post 15 points, while his co-star, Takai Simpkins, finished the game scoreless and 0-10 from the field. The Gophers, on the other hand, had 4 starters reach double figures, and Isaac Asuma led the way with 15 points. The Gophers ended a 5-game losing streak with this win, as they finally got a little bit light after the tunnel, for what has been a porous season.
Overview
The Wolverines dominated the Purdue Boilermakers in a win that further proves they are the best team in the country. Ohio State also was victorious in dominant fashion, but it is still fair whether or not to question how many times this version of the Buckeyes will be seen. If they can continue that play, they could make a deep run this tournament season.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Big Ten men’s basketball report for February 17 – Michigan dominates
Reporting by Micah Huff, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
