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How will the Big Ten's last weekend shake out?

scott richey, the news-gazette, champaign-urbana, ill.
·3 min read
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Mar. 4—All 14 Big Ten teams will be in action this weekend with a slate of games that will have a significant impact on the league standings and conference tournament seeding. Beat writer Scott Richey breaks down all seven matchups in order to generate a potential schedule for next week in Chicago:

The games

Michigan State 74, Ohio State 67Believe it or not, the Buckeyes are actually on a winning streak. It's just two games, but that's an accomplishment for this Ohio State team. Those wins came at home, though. On the road, the Buckeyes have lost by margins of 27 points and 17 points in their last two trips away from Columbus, Ohio.

Michigan 79, Indiana 77The Wolverines are in desperation mode after Thursday night's double-overtime loss at Illinois. Those chants of "NIT" from the Orange Krush happened for a reason. Michigan is firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble. The wrong side of it as a projected "first four out" team. So Juwan Howard and Co. absolutely need this win.

Iowa 92, Nebraska 82Iowa has been on fire offensively its last two games with 112 points in an overtime win against Michigan State and 90 in the beatdown at Indiana. While Northwestern and Wisconsin managed to slow down the Hawkeyes the two games before that, Nebraska doesn't exactly boast that kind of defense.

Wisconsin 61, Minnesota 59Maybe Wisconsin was due. The Badgers have almost annually fared better than their talent would indicate. Consider this season a regression to the mean. Minnesota has nothing else to play for, though, so Wisconsin should at least be cognizant of the Gophers as a potential agent of Big Ten chaos.

Penn State 81, Maryland 79How many three-pointers will Penn State make? It matters. The Nittany Lions have made at least 10 four of their last five games. The outlier was also the only loss. If Seth Lundy and Andrew Funk can stay hot while Jalen Pickett does his thing, Penn State can wrap up the regular season with a big win.

Purdue 77, Illinois 69The Illini just gave up 31 points and 16 rebounds to Michigan's Hunter Dickinson. There's no telling what likely Big Ten Player of the Year Zach Edey will do for Purdue. Edey will get his. This game hinges on Illinois' ability to neutralize his supporting cast. That hasn't always been the Illini's strong suit.

Rutgers 58, Northwestern 54Both of these teams might be broken. Rutgers just lost to Minnesota, has two wins in its last seven games and got beat by double digits twice at home in that span. Maybe the "Trapezoid of Terror" has lost its charm. But Northwestern has also dropped three in a row. One thing is certain. The first team to 60 — if they even get there — wins.

The projected Big Ten tournament schedule

Wednesday, March 8

Game 1:

* No. 12 Nebraska vs. No. 13 Ohio State, 5:30 p.m. (BTN)

Game 2:

* No. 11 Wisconsin vs. No. 14 Minnesota, 8 p.m. (BTN)

Thursday, March 9

Game 3:

* No. 8 Indiana vs. No. 9 Illinois, 11 a.m. (BTN)

Game 4:

* No. 5 Maryland vs. Winner Game 1, 1:30 p.m. (BTN)

Game 5:

* No. 7 Northwestern vs. No. 10 Penn State, 5:30 p.m. (BTN)

Game 6:

* No. 6 Rutgers vs. Winner Game 2, 8 p.m. (BTN)

Friday, March 10

Game 7:

* No. 1 Purdue vs. Winner Game 3, 11 a.m. (BTN)

Game 8:

* No. 4 Michigan State vs. Winner Game 4, 1:30 p.m. (BTN)

Game 9:

* No. 2 Iowa vs. Winner Game 5, 5:30 p.m. (BTN)

Game 10:

* No. 3 Michigan vs. Winner Game 6, 8 p.m. (BTN)

Saturday, March 11

Game 11:

* Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, Noon (CBS)

Game 12:

* Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)

Sunday, March 12

Championship: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)