The Big 10 basketball schedule is always full of surprises and chaos. There wasn't anyone who had the Illini losing to the USC Trojans at home this week, but it happened. Or even UCLA losing two games during the week. The Big 10 conference schedule causes turmoil on the road or even at home. Here's the results from this last week:
Monday, January 6
75-63 Wisconsin over Rutgers
89-88 Ohio State over Minnesota
Tuesday, January 7
94-75 No. 24 Michigan over No. 22 UCLA
97-87 Nebraska over Iowa (Overtime)
Wednesday, January 8
91-52 Illinois over Penn State
82-69 Indiana over USC
Thursday, January 9
88-54 No. 16 Michigan State over Washington
73-71 No. 15 Oregon over Ohio State
68-50 No. 20 Purdue over Rutgers
Friday, January 10
80-59 Wisconsin over Minnesota
79-61 Maryland over No. 22 UCLA
Saturday, January 11
82-72 USC over No. 13 Illinois
85-60 Iowa over Indiana
Sunday, January 12
104-68 Purdue over Nebraska
78-68 No. 16 Michigan State over Northwestern
91-75 No. 24 Michigan over Washington
82-81 No. 15 Oregon over Penn State
Big 10 Standings
Team | Big Ten Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
Michigan State Spartans | 5-0 | 14-2 |
Michigan Wolverines | 5-0 | 13-3 |
Purdue Boilermakers | 5-1 | 13-4 |
Oregon Ducks | 4-2 | 15-2 |
Indiana Hoosiers | 4-2 | 13-4 |
Illinois Fighting Illini | 4-2 | 12-4 |
Wisconsin Badgers | 3-2 | 13-3 |
Iowa Hawkeyes | 3-2 | 12-4 |
Maryland Terrapins | 2-3 | 12-4 |
Nebraska Corn Huskers | 2-3 | 12-4 |
UCLA Bruins | 2-3 | 11-5 |
Ohio State Buckeyes | 2-3 | 10-6 |
USC Trojans | 2-3 | 10-6 |
Penn State Nittany Lions | 2-4 | 12-5 |
Northwestern Wildcats | 1-4 | 10-6 |
Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 1-4 | 8-8 |
Washington Huskies | 1-5 | 10-7 |
Minnesota Golden Gophers | 0-5 | 8-8 |
Wisconsin has been climbing back up into the Big Ten after a rough start during the conference play. They now have won three straight games. They have a chance to jump back into the AP Top 25 today when the poll is released. While they have played some of the lower-level Big Ten foes lately in Rutgers and Minnesota, Wisconsin will be taking on Ohio State, USC, and UCLA in the coming week. All of them are hovering around quad one wins. Since USC and UCLA are on the road, they only need to be in the top 75 in NET. Ohio State is right on the verge of a top 30 team.
The Big Ten is full of pitfalls and trouble, and even the lower-level teams can give an upper team a loss, as we saw last week when Penn State nearly upset Oregon and USC defeated Illinois. This week should be another exciting week in the Big Ten.