B1G-ly Basketball Week 3 in Review: The Calm Before the Turkey Tournaments

Your week 3 of Big Ten action saw the Big Ten playing mostly on-campus games as part of their upcoming Thanksgiving week tournaments. These also generally were fairly lack-luster opponents league-wide and the games were correspondingly mostly a snooze that got valuable minutes for freshman and role players off the bench.

As a reminder, all AP rankings listed are based on previous week, and RPI based on the date it was looked up over the course of the previous week and will likely be slightly outdated by time of actual make-up in the coming week ahead.

#3 Michigan State Spartans 3-1

Game 1

The Spartans hosted Charleston Southern in East Lansing Monday night for the first game of the Maui tournament. The Spartans made easy work of the Buccaneers, 94-46. Jack Hoiberg was 4-4 from the free throw line, had a steal, two assists, and two rebounds in mop up duty the last five minutes of the game. Xavier Tillmen led the team with a double-double, scoring 21 and pulling in 10 boards.

Week Ahead

Maui! The Spartans will be playing in the Jim Maui Invitational in Hawaii this week. They play the Virginia Tech Hokies (105th RPI) Monday, 5 pm ET on ESPN2. If both win out to the final game, MSU will face the #4 Kansas Jayhawks at the end of the tournament.

#6 Maryland Terrapins 5-0

Game 1

Maryland beat the Fairfield Stags 74-55 Tuesday night in College Park. The Stags kept it close until under 8 minutes left in the first, definitely helped by 48% shooting from deep making 12 of 25 attempts. They had another run to pull inside of fifteen left in regulation and stayed that way until an Eric Ayala layup with about 8.5 minutes left in the game. Jalen Smith led in scoring with 17 points, while three other Terps broke double-digits.

Game 2

The Terps downed the George Mason Patriots 86-63 Friday night in College Park. Despite only shooting 27% from three, they had four players score in double-digits. Anthony Cowan Jr. led the team with 16 points, while Jalen Smith got a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Week Ahead

Maryland heads to Orlando, Florida this week to participate in the Orlando Invitational. First up, the Temple Owls (33rd RPI) providing Maryland a shot at avenging their grid-iron woes on Thanksgiving Day at 11 am ET on ESPN2 . Next up will be Texas A&M Aggies (220th RPI) or Harvard Crimson (283rd RPI) and still coached by good old Tommy Turtleneck Amaker.

#10 Ohio State Buckeyes 5-0

Game 1

The Buckeyes hosted the Stetson Hatters for the Buckeye Classic Monday night in Columbus, and blew their hats off 86-51.

Kyle Young led the Buckeyes, and got the double-double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds. tOSU only shot 45.5% from the field, but did go 10-27 from three while racking up 19 assists and 9 blocks.

Game 2

The Buckeyes beat the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons 85-46 Friday night. tOSU committed 11 turnovers, but had 20 assists and shot 43% from three-point range. Kaleb Wesson led the team with 15 points.

Week Ahead

The Buckeyes host the Kent State Golden Flashes (14th in RPI) in the Buckeye Classic tonight at 6:30 pm ET on BTN. The Morgan State Bears (234th in RPI) come to Columbus on Black Friday for a 9 pm ET tip on BTN.

Purdue Boilermakers 3-2

(11 AP votes)

Game 1

Purdue blew out the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 81-49 in their Emerald Coast Classic campus game. The Boilermakers had 23 assists and shot 40% from three. Matt Haarms led the team with a double-double, scoring 17 while grabbing 10 boards.

Week Ahead

The Boilermakers head to Niceville, Florida for the rest of their tournament. They will next play the Virginia Commonwealth Rams (55th in RPI) on Black Friday at 9:30 pm ET on CBS. Depending on the outcome, they will play either Tennessee (6th in RPI) in a rematch of the Sweet 16 from last season or Florida State (16th in RPI) at 3 or 6 pm ET on Saturday.

Wisconsin Badgers 4-1

(5 AP Votes)

Game 1

Wisconsin had the Wisconsin Green Bay Phoenix visit for the Legends Classic Regional Game Thursday night. The Phoenix headed back to the frozen tundra with a loss afterwards, 88-70. Oh, and speaking of Green Bay, I think you’ll all enjoy this little gem:

The Badgers won the battle of the boards 39-25, and shared the ball to the tune of 24 assists. Nate Reuvers led the Badgers in scoring with 19 points, going 2-5 from three and 8-12 from the field. He did have five turnovers, though.

Week Ahead

The Badgers head to New York this week for the Legends Classic. Barclays Center will play home to their game Monday night at 7 pm ET on ESPN2 against the Richmond Spiders (20th in RPI). Game two will be against either Auburn (43rd in RPI) or New Mexico (161st in RPI).

Michigan Wolverines 4-0

(11 AP Votes)

Game 1

Michigan beat up a hapless Houston Baptist Huskies 111-68. Simpson had a double-double.

Week Ahead

The least favorite Big Ten squad heads to the Bahamas for the tournament you may recognize from one of the better named less-than ideal bowl games, the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis. They face the Iowa State Cyclones (163rd in RPI) in their first game Wednesday at 12 pm ET on ESPN. Their next opponent will be the North Carolina Tar Heels (51st in RPI) or the Alabama Crimson Tide (229th in RPI). In this rare case, they really should want Bama.

Illinois Fighting Illini 5-1

Game 1

Illinois downed the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 66-53 Monday night in Champaign. Though the illini struggled in the first half, going into the locker room tied at 26, they caught fire finally about five minutes into the second half and never looked back. 16 turnovers didn’t do Illinois any favors here, but they won the boards 44-26. Kofi Cockburn got his third double-double of the season, scoring 15 and securing 14 rebounds.

Game 2

A quick turnaround for Illinois as they played again Wednesday night against the Citadel Bulldogs and won 85-57. The big news out of this game was Kofi Cockburn.

He secured his fourth double-double game with 19 minutes left in regulation! He went on to total 18 points and 17 rebounds in the game. Illinois also hauled in 55 rebounds, which, even when you miss as many shots as they did, that’s a hell of an accomplishment to get 55 in a game. Have they ever hauled in that many in a game before this?

Game 3

Illinois downed the Hampton Pirates 120-71. Guess who go his fifth double-double? Kofi Cockburn led the Illini in points and rebounding, scoring 20 and grabbing 13 boards for yet another double-double. Cockburn went 8-10 from the fieldand 4-4 from the charity stripe for a lightning hot night shooting. Ayo Dosunmu also scored 20, while Andres Feliz and Alan Griffin both scored 19.

Week Ahead

Illinois hosts the Lindenwood Lions (DII) on Tuesday at 8 pm ET on BTN+.

Indiana Hoosiers 5-0

Game 1

Indiana welcomed the Princeton Tigers to town Wednesday night and got the win 79-54. Joey Brunk and Devonte Green led the Hoosiers with 16 points each.

Week Ahead

Indiana hosts Lousiana Tech Bulldogs (197th in RPI) on Monday night in Bloomington at 8:30 pm ET on BTN. The South Dakota State Jackrabbits (229th RPI in RPI) Saturday at 4:00 pm ET on BTN+.

[F***] Iowa Hawkeyes 4-1

Game 1

The Hawkeyes hosted the North Florida Ospreys Thursday night for an on-campus game in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. [F***] Iowa shot a palty 27% from deep, but still got an easy win, 83-68 over the Ospreys. Luke Garza led the team with a double-double, scoring 29, including 2-2 from three-point range, and hauling in 12 boards.

Game 2

The Hawkeyes downed the Cal-Poly Mustangs 85-59 in their second on-campus game of the Vegas Invite. [F***] Iowa got an easy win 85-59, going 7-16 from deep. CJ Fredrick led the Hawkeyes with 21 points, going 5-5 from three and 7-8 from the field. Luke Garza also scored 18.

Week Ahead

[F***] Iowa gets #12 Texas Tech (9th in RPI) on Thanksgiving night for their next game in the Vegas Invitational at 8 pm ET on FS1. Depending on the results (let’s face it, they will lose because Texas Tech is a vastly superior team), the Hawkeyes will face San Diego State (33rd in RPI) because Creighton (83rd in RPI and looking for a new Assistant Coach because they cheated and got caught) will win their game against SDSU and go on to face Texas Tech.

Minnesota Golden Gophers 3-3

Game 1

Minnesota handed the Central Michigan Chippewas a 82-57 defeat Thursday night. The Gophers had 23 assists, but also committed 16 turnovers. They also only shot 57% from the charity stripe, though offset that with 47% shooting from three, going 14-30. Marcus Carr led in scoring with 19, while Daniel Oturu pulled in a team high 12 rebounds.

Game 2

Minnesota downed the North Dakota Fighting Hawks 79-56 last night in Minneapolis. The Gophers had 19 assists on the night, but committed 15 turnovers. Daniel Oturu scored 15, and Gabe Kalscheur led the Gophers with 18 points.

Week Ahead

Minnesota hosts the DePaul Blue Demons (56th in RPI) on Black Friday at 3 pm ET on BTN+.

Penn State Nittany Lions 5-0

Game 1

The Nittany Lions beat the Bucknell Bison Tuesday night 98-70. While they only led by three at the half, they shot hot from the field at 60% for the night and had 6 blocks. Lamar Stevens led the team with 27 points.

Game 1

The Nittany Lions brought some ivy to town with the Yale Bulldogs visiting Happy Valley Saturday afternoon for the on-campus NIT Tip-Off game. Despite trailing 31-21 at half, PSU bounced back for a 58-56 win. While they kept the turnovers low at 7, won the battle at the boards, had 14 assists, and 12 steals, poor shooting made this one a struggle. Penn State just couldn’t buy a basket, going 5-27 from three and only shooting 33% from the field. Lamar Stevens got a double-double, leading the team both with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Myles Dread also scored 13 points.

Week Ahead

The Nittany Lions will face the Ole Miss Rebels (42nd in RPI) Wednesday at 5 pm ET on ESPN2 in the NIT Season Tip-Off. Then they will face either the Oklahoma State Cowboys (14th in RPI) or the Syracuse Orange (149th in RPI) Friday.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-1

Game 1

Stephen F Austin came to the RAC in a Garden State Showcase game, and left with a loss, 69-57. Rutgers shot 40% from three, and was led by Caleb McConnell’s 16 points.

Week Ahead

Rutgers hosts the NJIT HIghlanders (301st in RPI) Monday night at 7 pm ET on BTN, and the UMass Minutemen (86th in RPI) Friday at 2 pm ET on BTN+.

That Other NU 2-2

Game 1

The Northwestern Wildcats were stunned by the Radford Highlanders Tuesday night, 67-56. Norhtwestern jumped out to a 12-4 lead 16:04 left in the first half. Radford would proceed to go on a 17-0 run. The Wildcats managed 5 more points for the half, on two free throws (on two different trips to the line) and a three-pointer. They shot only 14.3% from three-point range, going 3-21. They also lost the battle at the boards 36-30. Pete Nance led the team with a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Game 2

The Norfolk State Spartans came to Evanston Friday night and left with a loss, 70-59. NU shot just 22.7% from three, and committed 10 turnovers. Ryan Young led the team with a double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 boards.

Week Ahead

The Northwestern Wildcats play the Bradley Braves (187th in RPI) in the Fort Myers tip-off tonight at 8:30 pm ET on FS1. They go on to play either the Kansas State Wildcats (131st in RPI) or the Pittsburgh Panthers (210th in RPI) Wednesday at 6 or 8:30 pm ET on FS1.

Nebraska Cornhuskers 2-2

Game 1

Huskers started their first win streak under Hoiberg in overtime Friday night. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out the game recap here.

Week Ahead

Cayman Islands! Check back later for the game preview as we get ready for the first game against the Washington State Cougars.