Big Ten Roundup (Jan. 21): No. 14 Michigan State Moves into First With Road Win at No. 8 Wisconsin
After struggling for two straight games, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was thrilled to have six days to prepare for the No. 8-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, and the extra time did them wonders in an 86-74 victory at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
"It was hell these last three days. That's the way it's supposed to be. I'm happy we got a win and I'm happy we played better," Izzo said. "If you look at our team, everybody scored (and) everybody did something. It wasn't smooth but we shot well, we took care of the ball decently, but the big key was the rebounding.
"That was a big win for us, no question.''
Michigan State (15-3, 6-1 in the Big Ten) outrebounded the Badgers 39-20, and limited Wisconsin's second chances all night long. The Spartans also shot well, especially in the first half, jumping out to a 17-point lead. MSU had five players in double figures, led by Malik Hall with 14 points, and shot 52.7 percent from the field. It was a nice improvement from last week, where they were fortunate to get past bottom-feeder Minnesota and lost at home to Northwestern.
Wisconsin (15-3, 6-2 in the Big Ten) had its seven-game winning streak snapped. Johnny Davis had 25 points and Brad Davison scored 22, making 6-of-10 threes. The pair scores 47 of the Badgers' 74 points, and struggled without forward Tyler Wahl, who missed the game with an ankle sprain.
"We came out hot and hit a few shots," Davison said. "We were getting them to turn the ball over, trying to dictate what we wanted them to do, but then it flipped. They got a lot of transition buckets, a lot of rebound buckets. Once we gave them confidence, a lot of their shots started to fall.
"That was not a great performance from us, but there are a lot of things we can learn from."
With the win, the Spartans are now alone in first place. They are the only team in the league with one loss.
Maryland 81, Illinois 65
Illinois was forced to play without All-American center Kofi Cockburn on Friday night at Maryland, and the No. 17-ranked Illini paid in a big way in an 81-65 loss in College Park. Md.
Cockburn missed the game with a concussion, and Maryland (10-9, 2-6 in the Big Ten) took advantage inside. Forward Donta Scott scored a career-high 25 points, and the Terrapins enjoyed a 40-16 scoring advantage in the paint and 21-8 on free throws.
"We emphasize that every game. It doesn't matter who we're playing," Maryland interim coach Danny Manning said. "We want paint touches. We want to be the first team to the bonus."
Illinois lost for the fourth straight in College Park, and have never beaten the Terrapins there since joining the Big Ten. Illinois led 56-52 with 9:40 to go, but then Maryland went on a 12-2 run. The Illini got within three points at 66-63 with 5:02 to go, but the Terps finished them off with a big 15-2 run to the finish.
This week's results
Monday's results (Jan. 17)
- No. 4 Purdue 96, No. 17 Illinois, 2-OT: Senior guard Sasha Stefanovic made five three-pointers and scored 22 points while leading Purdue to a double-overtime victory over Illinois in Champaign, Ill. Sophomore center Zach Edey notched 20 points and didn't turn the ball over in the win. Game story, CLICK HERE
- Indiana 78, Nebraska 71: After four straight near-misses on the road this season, Indiana finally got the job done at Nebraska, beating the Cornhuskers 78-71 for its first road win of the season. Trayce Jackson-Davis led the way with 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Jordan Geronimo was perfect off the bench. Game story, CLICK HERE
Tuesday's results (Jan. 18)
- Michigan 83, Maryland 64
- No. 19 Ohio State 83, IUPUI 37
- No. 13 Wisconsin 82, Northwestern 76
Wednesday's results (Jan. 19)
- Minnesota at Penn State, ppd. COVID-19
- Rutgers 48, Iowa 46: Rutgers won a slugfest when Ron Harper Jr. made two free throws with 1.9 seconds left. Game story, CLICK HERE
Thursday's results (Jan. 20)
- Indiana 68, No. 4 Purdue 65: Lafayette native Rob Phinisee had the game of his life on Thursday night, scoring 20 points and hitting the game-winning three-pointer to beat No. 4 Purdue 68-65. It snapped a nine-game losing streak to his hometown school, and finally gave him some bragging rights. Game story, CLICK HERE
Friday's results (Jan. 21)
- Maryland 81, No. 17 Illinois 65
- No. 14 Michigan State 86, No. 8 Wisconsin 74
Saturday's games
- Rutgers at Minnesota, Noon ET (TV:Big Ten Network)
- Penn State at Iowa, 4:30 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
- Nebraska at No. 16 Ohio State, ppd. COVID-19. This game has been postponed because of COVID-19 issues inside the Nebraska program. Full story, CLICK HERE
Sunday's games
- Northwestern at No. 4 Purdue, 1 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
- Michigan at Indiana, 3:30 p.m. ET (TV: CBS)
Big Ten standings
Related stories on Big Ten basketball
- ROUNDTABLE PODCAST: This week's Big Ten Roundtable podcast features Wisconsin guard Brad Davison talking about the big showdown with Michigan State on Friday night, and BuckeyesNow.com publisher Brendan Gulick talking Ohio State football. CLICK HERE
- POWER RANKINGS: The national pollsters still might think that Purdue should be the highest-ranked Big Ten team, but Tom Brew's second conference power rankings have knocked the Boilermakers down a notch after a second league loss.x CLICK HERE
- TV RATINGS RECORD: There were a lot of eyeballs on Indiana's big in-state showdown with No. 4-ranked Purdue on Thursday night, with more than 954,000 people watching on FOX Sports 1. It was the largest viewer number ever for a game on the network. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA BEATS NO. 4 PURDUE: Lafayette native Rob Phinisee had the game of his life on Thursday night, scoring 20 points and hitting the game-winning three-pointer to beat No. 4 Purdue 68-65. It snapped a nine-game losing streak to his hometown school, and finally gave him some bragging rights. CLICK HERE
