There are five games tonight in the Big Ten, with three top ten teams set to play today. Let’s take a look at the upcoming action.
Minnesota Golden Gophers at Ohio State Buckeyes
In the first game tonight Ohio State is set to host Minnesota. The Buckeyes won their last home game over UCLA over this weekend and enter the day at 12-5 (4-3). Excluding a pair of Michigan games over the next three weeks the Buckeyes have a relatively manageable schedule that should allow them to pick up some conference wins before the schedule ramps up in the last couple weeks. Minnesota enters on a three game skid, falling short at Illinois on Saturday. The Gophers are only 10-8 but have been consistently playing some of the better Big Ten teams close, even landing upsets against a ranked Iowa and Indiana.
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The Buckeyes are averaging 83.3 points per game and shooting about 50% from the field. Led by Bruce Thornton’s 20.5 points per game, the Buckeyes have four players averaging at least 12 points per game. Offensively the Gophers have essentially became a two man team with guard Cade Tyson and forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson averaging 34.4 of the Gophers 72.8 points. Minnesota has played their opponents close but a thin rotation and lack of additional scoring options have held back several upset bids so far this season. With another game on the road and the Buckeyes capable of scoring plenty of points, Ohio State should have enough firepower for the win.
Pick: Ohio State
Indiana Hoosiers at #3 Michigan Wolverines
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Time/TV: 7:00 PM ET Peacock
The Wolverines have looked much more beatable over the past two weeks, with a two point win against Penn State, loss at home to Wisconsin and not looking as dominant in road wins against Washington and Oregon. Tonight should provide an opportunity for Michigan to return to form against an Indiana team that has been struggling. The Hoosiers have lost their last three games, including their last two games by 21 and 17 points, and now enter at 3-4 in the league. The Hoosiers also play four of their next five games on the road. Indiana is averaging just 64 points per game in their last three and now hits the road to face one of the top ranked offenses and defensive teams in the nation. Look for the Wolverines to keep adding to Indiana’s misery.
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Pick: Michigan
Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa ended a three game skid against Indiana with an impressive 17 point road win. Now they’ll host a Rutgers team that is 2-5 in the conference. The Scarlet Knights did surprisingly score 87 points against Wisconsin but still came up short, losing by nine. Both of Rutgers wins in league play have came at home in overtime. Averaging 70.7 points peer game and shooting just 40.8% from the field, the Scarlet Knights have been one of the worst scoring teams in the conference. Their offensive ineptitude doesn’t bode well against an Iowa team with a defensive rating just inside the top 20. Iowa’s offense has been stagnant at times, but their defense is legit and against a Rutgers team that can’t score that should be more than enough.
Pick: Iowa
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#10 Michigan State Spartans at Oregon Ducks
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Line: Michigan State -10.5
Michigan State will try to win their fifth game in a row at Oregon later tonight. Tonight is the second game of a road trip for the Spartans after beating Washington by 17 on Saturday. Michigan State will be heavily favored over the next three games before an end of January showdown against Michigan in East Lansing. Oregon has lost the past four games and while they looked better than expected against Michigan, they’ve still lost their last three games by double digits. Averaging 67.4 points over the last five games, Oregon’s offense has been a weak spot down the stretch this season. And now with the news that guard Jackson Shelstad is officially out for the season, Oregon’s season is in true freefall. Even with the game at home Oregon’s offensive struggles make it hard to see them landing an upset tonight.
Pick: Michigan State
#4 Purdue Boilermakers at UCLA Bruins
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Time/TV: 10:00 PM ET Peacock
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Purdue will try to make it ten in a row if they can knock off UCLA. The Boilermakers have been carried the past couple weeks by Braden Smith, with the team overcoming adversity and making second half comebacks against Iowa and USC. Purdue’s ability to fight back has been impressive and the Boilermakers will try to build off of it heading into a three game a stretch that includes UCLA, Illinois and Indiana on deck.
UCLA has reached the point in their season where Mick Cronin passive aggressively throws his players under the bus while trying to frame it like he’s actually blaming himself. UCLA is 2-3 over their past five games and while they’re still 12-6 (4-3) the team has a noticeable lack of quality wins. Tonight’s home game against Purdue would provide a solid opportunity to change that, with no additional opponents of note on the schedule over the next several weeks.
The Bruins haven’t scored more than 74 points in any of their past five games. Against a Purdue team with plenty of depth and experience, UCLA needs to find some offensive prowess in a hurry tonight. Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn hasn’t been as good offensively the last several games, but between Smith and Fletcher Loyer in the backcourt, and the emergence of Oscar Cluff in recent games, Purdue has still found a way to get it done offensively. Winning on the road is tough but until UCLA shows they can win against a good team it’s going to be hard to pick them for the upset.
Pick: Purdue
