It was another exciting Saturday night in the Big Ten, as the Big Ten men’s basketball team delivered another shocking upset. The Big Ten remains unpredictable on a nightly basis, as any team can beat any team on any given night. One thing that remains the same may be that USC will continue to blow chances in must-win games.
Here are the scores and the rest of my analysis from Saturday’s Big Ten basketball games:
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Penn State 71-69 VS University of Iowa
The Iowa Hawkeyes, the worst team in the Big Ten, handed a contending team a bizarre loss on Saturday. The season appears to be over for Penn State, who enters this game with a three-game losing streak. The game was a battle with each team fighting hard to take back or control the game. Josh Reed scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half to lead Penn State to victory. When Bennett Stietz isn’t playing well on the field, he’s the best player on the field. This was just another game that really attacked the credibility of a team like Iowa State, which had Penn State hanging around all game. Penn State gets a key morale win, while Iowa looks like a team that might fall early in March Madness.
Northwestern University 63-62 VS University of Oregon
Nick Martinelli’s great week continued as his game-winning goal pushed the Wildcast past the Oregon Ducks. In this game, Martinelli scored 22 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. It was an all-around opening performance for Martinelli, who led his team to steal this game from Oregon State. Nate Bittle had a great performance, scoring 19 points and grabbing 9 rebounds with his efficient shooting. The Ducks led 36-29 at the end of the first half, but the Wildcats were not eliminated in this game. This now marks a third straight win, and the Wildcats are looking to end the season with a bang.
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Minnesota 78-73 VS UCLA
Minnesota’s complications spelled trouble for UCLA, leaving them unsettled as the season came to a close. The Timberwolves had three starters score 20 points, with Body Durkin leading the way with 23 points and hitting 7 of 11 three-pointers. The Gophers didn’t take many 3-pointers, but when they did it seemed like everyone made them. Minnesota shot 52.2% from beyond the arc. Tyler Bilodeau stepped up and was the best player on the floor with 32 points and 4-7 from beyond the arc. With about 7 minutes left in the game, the Giophers launched an attack to take the lead. They did not let up and took the lead at the end of the fourth quarter.
Wisconsin 90-73 VS Washington State
Wisconsin had a great game as they defeated the Washington Huskies on Saturday. Huskies star Hannes Steinbach scored 22 points and Zoom Diallo added 21 points, but it still wasn’t enough to get close to the Badgers’ offense. Nick Boyd was equally good, scoring 22 points himself. The biggest difference was that Braden Carrington, who came off the bench, scored 32 points. Carrington led 9-15 from beyond the arc. It was a hot night for the Badgers as a whole, who shot 44% from 3-point range on 38 attempts for the game. It was just the game the Badgers needed after their loss against the Oregon Ducks. They showed similar opponents that they could take care of business. For Washington, the loss puts them one game back from 500 games, but two games against Oregon State and USC give them a chance to complete the 500-game season.
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No. 12 Nebraska 82-67 VS USC
Another game, another tough loss for the Trojans. This time, there was no bright side for the Trojans. The Trojans led 36-31 at halftime, and when the Cornhuskers took the lead 17 minutes into the second half, that was all she had to write about the game. The Cornhuskers continued to chase points and eventually won by 15 points. Price Sandford scored 30 points for the second time in the past three games. In this game, he performed well, making 5 of 10 three-pointers and 12 of 21 field goals. Braden Fager’s performance was impressive. He scored 17 points off the bench, more than the entire Trojans. This game showed that the Cornhuskers are a competitive team, but they were beaten as a different class than USC. This game completely ruined the entire season and killed any hope USC had of ending the season on a high note.
Overview
Penn State is trying to curtail a very forgettable season at a crucial time in the season. Now is the time for teams to play their best role as spoilers and hinder another team’s chances of making the playoffs, and Penn State did just that. Both Nebraska and Wisconsin put their best foot forward to try to get where they need to be at the end of the season. Although Northwestern played its best basketball down the stretch, Nick Martinelli will be remembered for what Northwestern will remember this season.
This article originally appeared on the Feb. 28 issue of Trojans: Big Ten Winners and Losers in the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Game
