It’s becoming increasingly clear that the layup contest does not exist in Big Ten basketball. Some of the best teams in the conference are learning this very valuable lesson, like the Purdue Boilermakers. The Indiana Hoosiers are continuing to find ways to win, and it looks like they have a star in Lamar Wilkerson.
Here are the scores and the rest of my analysis from Wednesday night’s Big Ten basketball games:
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Indiana 84-66 VS Maryland
The Indiana Hoosiers earned a convincing win over the Maryland Terps on the back of a dominant performance from Lamar Wilkerson. The Indians were able to get the ball rolling off a slow start against a bad Terps team, but with Wilkerson’s stellar performance, it didn’t matter. The Indians took the lead late in the game behind Tayton Conerwat’s 19 points, the efficient Conor Enright’s 16 points and Reed Bailey’s 15 points off the bench. This Hoosiers team didn’t have a lot of time together, but they were able to win games and build continuity. The Terps, on the other hand, still look like the worst team in the Big Ten to start the season.
5 Purdue University 81-73 VS University of Washington
The scoreline of this game doesn’t tell the whole story. As expected, the Purdue Boilermakers are clearly the better team in this game. Purdue did everything it could to make this game as close as possible. Washington is already down in this game, but they’re playing well. They trailed by 20 points at one point in this game, but they didn’t let injuries or players wearing their shorts inside out slow them down in this game. Braden Smith was special in this game and was a big reason why the Boilermakers were able to pull away with 23 points and win.
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Best performer of the night
Outside of Lamar Wilkerson, there aren’t many exciting players in the Big Ten. Wilkerson had his fourth straight 20-point game of the season, and he’s definitely found his groove. The Pacers only led the Terps by 5 points at halftime, but the explosive scoring core led by Wilkerson helped the team win again. As Wilkerson continues to shine, the Indians should feel confident they have a chance against any team in the Big Ten. Wilkerson scored 24 points and grabbed 6 rebounds against the Terps.
Brayden Smith scored 23 points against Washington on 10-15 shooting. Prior to this game, Smith became the Big Ten’s all-time assists leader, and instead, he showed off his ability to score and pass to teammates against the Huskies. Smith still had seven assists on the night.
Overview
Both Wednesday night and Tuesday night’s Big Ten teams showed that even the conference’s top contenders can be brought to the brink of an upset but the worst team in the Big Ten. If you’re a national championship contending team, Washington Penn State is going to give you the best performance on any given night. I guess that doesn’t apply to Maryland; they’re in their own little bubble. These top teams in the Big Ten can’t afford a night off. The Indiana Hoosiers, each game, are looking more and more like they can get into that conversation with the upper echelon teams in the Big Ten.
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what’s next
Northwestern vs. Michigan State will be the first game of Thursday’s tournament. The Spartans are heavy favorites and will look to get back on the right track with a winning streak against Indiana on Tuesday. The Fighting Illini will then face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on the road. They look to make it four straight wins against Iowa State on Saturday. Tonight’s final will be Ohio State vs. Oregon. Even with the Buckeyes’ strong start, the Ducks entered as a 3.5-point favorite. Bruce Thornton certainly has something to say about that.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Big Ten basketball games Indiana, Purdue win on Jan. 7