As it turned out, Iowa’s massive flop against Richmond stayed a Hawkeye problem instead of spreading across the entire Big Ten.

All 5 teams that played Friday made it to the Second Round, though 3 had to make it through the wringer to get to Sunday.

Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin all trailed late in the second half against their mid- and low-major opponents before a variety of players stepped up to save the day.

Here’s a look at the Big Ten’s MVPs from Friday night, plus a glance ahead at Michigan’s game against Tennessee on Saturday evening.

Somebody call a Plummer

Fittingly, it was a newcomer who saved Illinois’ hide on Friday night.

Alfonso Plummer, who transferred from Utah last offseason, was not haunted by last year’s 2nd-round loss to Loyola Chicago. Because it was very clear that the rest of the Illini were seeing ghosts for the first 39 minutes of their 1st-round matchup with 13th-seeded Chattanooga.

Illinois was wildly out of sync on offense against the Mocs. The Illini averaged 0.83 points per possession, which was their 2nd-worst output of the season other than a 71-51 loss to Cincinnati on Nov. 22.

Trent Frazier talked a good game coming into this one, claiming the Illini were “trying to kill anything that is in front of us.”

Frazier looked more like a white-tail than a hunter, missing every field goal attempt in a 2-point performance.

Fortunately, Plummer was there to save his hide. Plummer hit a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left to put Illinois ahead for only the 2nd time in the entire game. And as the Mocs found out the hard way, the only score that matters is when the clock hits 0:00.

“Every time I shoot, I feel like it’s gonna go in,” Plummer said. “So I just play with confidence. And I was ready for my moment, and it came.”

Hauser? Did he do that?

When Joey Hauser transferred from Marquette to Michigan State following his freshman season, it was seen as a huge get for the Spartans and a death-knell for Steve Wojciechowski as Marquette’s coach.

Hauser averaged 9.7 points per game as a freshman, and looked like a guy who could be counted on to give the Spartans 12 to 15 a game as his career progressed.

Instead, Hauser has regressed. After sitting out 2020, he averaged 9.7 ppg as a sophomore. That dipped to 6.7 per game this year as he’s been just a spare piece in Michigan State’s rotation.

But the Hauser that was expected finally delivered when he was needed most. With Michigan State entangled with a pesky and talented Davidson team, he became the player most responsible for the Spartans escaping with a 74-73 win.

Hauser broke the 20-point barrier for the first time since Christmas 2020, scoring a game-high 27 points. Hauser’s line was virtually identical from everywhere he shot the ball — 2-point range (5-of-6), 3-point range (4-of-6) and the free-throw line (5-of-6).

Better late than never.

Johnny Davis struts his stuff

In 3 halves of basketball following his ankle injury against Nebraska, Big Ten Player of the Year Johnny Davis appeared to have his skills drained by the Monstars.

The banged-up Davis was a dismal 3 of 19 from the field in a Big Ten Tournament loss to Michigan State. That formed carried over the first half of Friday night’s game against 14th-seeded Colgate.

Davis was just 3-of-11 from the field as the Badgers went to the locker room locked up with the Raiders. And Colgate continued setting the tone well into the second half, holding a 4-point lead with 9 minutes left to play.

That’s around when Davis appeared to take a swig of Johnny’s Secret Stuff.

Davis scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the final 6 minutes, permitting Wisconsin to pull away for a 67-60 win that didn’t feel comfortable until about a minute remained.

Colgate played a fantastic game, but in the end it came down to the Raiders not having a Johnny Davis on their roster. Very few teams do. And if the Badgers are going to beat Iowa State to reach the Sweet 16, their superstar will again have to pave the way.

A prediction: No. 3 Tennessee 71, No. 11 Michigan 62

The pendulum figures to swing back the other direction in the lone Big Ten game on Saturday.

Thanks to Hunter Dickinson’s versatility, there are a number of teams the Wolverines match up against quite well. But the Volunteers are not among them.

Tennessee has one of the country’s most elite defenses, rating 2nd in defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com. Michigan is coming in off of a 15-turnover performance against a Colorado State team that would have won if it had simply cashed in all those chips.

Getting senior point guard DeVante Jones back from concussion protocol is a massive boost for the Wolverines. But maybe the only way Michigan can win this game is if it gets at least 25 attempts at the free-throw line against Tennessee’s aggressive defense. You beat the Vols by hitting the shots they can’t defend.