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The 5 biggest Big Ten games of the penultimate week of regular season
By Alex Hickey
Published:
February, mercifully the shortest of all months, is nearly over. And when it ends, the crescendo of the college basketball season is soon to follow.
But we do have to endure that week, which is providing a fittingly chilling reminder that we aren’t out of the winter woods just yet.
Fortunately, there will be plenty of meaningful Big Ten basketball games to watch if you’re among those who will be snowed or iced in this week — so long as Winter Storm Olive doesn’t wreak havoc on the scheduling.
These are the 5 biggest games on this week’s Big Ten schedule as we prepare for the stretch run and upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
5. Rutgers (17-10, 9-7) at Penn State (16-11, 7-9)
When: Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET, BTN
If the Nittany Lions close the regular season with a 3-1 record, they’ll be 10-10 in the Big Ten and moving toward the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. And if Penn State does in fact have the wiggle room to lose once more, this isn’t a “must-win” as strictly interpreted.
But it would sure be nice to have it. Penn State closes with games against Northwestern and Maryland in the final week, so nothing is assured.
And the Scarlet Knights aren’t exactly playing for nothing here. Rutgers is in a preposterous 6-way tie for 4th place at the moment. That No. 4 seed is like gold, as it comes with the final double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
4. Wisconsin (15-11, 7-9) at Michigan (15-12, 9-7)
When: Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, CBS
It’s not quite an NCAA Tournament elimination game, but hoo boy, is the loser of this game in major jeopardy.
That will be doubly true if the Badgers or Wolverines come into this game off a loss, which is quite possible. Wisconsin hosts Iowa on Wednesday, and Michigan travels to Rutgers Thursday. If either team loses twice this week, it may well take an extended Big Ten Tournament run to reach the Big Dance.
These teams already hate each other, as evidenced by last year’s postgame fight and Hunter Dickinson’s classification of the Badgers as “scumbags.”
The stakes will only throw another log on the fire.
3. No. 21 Northwestern (20-7, 11-5) at Illinois (18-9, 9-7)
When: Thursday, 9 p.m. ET, BTN
The shoe is on the other foot for this historically lopsided rivalry.
Northwestern is the ranked team looking to stay in the Big Ten title race, while Illinois seeks a quality win to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume and seeding.
If there’s ever been a matchup between the Wildcats and Illini this meaningful, it predates the internet. And the invention of the AP poll.
Even in the best season in modern Northwestern history, 2017, the Wildcats were swept by the Illini. Northwestern made the NCAA Tournament for the first time, while Illinois went to the NIT and got John Groce fired.
To go to Champaign and come home with a win would be a watershed moment in Northwestern basketball history.
2. No. 21 Northwestern (20-7, 11-5) at Maryland (18-9, 9-7)
When: Sunday, noon ET, BTN
The Wildcats haven’t played a pair of games this big in the same week since … well, last week, when they beat Purdue and Indiana back-to-back.
The Terrapins will be looking to close out a perfect Big Ten season at Comcast Center, provided that the team doesn’t come down with food poisoning and the team managers are forced to play Minnesota on Wednesday night.
With a win, Maryland should crack the Top 25 next week and position itself well for a Big Ten Tourney double-bye. This could also be a crucial matchup in regards to NCAA Tournament seeding, as both teams are currently hovering around the 6-seed range.
1. No. 17 Indiana (19-9, 10-7) at No. 5 Purdue (24-4, 13-4)
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, FOX
Though the Big Ten standings tell us otherwise, the NCAA Tournament selection committee made it clear that these are the 2 best teams in the conference. And that’s just a cherry on top of a matchup that is already the Big Ten’s best basketball rivalry.
A win at Mackey Arena is among the few items still missing from Mike Woodson’s “revitalize Indiana basketball” checklist. The Hoosiers haven’t come home from West Lafayette with a win since 2013.
Purdue will be looking to make a statement after losing at Assembly Hall earlier this month. And given that the Boilers have a full week off before this game, both the players and the crowd are going to have the energy to make that statement.
Sweetest of all for Purdue, a win over the Hoosiers would clinch the Big Ten title if Northwestern loses to Illinois on Thursday and Maryland on Sunday. The timing is imperfect — no matter what, Purdue fans will have to wait at least a day to celebrate — but there’s no better path to getting there than beating IU.
Alex Hickey is an award-winning writer who has watched Big Ten sports since it was a numerically accurate description of league membership. Alex has covered college football and basketball since 2008, with stops on the McNeese State, LSU and West Virginia beats before being hired as Saturday Tradition's Big Ten columnist in 2021. He is an Illinois native and 2004 Indiana University graduate.