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- The Big Ten Conference has a pair of games tonight as Michigan State visits Wisconsin and both look to stay atop the conference, while Illinois and Nebraska meet in Lincoln after important weekend wins.
- Michigan State leads the all-time series against Wisconsin 85-67 after winning two of the teams’ three meetings last season. Both teams had regular-season road wins in the series before the Spartans beat the Badgers 69-63 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Wisconsins Chucky Hepburn drained a three less than two minutes into the game to tie the score at 58, but Tyson Walker went on a personal 5-0 run to give the Spartans a cushion they would not relinquish. Marcus Bingham Jr. led the Spartans with 19 points and 11 boards, while Brad Davison had 23 points for Wisconsin.
- According to KenPom.com, MSU ranks No. 9 in the nation in opposing offenses and ranks No. 17 overall in the schedule. Facing one of the nation’s toughest schedules, the Spartans lead the Big Ten in scoring defense (38.3) and ranked second in scoring defense (59.3 ppg). During their current six-game winning streak, the Spartans are scoring 70.7 ppg while holding opponents to 56.5 ppg and limiting teams to 36.4 percent shooting from the field and 23.4 percent from 3-point land.
- Wisconsin is building one of the nation’s most impressive resumes, going 5-2 in Quad 1 and 2 games, trailing only Purdue (6) for the most wins in the Big Ten. UW is also seventh in the nation with 6 wins over KenPom Top-100 teams (through games Jan. 8). The Badgers also have five road/neutral wins, trailing only Purdue, Kansas, Kansas State and Tennessee as major conference teams.
- Illinois leads the all-time series, 19-8, over Nebraska in a series dating back to 1921. The Illini have won 12 of the 18 meetings since Nebraska joined the Big Ten, including all of the last five. The Fighting Illini used a 12-2 run in the final four minutes to beat the Huskers 81-71 in their only meeting last season. Trent Frazier paced Illinois with 29 points and Bryce McGowens had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Huskers.
- The Illini offense is balanced, with four players scoring in double figures and seven averaging at least 6.6 points. Of that group of seven, six are shooting north of 40.0 percent from the floor and five are hitting over 33.3 percent of their three-point attempts. Illinois also gets significant production from its bench, scoring 24 points per game, tied for second in the Big Ten. The Illini bench has outscored their opponents in 12 of 15 games by an average of 8.5 points.
- The Huskers have been tough at Pinnacle Bank Arena, going 6-1 this season, with the only loss coming to No. 4 Purdue in overtime on Dec. 10. Nebraska is scoring 75.3 points on its home floor and shooting north of 40 percent. floor with a score of +13.58. In the Huskers’ last home game, NU held Iowa to a season-low in points (50) and shooting percentage (.260) in a 65-50 Husker victory.
- 10 of the Big Ten’s 14 teams were in or received votes in this week’s AP and USA Today Top 25 polls. Purdue comes in at No. 3, while Wisconsin is No. 18 in both polls. Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern and Ohio State collected votes in both polls, while Iowa, Maryland and Rutgers received nods in the USA Today list.
- Eleven of the 14 Big Ten programs are ranked in the top 66 in today’s NCAA NET rankings, including six in the top 40: Purdue (#5), Ohio State (#14), Rutgers (#21), Indiana (#25), Illinois ( No. 37) and Maryland (No. 39). Purdues five Quad 1 wins are tied for second in the nation for most. The Big Ten also leads the nation with 48 Quad 1 and 2 wins (ACC – 37, Big 12 – 41, Big East – 33, PAC 12 – 33, SEC – 34). Thirteen of the league’s 14 teams also have at least one Quad 1 win and at least 1 Quad 2 win.
- Through games on Jan. 9, 12 of the Big Ten’s 14 teams are ranked in the top 55 in the latest KenPom rankings. Purdue leads the way at No. 7, followed by Ohio State (#12), Rutgers (#16) and Indiana (#22). The Big 12 has 10 teams in the top 60, while the SEC has eight. Six Big East and seven ACC teams are also included in the top 60.
- Five Big Ten teams also rank in the top 50 in today’s RPI rankings. Purdue leads the league at No. 5, followed by Wisconsin (28), Michigan State (23), Maryland (33) and Northwestern (41). The ACC leads the major conferences with eight teams in the top 50, two more than the Big 12. The Big Ten faces the Big East, PAC 12 and SEC with five teams each.
- Eight of the Big Tens 14 teams are ranked in the top 32 in today’s NET Strength of Schedule rankings. The Big Ten has eight teams in the top 50, while the SWAC and Big 12 each have six participants, followed by the Big East and SEC with five each. Nebraska (11th), Ohio State (15th), Maryland (19th) and Iowa (20th) are in the top 20 among the nation’s 363 Division I programs.
- Some of the nations best defensive units are on display every time a Big Ten team takes the field. Four Big Ten teams rank in the top 35 in the NCAA in scoring defense, while eight are holding opponents to 41.0 percent or less. Shooting percentages remain low from beyond the three-point line, as all 14 teams hold opponents to less than 34 percent from three-point range, while nine teams block at least 4.0 shots per game.
- Heading into today’s game, 10 Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 30 in average home attendance, with six ranked in the top 20. Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State, Illinois and Wisconsin are ranked 8-12, respectively, with Maryland ranked No. 20. More than 135,000 fans have watched the Hoosiers this season, which ranks sixth in the NCAA in total home attendance. Seven Big Ten programs are ranked among the NCAA’s top 30 in attendance. A total of nearly 2.2 million fans have enjoyed Big Ten men’s basketball live this season.
- Big Ten teams finished the nonconference portion of the 2022-23 campaign with a record of 115-37 (.757 winning percentage). The conference ranked second in the nation in non-conference winning percentage behind the Big 12 (.840 / 110-19) and second behind the SEC in wins (130-42).
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Sources 2/ https://bigten.org/news/2023/1/10/general-big-ten-weekly-mens-basketball-central-jan-10-16.aspx The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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