Big Ten Roundup: Purdue and Who Else?
The biggest question heading into the weekend is whether No. 3 Purdue will be the only Big Ten team to be ranked when the final whistle blows on Sunday. Rutgers figures to have a brief stay in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
The only teams in the conference with longer winning streaks than two games are Purdue and Iowa, who have each won five and four straight games.

Saturday’s game between Wisconsin and Northwestern was postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Northwestern program. Illinois and Rutgers also don’t play this weekend, and that could be beneficial after the Fighting Illini fell to Indiana and Rutgers lost to Michigan State on Thursday.
Purdue remained third in both the Associated Press Top 25 poll and in the coaches’ poll. The only other Big Ten team to break into the Top 25 is Rutgers, which broke into the AP poll at No. 23. Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Ohio State are the other Big Ten squads to receive votes in the AP rankings.
According to the college basketball playoff odds, Purdue (+325) is fifth in the odds to reach the Final Four, the best mark among Big Ten teams. Illinois, Indiana and Ohio State are all priced at +1200 and Michigan State is at +1800.
Here’s a look at the upcoming games in the Big Ten with some odds and betting information to consider.
Let’s check the latest college basketball news, stats, injury reports, and college basketball lines for Big Ten Roundup. We’ve got plenty of NCAA basketball picks for you to consider.
Game of Week
Michigan State vs Indiana
- Date, time (TV): Sunday, Jan. 22, Noon ET (CBS)
Michigan State (13-6, 5-3 Big Ten) nearly came away with its best win of the season before Purdue’s Zach Edey scored with three seconds left to go to give the Boilermakers the one-point win. The Spartans bounced right back to take down Rutgers 70-57 thanks to connecting on 12 of 22 from 3-point range. The Spartans are now tied for second in the Big Ten standings. Freshman Jaxon Kohler had 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Michigan State.
Double-double AND a career-high for @jaxonkohler tonight 💪💪 pic.twitter.com/wF76VHCbOu
— Michigan State Men’s Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) January 20, 2023
Indiana (12-6, 3-4) hit the road and posted its first win in the regular season against rival Illinois since 2019 thanks to 35 points by Trayce Jackson-Davis. Now the two teams trying to break back into the national polls are set to square off.
Michigan State has won the last three meetings with the Hoosiers and covered against the college basketball odds in each of those contests.
Five of the last eight games between the Spartans and Hoosiers finished under the total. Indiana leads the Big Ten with 11 of its games finishing over the total.
Other Games to Watch
Iowa vs Ohio State
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 21, 2:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
Ohio State (10-8, 2-5) figures to have its hands full with Iowa’s Kris Murray as he is averaging 23.7 points on 52.4% shooting over the last six games. Murray’s run of consecutive games with at least three 3-pointers ended at five when he was just 1 of 5 from distance in Sunday’s win against Maryland.
Ohio State has lost five games in a row, all by single digits. Freshman Brice Sensabaugh is averaging 19.8 points during that stretch. However, the other Ohio State players have struggled to score consistently.
Iowa (12-6, 4-3) has won four of the last six games and has covered against the Las Vegas odds in each of those four victories. The Hawkeyes have covered in 11 of their 18 games so far this season.
The road team has won each of the last three meetings.
Nebraska vs Penn State
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 21, 2:15 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network)
Nebraska is coming off a 63-60 win over Ohio State. Sam Griesel, who has scored in double figures in six straight games, led the Cornhuskers with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Seth Lundy and Andrew Funk combined for 48 points in a 19-point win over Indiana. However, they combined for just 18 points on 4-of-14 shooting in a three-point loss to Wisconsin.
Penn State (12-6, 3-4) had won four of the last five games against Nebraska (10-6, 3-5) before the Cornhuskers went to Penn State and won 93-70 when listed by the sportsbook as a 10½-point underdog.
Eight of the last 11 games in the series finished over the total.
The visiting team has captured each of the last four regular-season matchups.
Minnesota vs Michigan
- Date, time (TV): Sunday, Jan. 22, Noon ET (Big Ten Network)
Both Minnesota and Michigan will look to get back into the win column. The Golden Gophers have lost their last two games by 18 and 22 points. Freshman Joshua Ola-Joseph was a bright spot in Thursday’s loss to Purdue as he had 13 of the Golden Gophers’ 39 points.
Speaking of talented freshmen, Michigan’s Jett Howard has scored in double figures in six games in a row, including a 34-point effort in a recent overtime loss to Iowa.
Michigan (10-8, 4-3) had won six of seven games in the series. However, the Golden Gophers (7-10, 1-6) took three of the next four. Michigan came away with the 15-point win on the road on Dec. 8 as a four-point favorite.
Five of the last eight games between the Golden Gophers and Wolverines finished under the total.
Maryland vs Purdue
- Date, time (TV): Sunday, Jan. 22, 1 p.m. ET (FS1)
After escaping with a one-point win on the road against Michigan State, Purdue (18-1, 7-1) had no such late-game drama on Thursday night. The Boilermakers held Minnesota to 39 points on 31.5% shooting in the 22-point win. Freshman Braden Smith led the way with 19 points.
Jahmir Young had seven of his 26 points in the final 4½ minutes to lead the Terrapins to a 64-58 win over Michigan to snap a five-game losing streak to the Wolverines. Young, a Charlotte transfer, has 76 points over his last three games for Maryland (12-6, 3-4).
Maryland has covered in six of the last seven games against Purdue.
The last three games in the series have been decided by three, one and one points with five of the last six games finishing under the total. Maryland is tied for second in the Big Ten with an 11-7 record against the spread.