Conference play is officially in full swing all across the country and no other team saw its stock rise as much in the last week as Michigan State.
Michigan and Michigan State each have a pair of tough Big Ten tests this week, while a handful of teams across the country gear up for some marquee matchups.
Here’s a look at all the college basketball games you should be watching this week.
Michigan has been on a slide since its successful week in the Bahamas, having lost four of its last seven games. The absence of Isaiah Livers has certainly done the Wolverines no favors and the slate ahead doesn’t get any easier.
The Boilermakers have been very hot-and-cold this season. Look no further than last week – they scored 83 points in a solid win over Minnesota and then three days later sputtered around the court for just 37 points in an ugly loss at Illinois. Which version of that team will make the trip to Ann Arbor on Thursday?
Daniel Oturu (19.1 PPG, 12.4 RPG) could pose quite the challenge for the Spartans in the post, while Marcus Carr and Gabe Kalscheur are capable of heating up from 3-point range. MSU will look to win its sixth straight game over the Golden Gophers, including a 70-50 win in the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Life in the Big Ten is never easy. A Thursday game followed by a Sunday road trip to one of the toughest arenas in the country is a perfect example of that.
The Spartans haven’t won at Mackey Arena since the 2013-14 season, but doing so on Sunday could help quell some doubts that some still have about this team.
Aside from the health of Isaiah Livers moving forward, there are some major question marks surrounding this Michigan team. A blistering shooting performance carried the Wolverines to the Battle 4 Atlantis title, but they have sorely struggled on the perimeter since.
This team lacks a scorer that can flat out take over at any given point in a game. They have a multitude of solid players and Zavier Simpson is a great leader, but the Wolverines’ weaknesses have been exposed over the last few weeks. Wins over Purdue and Minnesota would be a great way to get back on track, but both games could also turn out to be losses, which would spell big trouble for their tournament resume.
Chris Holtmann’s Buckeyes got off to a great start this season, soaring within reach of the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll. But the last two weeks have been rough, with close losses to West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Maryland’s season has seen a similar arc, having reached the top five of the poll before dipping into a bit of a funk. But both teams are loaded with talent and this matchup in College Park will be a ton of fun.
This is the first mid-week Big 12 blockbuster showdown of the season and it features two borderline elite defenses. While Texas Tech’s offense has come back around in recent weeks after a shaky start to the season, the Bears have been pretty consistent since the jump. Watching Jared Butler and MaCio Teague square off with Kyler Edwards and Jahmi’us Ramsey will be an absolute delight.
After losing three of four games (against St. John’s, Gonzaga and at Baylor by a combined 12 points), the Wildcats stopped the bleeding by shellacking rival Arizona State 75-47 over the weekend.
Nico Mannion and Zeke Nnaji combine to make one of the most exciting duos in the country and they’ll go up against a Ducks team that, despite taking a tough loss to Colorado last week, is dangerous. Payton Pritchard is a player of the year candidate, while Anthony Mathis and Chris Duarte can fill it up from deep. "Pac 12 After Dark" is officially here and this will be a doozy.
The Bulldogs’ lone blemish this season is a one-point loss at Baylor that came down to the game’s final possession. An elite defense (No. 4 adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom) and an offense featuring Kamar Baldwin and a host of very solid players has put the target on Butler’s back as the best team in the Big East.
But can they win at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center? They’ve only done that one time in six seasons since joining the Big East and are 3-11 overall against the Friars in that span. Alpha Diallo and the Friars have been heating up lately and are off to a 2-0 start in the conference. If you like potential upsets, this one could be worth watching.
The biggest game of the conference season thus far, this one could go a long way in determining whether Bill Self and the Jayhawks can end their brutally long one-year conference title drought or Scott Drew and the Bears can win their first ever Big 12 title.
Baylor will have its hands full with Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson, but the Jayhawks haven’t seen a defense as good as the Bears’ all season. This game is what college basketball Saturdays are made for.
The Nittany Lions are for real. Lamar Stevens is a Big Ten player of the year contender and the likes of Detroit native Myles Dread, Izaiah Brockington and Myreon Jones have all elevated their games to help the Lions to their first appearance in the polls since the ‘90s.
But if there’s one thing that could put a damper on the excitement in State College, it’s a visit from the Badgers. Wisconsin has a little experience in going on the road and beating a ranked opponent – they did it last week when they rallied late to knock off then-No. 5 Ohio State in Columbus.