Week 3: BTPowerhouse Big Ten Game of the Week: Badgers and Sooners

There has already been a great deal of action in the Big Ten this week including some great showdowns featuring teams like Michigan, Purdue, and Wisconsin.  However, with all the flux regarding the early season tournaments, it seemed more appropriate to push back the Game of the Week to include the weekend games and the games from Monday night.  With that, let's look at the Game of the Week:

Game Of The Week:

Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma: The Badgers had a big game against Georgetown on Thanksgiving and were able to move on.  This is the first appearance by Wisconsin as the Game of the Week this season and for good reason.  The Sooners are sitting at 4-1 coming into the game with their only loss coming against Creighton on the road.  Oklahoma is also rated as #17 on KenPom, which is the highest rated team Wisconsin will have played this season.  In short, one can make a pretty good argument that this will be Wisconsin's toughest test to date.  The Badgers will need more out of their starting lineup and particularly, from Frank Kaminsky.  In Wisconsin's game against Georgetown, Kaminsky had just 6 points and 4 rebounds, which certainly does not live up to the All-American hype.  It will be huge for not only Wisconsin, but the entire Big Ten if they can score a win here.

Honorable Mention:

Illinois vs. Baylor: After walking through their first game in Las Vegas, the Illini will face a much tougher challenge on Black Friday with the Baylor Bears.  Baylor currently sits at 5-0 on the season and blew out a pretty solid Memphis team in their last game.  Without a doubt, this will be Illinois' most challenging game of the season.  In fact, this should be the team's most challenging game so far this year by a decent margin.  According to KenPom, the toughest team Illinois has played to date was #163 Indiana State.  Baylor is ranked 150 spots higher.  The big three to watch on Baylor's team are Kenny Chery, Royce O'Neale, and Taurean Prince.  Illinois should have their work cut out for them in this game, but it would be a huge win for Illinois and the conference if they pull it off.

Nebraska at Florida State: Our Game of the Week post does move a little into the Big Ten - ACC Challenge and this will be the biggest game from Monday night of the event.  The Cornhuskers have been a bit underwhelming in their last few games, but their defense still looks like a great unit and Terran Petteway has been putting together a big season.  Florida State is just 2-3 so far this year, but all three losses have come against solid teams and they will get Nebraska at home.  This is a game that not only should be competitive, ut it will be an important "flip" game in terms of who ends up "winning" the Big Ten - ACC Challenge.

Season Stats

Game of the Week Appearances By Team:

• Michigan State - 1
• Minnesota - 1
• Wisconsin - 1

Game of the Week Honorable Mention Appearances By Team:

• Illinois - 1
• Iowa - 1
• Michigan State - 1
• Ohio State - 1
• Nebraska - 1
• Rutgers - 1

Total Appearances By Team:

• Michigan State - 2
• Illinois - 1
• Iowa - 1
• Minnesota - 1
• Ohio State - 1
• Nebraska - 1
• Rutgers - 1
• Wisconsin - 1