Week 6: BTPowerhouse Big Ten Game of the Week: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. North Carolina Tar Heels

The season continues to roll on and the Big Ten is set to have another week filled with a great slate of games.  Week 6 of the regular season will be a bit unbalanced with no Big Ten teams playing early in the week, but there are a ton of great games set for this weekend.  This is arguably the last big week of the non-conference schedule for the Big Ten and the last chance for the conference to really make a statement.  Let's take a look at which games made the cut and at the Game of the Week:

Game Of The Week:

Ohio State vs. North Carolina: This one was a no brainer this week.  Ohio State is currently sitting at 8-1 overall and face an underwhelming North Carolina AT&T before going to Chicago to face the Tar Heels.  Meanwhile, North Carolina sits at 6-3 overall with UNC Greensboro awaiting them before facing the Buckeyes.  In all likelihood, the teams will sit at a combined 16-4 entering this game with losses to Butler, Iowa, Kentucky, and Louisville.  Considering the quality of those teams, it makes sense why this would be the Big Ten Game of the Week.  Ohio State has not faced a lot of great teams this year, but D'Angelo Russell and Shannon Scott have played very well for the Buckeyes and several young players appear to be developing into their own roles.  North Carolina has been inconsistent, but Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige should pose big challenges for Ohio State.  If the Buckeyes can score a win here, it would be a huge for legitimizing their  NCAA chances and make a statement about the quality of the Big Ten.

Honorable Mention:

Indiana vs. Butler: This is a matchup that should get the state of Indiana and the fans in Indianapolis excited.  Indiana is quietly having a very good start to their season and have already posted an 8-2 record with losses coming to an elite Louisville team and a solid Eastern Washington team.  Butler also sits at 8-2 with losses coming to just Oklahoma and Tennessee.  In many ways, these teams sit in similar situation as they have some quality wins and losses coming in non-conference play, but need another resume stuffer.  Whoever ends up winning on Saturday will have a huge boost to their NCAA hopes.

Maryland at Oklahoma State: This could easily be the most underrated game of the weekend.  Maryland and Oklahoma State have jumped out to a combined 18-2 start with wins over Arizona State, Iowa State, Memphis and Tulsa.  These are two quality teams that will be meeting this weekend.  Maryland will likely be without Dez Wells, but Melo Trimble has gotten off to a red hot start for the Terps and with Evan Smotrycz back, perhaps they can score what would be a huge road win for the conference.  Things won't be easy against Oklahoma State and players like Phil Forte, but Maryland certainly has a shot to secure their best win of the season this weekend.

Season Stats

Game of the Week Appearances By Team:

• Wisconsin - 2
• Illinois - 1
• Michigan State - 1
• Minnesota - 1
• Ohio State - 1

Game of the Week Honorable Mention Appearances By Team:

• Indiana - 2
• Iowa - 2
• Ohio State - 2
• Illinois - 1
• Maryland - 1
• Michigan - 1
• Michigan State - 1
• Nebraska - 1
• Rutgers - 1

Total Appearances By Team:

• Ohio State - 3
• Illinois - 2
• Indiana - 2
• Iowa - 2
• Michigan State - 2
• Wisconsin - 2
• Maryland - 1
• Michigan - 1
• Minnesota - 1
• Nebraska - 1
• Rutgers - 1