Big Ten New Year's Eve recap: Penn State winning is so last year

Game of the day: Purdue 72, Minnesota 68

The Gophers came into their Big Ten opener riding an eight-game winning streak, and it looked like that would continue when they jumped out to a 36-25 halftime lead. Then Kendall Stephens happened. After scoring just three points in the first half, the sophomore shooting specialist lit it up for Purdue in the second to finish with a game-high 19 points and four three-pointers made.

When Stephens wasn't knocking down treys, the Boilers were using their size to their advantage. A.J. Hammons flipped in a layup to put Purdue up three with 30 seconds left and then challenged an Andre Hollins jumper on the other end to force a miss. The big man finished with 11 points and nine rebounds while Rapheal Davis poured in 18 on just six field goal attempts.

For Minnesota, Maurice Walker and Joey King found different ways to pace the offense. Walker was a force down low with 13 points, seven rebounds, and three steals, while King showed off his range with 13 points and three treys. It wasn't enough, however, as Purdue held Hollins to seven points on 2-for-10 shooting while DeAndre Mathieu struggled with four turnovers and just one assist.

Check out Bryan Steedman's in-depth recap for more on Purdue's big win.

Indiana 70, Nebraska 65

Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon Jr. combined for just 13 points, but the former handed out eight assists to get his teammates involved in the Indiana road win. It was Robert Johnson who led the Hoosiers in scoring with 14 points, while Hanner Mosquera-Perea added 12 points with 10 rebounds. Troy Williams used some beautiful cuts to the hoop to finish as the third Hoosier in double figures with 13 points.

It was all barely enough to put way the Huskers, who fell behind by 16 in the first half, but stormed back to take the lead early in the second. Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields combined for 43 points and 15 rebounds, but Nebraska didn't get much from elsewhere, as the team shot 39 percent from the field. The back-and-forth contest reached peak intensity when head coaches Tom Crean and Tim Miles got into a verbal altercation, but we can only imagine what would have happened if the two went to fisticuffs.

Wisconsin 89, Penn State 72

Penn State has had trouble defending opposing big men all season long, so it wasn't too surprising when they struggled against a Wisconsin team that sports some of the best forwards in college hoops. 64-percent shooting, though? That's a bit ridiculous. Wisconsin managed it, though, thanks to strong play from their frontcourt trio of Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker, and Nigel Hayes.

Kaminsky scored 18 points with 14 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season, while Dekker and Hayes combined to score 38 points on 14-for-19 shooting for a Wisconsin team that pulled away in the second half. Penn State managed to keep it somewhat close thanks to a dominant 29-point performance from D.J. Newbill. The senior point guard did a little bit of everything on his way to 29 points, but it wasn't enough to catch up to the persistent Badgers.

Check out Drew Hamm's in-depth recap for more on this one.