Big Ten Tuesday Preview And Open Thread: Can Northwestern Get That Statement Win?

The Big Ten games that are being played tonight involve the Michigan Wolverines against the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Northwestern Wildcats against the Purdue Boilermakers, and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights take on the Illinois Fighting Illini. To be honest, the Tuesdays in the past have definitely had better Big Ten matchups, but the games on tonight should not disappoint.

Although, Ohio State is not very good this year; their games with Michigan have always been entertaining in the past due to the rivalry, but this could be the year that Michigan shows they are far better than the Buckeyes. The Scarlet Knights will try to get some revenge against Illinois after losing to them in three overtimes earlier in the season. Northwestern will also try to get their statement win over Purdue. Below are the previews for each game tonight.

Game of the Night: Northwestern Wildcats vs. No. 16 Purdue Boilermakers (7:00 PM ET| BTN)

The Northwestern Wildcats are currently 17-9, but the team is still looking for a statement win. Their game tonight against the Purdue Boilermakers is another opportunity for the team to show that they can take the next step. Tre Demps has been pretty good this season, and he will hopefully continue his impressive play against the Boilermakers, or the Wildcats could be in trouble. The thing about the Boilermakers is that they rely heavily on their frontcourt, this is a reason why Alex Olah has to have a big game as well. Olah is going to need to push players like Caleb Swanigan and A.J. Hammons around in the frontcourt if they want to have any chance of winning.

Watch for the Boilermakers to try an dominate this game with their frontcourt play, and watch for the Wildcats to try and wear the Boilermakers down.

The rest

- Michigan Wolverines vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (7:00 PM ET| ESPN)

The games between the Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes are usually very tight, but this could be the year that one clear team shows that they are better than the other. Michigan has been playing pretty well this season, and now that Caris LeVert is back, they should be taking their game to the next level. Duncan Robinson, and Derrick Walton Jr. have been terrific in LeVert’s absence, and now they will be very hard to stop on the offensive end with everyone healthy.

Weirder things have happened, but Michigan should show how good they are by dismantling a weaker Ohio State team.

- Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (9:00 PM ET| BTN)

Now, this game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini might not sound great, but it could turn out to be an intense contest. Rutgers is clearly still looking for their first Big Ten win and they have been getting closer and closer. The last time that Rutgers played Illinois, the game went to three overtimes, which shows that the Scarlet Knights have what it takes to knock off the Fighting Illini

Freshmen guard Corey Sanders put up 39 points the last time they played and watch for him to try to push the Scarlet Knights passed Illinois.