Big Ten Tuesday Preview And Open Thread: Can Purdue Bounce Back?

The Big Ten has certainly not disappointed during conference play and the games that are being played tonight should be a treat for college basketball fans across the nation. The Michigan State Spartans will host the Purdue Boilermakers, the Bowie State Bulldogs will go up against the Maryland Terrapins and the Northwestern Wildcats will travel to play against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Three of the teams in action tonight are all nationally ranked and both Maryland and Michigan State are in the top 10.

There are three games being played tonight and below will be a preview for each Big Ten contest.

Game of the Night: No. 16 Purdue Boilermakers vs. No. 9 Michigan State Spartans (7:00 PM ET| ESPN)

The game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Michigan State Spartans is by far the biggest game of the night in the conference. Michigan State is starting to find their groove again after a mini slump a couple weeks ago. Everyone is starting to contribute for the Spartans and they have had some convincing victories as of late, including their most recent victory on Saturday against the Michigan Wolverines. The Boilermakers are coming off a hard fought loss against Maryland. The Boilermakers have been pretty good this season, but they have been inconsistent at times.

Watch for the Boilermakers to try and dominate with their frontcourt against the Spartans.

The Rest

- Bowie State Bulldogs vs No. 2 Maryland Terrapins (6:00 PM ET| BTN)

So, the Terps will be taking on a team from Division II tonight and this game should not even be close. The Terps have won four in a row and they have beaten some of the better teams in the Big Ten during this stretch. Bowie State is not going to be able to handle players like Diamond Stone and Melo Trimble at all, and this game could get ugly fast.

Watch this game if you want to see absolute domination from the Terps who are one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten right now.

- Northwestern Wildcats vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (8:00 PM ET| BTN)

Both of these teams have been rather disappointing this season. Ohio State is near the bottom of the Big Ten and Northwestern was supposed to make the leap this season and maybe make a run at an NCAA tournament spot, but they have struggled during conference play. Northwestern has not gotten that statement win this season. There best win of the season came against the Buckeyes and the Wisconsin Badgers earlier in the season.

Both of these teams really need this win to gain some momentum for the rest of conference play, especially the Wildcats, who cannot afford to lose any toss up game if they want to make the NCAA tournament. This obviously would not be a huge win for the Wildcats, but maybe it can give the team the boost it needs to make a push during the end of conference play. If Ohio State beats the Wildcats, then Northwestern will not be dancing in March.