clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

1/18 Big Ten Recap: Maryland Beats Purdue

Recap all the Big Ten action from Saturday night.

NCAA Basketball: Purdue at Maryland Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday was a loaded day for the Big Ten. With four games on the docket, including three featuring ranked teams, there was plenty for fans to enjoy. Purdue went on the road to face Maryland, Penn State hosted Ohio State, Illinois hosted Northwestern, and Indiana traveled to face Nebraska.

Let’s take a look at what happened.

Game of the Night:

-No. 17 Maryland Terrapins 57, Purdue Boilermakers 50

Purdue continued its utterly bizarre recent run on Saturday with an underwhelming performance on the road against a ranked Maryland team. Maryland ended up coming out on top in a game that wasn’t as close as its final score. The matchup was a great example of what has been a really unusual season for the Big Ten.

For Maryland, Saturday was a nice bounce back after dropping road games to Iowa and Wisconsin over the last week and a half. With the win, Maryland now sits at 14-4 overall and 4-3 in league play. The Terps are undefeated at home and will now go on the road to face Northwestern on Tuesday night.

As noted above, this was another bizarre one for Purdue. Just look at the team’s last five results:

  • 1/2 - Home win over Minnesota in 2OT
  • 1/5 - 26-point loss at Illinois
  • 1/9 - 2OT loss at Purdue
  • 1/12 - 29-point win over MSU at home
  • 1/18 - 7-point loss to Maryland

To put things more simply, Purdue has two double overtime games, a blowout loss, a blowout win, and a loss to Maryland that wasn’t as close as the final score. That’s a pretty bizarre set of results for just five games. Purdue will hope to bounce back at home against Illinois on Tuesday.

The Rest:

-No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini 75, Northwestern Wildcats 71

This game largely went as expected. A ranked Illinois team hosted a struggling Northwestern team and came out on top. The win pushed Illinois to 13-5 overall and 5-2 in league play. The Illini will hope to keep things rolling next Tuesday on the road against Purdue. Meanwhile, the loss dropped Northwestern to 6-11 overall. The Wildcats will return to action on Tuesday at home against Maryland.

-Indiana Hoosiers 82, Nebraska Cornhuskers 74

Things got a little dicey for Indiana in this one, as the Hoosiers trailed in the first half. Many were wondering whether it could be a quasi-elimination game for Indiana’s NCAA hopes. But the early panic didn’t end up meaning anything, as Indiana came back and scored an 82-74 win on the road against Nebraska.

Indiana now sits at 14-4 overall and 4-3 in league play. The Hoosiers will now return home and prepare for a huge game against Michigan State on Tuesday at home. A win there would certainly put the team on the right side of the bubble moving forward. The Huskers fell to 7-11 with the loss and will now go on the road to face Wisconsin on Tuesday.

-Penn State Nittany Lions 90, No. 21 Ohio State Buckeyes 76

Few would have expected this result after seeing the first matchup between these two, where Ohio State embarrassed Penn State in Columbus. However, Penn State came out playing well and never looked back, scoring a 90-76 win.

The win pushed Penn State to 13-5 overall and to 3-4 in league play. The Nittany Lions will return to action on Wednesday on the road against Michigan. On the other side, Ohio State fell to 12-6 with the loss. The Buckeyes will hope to bounce back on Thursday at home against Minnesota.