The Big Ten had two games on Monday, including a marquee showdown between Indiana and Providence in the 2020 Maui Invitational. It figured to be one of the better Monday slates you’ll see for the Big Ten this season.

Let’s take a look at what happened.

Game of the Night:

-Indiana Hoosiers 79, Providence Friars 58

Fans have spent the offseason wondering if Indiana would take another step forward under Archie Miller this season and if Monday was a sign of things to come, there’s clearly been some substantial improvement. Indiana got up big in the first half and cruised to a 79-59 win over what figures to be a respectable Providence squad.

Trayce Jackson-Davis came up big as usual with 12 points and seven rebounds, but it was Race Thompson who really impressed. The junior forward finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and two assists. The team’s defense was also suffocating, holding Providence to a putrid 0.87 points per possession. Nearly every player on Providence’s roster finished with an offensive rating well below 100.

While Providence isn’t an elite opponent, this was a really impressive outing for the Hoosiers. In fact, it vaulted Indiana up 11 spots on KenPom to 14th nationally as of Tuesday morning. Indiana will now prepare for its toughest test of the young season on Tuesday against a really talented Texas team. A win there and Hoosier fans can start reassessing the team’s goals for March.

The Rest:

-Minnesota Golden Gophers 67, Loyola Marymount Lions 64

In one of the more bizarre scheduling quirks you’ll ever see, Minnesota faced off against Loyola Maramount for the second straight time on Monday night. Unfortunately for Gopher fans, this outing was much closer than the first. The game swung back and forth in the closing minutes until Marcus Carr put it away with a huge three-pointer. The star guard ended up finishing with 26 points.

The win pushed Minnesota to 3-0 on the season. The Gophers will now prepare for a game against North Dakota at home on Friday. It’s the team’s last chance to tune up before the game against Boston College on December 8th.