The Big Ten had two teams in action on Thanksgiving Day. Michigan State faced off against a ranked UConn team and Maryland battled Richmond in the Bahamas.

Let’s take a look at what happened.

Game of the Night:

-Michigan State Spartans 64, No. 22 Connecticut Huskies

This one was an absolute battle between two really solid teams. The game had multiple swings before the Spartans were able to do just enough in the closing minutes to pull away with the win. Gabe Brown finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Julius Marble also had quite a game off the bench, finishing with 15 points and four rebounds.

Michigan State improved to 5-1 with the win and will now advance to play Baylor on Friday as part of the Battle 4 Atlantis. The team has improved substantially since falling to Kansas on opening night and really seems to be playing well. The wins are also starting to compound, as Michigan State has now won three games against top 100 opponents and two games against top 40 teams in two days.

It’s also important to emphasize the importance of this win over UConn. While the Huskies likely aren’t a national title contender, UConn was 5-0 entering this one and had just beaten Auburn on Wednesday night. This is a quality squad and the win should hold up. It’s going to be something Spartan fans are happy about having on Selection Sunday.

We’ll have to wait and see how Michigan State does against Baylor, but it’s hard to complain about how things have gone so far. The Spartans are red hot.

The Rest:

-Maryland Terrapins 86, Richmond Spiders 80

It’s been quite a season already for the Terps. The team’s performances have swung drastically through the first month of the season, with Maryland playing really well for segments and a complete mess during other games. It’s been hard to follow and has made this one of the most unpredictable teams in the league.

Fortunately for Terp fans, Maryland played well on Thursday and got a quality win against a decent Richmond squad. Hakim Hart led the way for the Terps, finishing with 24 points, three assists, and four steals. Eric Ayala also had 20 points and nine rebounds. The win pushed Maryland to 5-1 overall and into a game with Louisville on Saturday. A win there would really build some momentum for the Terps heading into a key portion of the team’s schedule.