Around the Big Ten Basketball: Week 18

Audio/Story posted March 4, 2020 in CommRadio, Sports by Logan Bourandas

Host Ethan Cook, alongside analysts Ben Geller, Logan Bourandas and Kyle Canillo, discuss the Big Ten for the week of March 2.

The final stretch is on and the teams at the top of the conference are still jockeying for those top four spots in hopes of a double bye. As of now Maryland, Michigan State, Illinois and Wisconsin hold those spots although teams such as Penn State, Iowa and Ohio State are close behind. With the end of the regular season near there are some crucial matchups that could drastically change the top of the standings.

With an upset home loss against Rutgers, Maryland is slowly blowing its chances at the regular season title. The Terps have now lost two straight and sit tied at first with a red hot Michigan State that has won four in a row. This all makes the Terps next home match against Michigan a crucial one. Michigan is three games out of a top-four spot but Maryland needs to find a way to rebound with Michigan State, Illinois and Wisconsin all on huge winning streaks down the stretch.

Michigan State will also return home to face off against Ohio State. The Spartans on Tuesday managed to go on the road and make a monster second half comeback against Penn State. A win against Ohio State secures the Spartans a bye in the Big Ten tournament. As for Ohio State, the team can still make a late push just two games out of a bye although the Buckeyes have a tough road to get there also taking on Illinois before Michigan State.

Elsewhere at the top, the Wisconsin Badgers seemingly came out of nowhere to climb up the standings to fourth place with the easiest remaining schedule of teams at the top. The Badgers will take on Northwestern and Indiana to close out their season and potentially complete an unreal comeback with help from falls by Penn State and Iowa. Wisconsin currently sits on a six-game winning streak with wins against Ohio State and Michigan, among others.

The race to the finish is going to be insane with all but five teams in the conference four games apart from each other. This all sets up for one of the most competitive conference finishes in recent memory and it should be a wild rest of the season.

 

 

Logan Bourandas is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him email lxb5412@psu.edu.

About the Contributors

Ethan Cook's photo

Ethan Cook

Senior / Broadcast Journalism

Ethan is a play-by-play announcer for CommRadio who is aspiring to be a college football analyst for either a major sports network or a college radio station.

Kyle Cannillo's photo

Kyle Cannillo

Junior / Journalism

Kyle Cannillo is involved with CommRadio at Penn State University, producing content such as writing articles, hosting podcasts, participating in live shows and broadcasting play-by-play for Penn State athletics. He is currently a production assistant for Penn State Athletics, doing live video production for BTN + and University Streams. He previously interned with CBS station WTAJ, where he received hands on-experience in all newsroom operations, including reporting, production, camerawork and sports. He has high hopes to be successful in a communication-related career. He is skilled in public speaking, takes initiative, and has a tenacious work ethic. His mission is to use optimism, determination and respect to uncover and report fascinating stories from people who have genuine experiences.

Logan Bourandas's photo

Logan Bourandas

Third-Year / Broadcast Journalism

Logan Bourandas is a third-year broadcast journalism major from Long Island, NY. He is a the news director for CommRadio and the host of Ducks on the Pond, which is an all-baseball talk show on CommRadio. He is also a sports writer, broadcaster and podcaster for CommRadio. He got his start as the station manager for his high school radio station WPOB in his hometown of Plainview, NY, where he hosted numerous radio shows and was involved in sports broadcasts. You can contact him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Benjamin Geller

Junior / Broadcast Journalism

Ben Geller is a passionate sports writer and broadcaster that often creates his own content. Ben has a goal to talk about sports for the rest of his life and is doing everything in his power to make this dream come true.  If you would like to contact him, email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).