Around the Big Ten: Week 11 (Basketball)

Story posted February 6, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Charlie Murray

The Big Ten continues to have a great season by boasting six top-25 teams, half of those being in the top ten. The most dominant, at the moment, are the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Perhaps their biggest win of the year so far, the Buckeyes outlasted Iowa last night in a game that came down to the wire. No. 7 Ohio State won 89-85 on the backs of three stellar performances by Kyle Young, Duane Washington Jr. and EJ Liddell.

Iowa star Luka Garza, who averages 26 points per game, wasn't able to get anything going, as he was held to only 16 points by the stellar Buckeyes defense.

For Iowa, that marks their second straight loss against a ranked team and their third loss in their last four games played. The Hawkeyes are relying heavily on Garza to get them back on the track that they were on to begin the season.

Iowa will travel to Indiana this weekend to take on the Hoosiers who are coming off a close loss to Illinois earlier this week.

Illinois is back on track, winning two in a row after coming off two straight losses to Maryland and Ohio State. The Fighting Illini were almost upset by Indiana this week in a game that ended up going into overtime.

Guard Trent Frazier was helped the team put the game away in overtime with 19 points. The Illini snuck by with a four-point win 75-71.

No. 12 Illinois will take on No. 19 Wisconsin this weekend, which will most certainly be a test and an indicator for how these two teams will finish their seasons. Wisconsin has had a hard time against ranked opponents this year in the Big Ten, losing by more than twelve when they faced off against Ohio State and Michigan earlier in the year.

As for Michigan, the Wolverines haven't played a game in over two weeks, as all athletic activities at the university have been shut down due to a new variant of the COVID-19 virus. The Wolverines were scheduled to take on Illinois on Feb. 11 but according to 24/7 Sports, assistant Coach Phil Martelli has confirmed that the game “will not be played as scheduled” and that their upcoming game at Wisconsin on Feb. 14 is still to be determined.

Michigan is ranked No. 4 in the nation and hasn't moved in the standings over the past two weeks, even though it hasn’t played. Considered by many to be a legit contender and possible final four team, the Wolverines will be out of action for at least another week as they handle their COVID-19 outbreak.

Charlie Murray is a freshman broadcast journalism major. To contact him, email charliemurray175@gmail.com

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