Once thought to be the predictable conference, the Big Ten has changed dramatically in the last two nights.
Teams seemingly secure in the first division had games that looked on paper to be very winnable. The only battle of two upper-division teams was a matchup between the Wisconsin Badgers and Indiana Hoosiers in a place where the Badgers had not won since 1977.
Take everything you know about the Big Ten and throw it all away as upsets dotted the conference's scoreboard Wednesday night.
Wednesday, the Wisconsin Badgers went to Bloomington, Ind., looking to accomplish something that no UW squad has done since Feb. 24, 1977'a Badger victory.
Mission accomplished.
With four players scoring in double-figures, including a team-high 17 points by senior forward Charlie Wills, the Badgers (8-5 Big Ten, 15-11 overall) knocked off the ESPN/USA Today 24th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers 64-63 in front of a hostile sellout crowd in Assembly Hall.
The Angola, Ind., native went back to his home state and put on a show for the people, knocking down seven of nine field goals to pace the Badgers.
Three other Badger players'junior guard Kirk Penney, freshman forward Mike Wilkinson and freshman guard Devin Harris'were also in double figures for the Badgers.
As for the Hoosiers (8-3, 16-8), they were without the services of sophomore forward Jared Jeffries, their leading scorer, due to a sprained right ankle. Senior guard Tom Coverdale played well in Jeffries' absence, leading the Hoosiers with 17 points.
Sophomore guard Jitim Young had two key baskets and a crucial steal in the final 90 seconds as Northwestern held off Minnesota 58-56.
Junior forward Winston Blake scored 14 points, Senior forward Tavaras Hardy had 13 and Young added 12 for the Wildcats (5-6, 14-9), who overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half.
With Northwestern down 55-51, Young made a steal, hit a layup and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but the Gophers (7-4,14-8) could not corral the rebound, and moments later Young made a three-pointer from the corner to give Northwestern the lead for good at 56-55 with 1:21 left.
Minnesota missed a chance to go ahead when junior guard Kevin Burleson lost control of a bailout three-point attempt and Young grabbed the ball. Northwestern's junior center Aaron Jennings blocked sophomore forward Michael Bauer's layup with a second left to preserve the win.
Freshman forward Rick Rickert scored 17 points to pace the Gophers and senior forward Dusty Rychart had 16, 14 of which came in the second half.
Senior forward Tyler Smith scored 10 points with 2:30 left to lead Penn State to a 71-65 victory over Iowa.
With the Nittany Lions (3-9, 7-16) down by 1, Smith's first three-point basket gave Penn State a 58-56 lead with 2:30 left. Another three-pointer with 1:36 remaining, followed by a 19-foot jump shot from the corner, put the Nittany Lions up 65-58 with 58.3 seconds left.
Senior guard Luke Recker hit three free throws in the last minute, and senior forward Reggie Evans hit two to bring Iowa (4-8, 15-11) within 63-65 with 37.1 seconds left.
But sophomore guard Sharif Chambliss and Smith each hit a pair of free throws, and sophomore guard Jamaal Tate hit one to preserve the win.
For the first time in more than nine years, Iowa failed to hit a single three-pointer, going 0-9 from behind the arc.
Smith finished with 17 points, Brandon Watkins scored 15 and Sharif Chambliss had 13. Freshman forward Jan Jagla had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Iowa took a 44-43 lead on a basket by sophomore forward Glen Worley with 9:10 remaining. After falling behind 40-31 with 16:25 left, the Hawkeyes held Penn State scoreless for 5:42, but Iowa could not take the lead, scoring only seven points during that period.
Evans had 23 points and 13 rebounds for Iowa, and Recker scored 11 despite spending more than seven minutes on the bench in the second half after picking up his fourth foul.
Junior guard Willie Deane scored 23 points, junior guard Darmetreis Kilgore had 16 and senior center John Allison 13 as Purdue used a 25-3 first-half run to beat Michigan 79-43.
The Boilermakers (4-8, 14-12) toyed with a Michigan team that was tired after playing its fourth game in a week, racing out to a 38-17 halftime lead.
Deane and Kilgore hit three-pointers in the opening minutes of the second half to increase the Boilermakers' advantage to 67-31. Purdue made 11-of-24 three-pointers. including four each by Deane and Kilgore.
The Wolverines (5-7, 10-13) led 8-6 before the Boilermakers scored the next 13 points to break the game open.
Feb. 20, Ohio State at Indiana
With the rest of the conference behind these two squads, the No. 1 seed for the Big Ten Tournament is up for grabs in Bloomington, Ind., as the Buckeyes look to avenge an early conference loss to the Hoosiers. With both teams coming off of losses, intensity will be high in this border battle.
Ohio State'Despite two road losses, Buckeyes have enough wins to get in.
Illinois'Nearly losing to Purdue at home is not going to impress the selection committee.
Indiana'The Big Ten's best shot at a Sweet 16 berth, despite loss to Wisconsin.
Michigan State'Head Coach Tom Izzo has his team playing better recently and an early-season win over Oklahoma should help the Spartans' case for a bid.
Minnesota'Loss to Northwestern does not diminish hopes too much.
Wisconsin'Big win over Indiana gives UW five wins over Top 25 teams.
Iowa'Hawkeyes need a miracle to get in to NCAA Tournament after loss to Penn State.
Michigan'Only shot is to win the Big Ten Tournament in one month.
Northwestern'Tiring at Madison'bad. Defeating Minnesota'good.
Penn State'Finally have three wins in conference play.
Purdue'Near upset of Illinois gives hope of a future for the 2002-'03 season.
