Iowa scored the biggest upset of the season when it took down Purdue 67-65 in a 71 possession game.  The Hawkeyes dominated the glass, limiting the Boilermakers to grabbing just 25 percent of their misses.  Iowa also hounded Purdue on the perimeter, limiting the Boilers to a 5-25 performance from behind the arc.  E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson were both rather pedestrian as well, needing 34 shots to get to 33 points.  Purdue also didn’t help themselves with their 59 percent accuracy from the free throw line.  
 
But give the Hawkeyes credit.  They took down a top-10 team that was playing for a share of the conference crown.  Fran McCaffrey’s squad denied them that banner, and there’s Jarryd Cole to thank for that.  The

Michigan has really thrown a wrench into the at-large picture in the Big Ten.  Just a week ago, I thought Minnesota was in relatively good shape.  Sure, the Gophers were sitting at 6-8 in conference play, but with 3 of the 4 remaining games at home--none of which against Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin, or Illinois--as well as a road game at Northwestern, 9 or 10 wins certainly seemed possible.  Well, two home losses later, now it looks like Minnesota has work to do in the Big Ten Tournament.  The latest loss came at the hands of a surging Michigan team, who prevailed 70-63 thanks to some hot outside shooting.  The Wolverines made 12 of 28 three pointers, and when Michigan makes their threes, they’re very difficult to stop.  Of course, if Michigan is making

The stage was set. Michigan had fought hard all game and held Wisconsin, the nation's most efficient offense, to just 50 points in 54 possessions. With a two point lead, the Wolverines were a couple free throws away from a huge win that could propel them into a surprise NCAA Tournament bid. Michigan's best player, Darius Morris, stepped to the free throw line for a one-and-one opportunity...

What happened next will live on in Michigan basketball infamy. Morris missed the front end, and Wisconsin grabbed the rebound with just under 30 seconds left. The Wolverines still had four fouls to give, and they wisely gave them one after another, milking the clock down to 6 seconds without Wisconsin getting a shot off. One last stop, one last possession, and even the missed free throws wouldn't

Well, it looks like we have a real title race, after Purdue knocked off Ohio State 76-63 in West Lafayette.  Defensively, the Boilermakers pressured OSU into committing a turnover on over a quarter of their possessions and an effective field goal percentage of 42.6, each the second-worst marks posted by the Buckeyes this season.  The resulting 0.93 points per possession was likewise the second-worst mark for Thad Matta’s team on the year.  Offensively, Matt Painter just made sure E’Twaun Moore ate his Wheaties.  The senior guard lit up the Buckeyes for a career-high 38 points (that’s half the team’s total, mind you), on just 18 shots.  Moore scored his points all over the place--21 were on threes, 12 on twos, and another 5 at the free throw

In a matchup of teams holding onto slim Big Ten title hopes, Purdue beat Wisconsin at their own game in a 70-62 win. The Boilermakers used Bo Ryan's area of expertise--a miniscule 6.6 turnover rate--to post 1.16 points per possession, the second highest output allowed by Wisconsin all season (Illinois scored 1.21 ppp against the Badgers back when they were making shots like crazy). Purdue didn't shoot particularly well--48 percent on twos and 31 percent on threes--but shot maximization is a powerful thing.

Wisconsin wasn't all that careless with the ball either (16.6 turnover rate), but their outside shooting was much colder. The Badgers went 3 for 19 from three (16 percent) and scored just 1.03 points per trip. This was Wisconsin's fourth lowest output of the conference slate,

The game of the year did not disappoint, as Wisconsin overcame a 15-point second half deficit to defeat Ohio State 71-67 in a 57 possession game.  I have to admit--this is my favorite matchup in the Big Ten.  For one, these two teams have been the class of the Big Ten (by an efficiency margin standpoint) since 2006.  Second, Bo Ryan and Thad Matta have as two divergent styles as you’ll see, both in terms of Xs and Os and Jimmies and Joes.  Ohio State tends to shoot lights-out en route to a powerful offense (5th in the nation in effective field goal percentage), while Wisconsin all but eliminates turnovers altogether (lowest turnover percentage in the country this year).  Matta also builds his teams with blue-chip recruits (the annual over/under on McDonald’s