Wisconsin

Tuesday's marquee matchup takes place in the Big Ten with Michigan State (10-5) looking to rebound from their loss on Saturday at Penn State. The opponent is none other than Wisconsin (12-3), whose methodical style both limits mistakes on their end and frustrates opponents on the other. That has to be a concern for Tom Izzo's team as while they've improved of late in regards to taking care of the basketball the Spartans still average 15.1 turnovers per contest.

If there was one area of concern for Wisconsin going into their game against Minnesota on Tuesday night it would have been rebounding given the Golden Gophers' size up front. And sure enough Minnesota won the battle convincingly, out-rebounding the Badgers 42-24 and scoring 16 second-chance points (34-12 edge in points in the paint) on the night. But the Gophers also shot just 39% from the field, and with Wisconsin turning the ball over just two times (and going 17-18 from the foul line) it proved to be too much for the visitors at the Kohl Center.

The Kohl Center should be rocking for the Big Ten opener between Wisconsin (10-2) and border rival Minnesota (11-1), a game that could hold even more importance come March for resume reasons. Tubby Smith's Golden Gophers have an in-season tournament title (Puerto Rico Tipoff) to their credit already, a run that includes likely valuable wins over North Carolina and West Virginia.

While billed as the marquee matchup in the SEC/Big East Invitational many expected #3 Pittsburgh to hold serve at the CONSOL Energy Center against #11 Tennessee, thanks in part to a neutral court crowd that would be in their favor. Although the word "upset" shouldn't be used to describe the fact that Bruce Pearl's team left with the 83-76 victory, the way in which Tennessee won the game was a surprise to say the least. The Vols, now 7-0 on the season, controlled the game throughout and led by as many as 20 before the Panthers attempted to mount a rally.

Overall Rank: #23

Baylor

Georgetown

New Mexico

Pittsburgh

Villanova

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers

Big Ten Conference (23-8, 13-5)

 

With four clear-cut big-dancers, the Big Ten oozes front-end quality.  But with lower-seeded teams providing late season scares to perennial powers – see Michigan State barely escaping Penn State in East Lansing last week - look for some drama to unfold this Thursday thru Sunday in Indianapolis.