Big Ten Basketball

All year, people have been saying that the Big Ten is the toughest conference in Division I basketball. The teams seem to have an insane drive and competitiveness that can not be found in the other conferences. This madness is proven in every Big Ten matchup that occurs.

Tuesday evening on March 3rd, two Big Ten top 25 teams came together to put on a show.

Penn State vs. Michigan State on Penn State’s home court being aired on ESPN.

Penn State is currently ranked 20th while Michigan State is ranked 16th. The stats leading into this game would have most people believing it would be a straight forward Michigan State win. Penn State has had a rocky past few games while Michigan State seems to be playing comfortably. This game did not represent those precedents.

Penn State began this game with a strong offensive spurt. They started with a 10-2 run that was sparked by some explosive offensive plays. Eventually, with four minutes left in the first half, the Nittany Lions led the Spartans 41-22. Michigan State went on a small 8-0 run and closed the half with a deficit of 46-31.

The second half was a complete 180 degree turn. The Spartans quickly closed the 15 point difference and ended up taking their first lead of the game with about 14 minutes left in the game after an explosive dunk by Xavier Tillman Sr. They proceeded to go on a 14-6 run to be up by ten points with 9 minutes left. Penn State kept trying to dissolve Michigan State’s lead but it was just not successful. After blowing a halftime double digit lead at home, Penn State lost the game 79-71.

Looking forward, both Penn State and Michigan State have Big Ten opponents waiting for them as the weekend approaches. Penn State will travel to Northwestern to hopefully bounce back from this losing stretch. Michigan state will take on Ohio State at home as they try to make it their fifth straight win.