Big Ten men's basketball report, February 24 - USC gets embarrassed
· Yahoo Sports
With the regular season coming to an end, clarity in the Big Ten is finally coming to the surface. The Hoosiers and the USC Trojans are far from contenders, while the UCLA Bruins look like a team that is moving up the ladder in the Big Ten. Washington got a big win. If the Huskies could have gotten more consistency this season, they could be right there with UCLA.
Here are the scores and the rest of my analysis from the midweek games in Big Ten basketball, played on Tuesday:
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Washington 79-72 vs Rutgers
Hannes Steinbach had yet another dominant showing for the season as his 24 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks led the Huskies to victory over Rutgers. Wesley Yates III was also impressive in this game with his 19 points and 6 assists. The Huskies all together did not struggle putting the ball in the basket as they shot 50% from the field in this game. Rutgers had too many defensive lapses, and they could not find that same success shooting from the field or the 3-point line. When Rutgers was able to have success defensively, their offense was not able to capitalize on that towards the end of the first half. Rutgers did get explosive scoring from their bench as Lino Mark had 18 points and Darren Buchanan Jr. had 17 points in their time on the court. The problem was that they did not get the same kind of success from their starters. Rutgers now moves to 11-17, and Washington reaches 500 on the season with the win.
Northwestern 72-68 vs Indiana
Nick Martinelli was the best player on the court in this matchup. Martinelli had 28 points, shooting 12-21 from the field, outplaying the Big Ten's other elite scorer, Lamar Wilkerson. Wilkerson struggled from the field but still managed to post 18 points in the game. Martinelli was the highlight of this game, but the Wildcats still shot 46.2% from 3 and 48.1% from the field. That is a tough obstacle for any good basketball team to overcome, regardless of their opponent. Northwestern wanted this game more, and their winning the round battle 27-16 was a reflection of that. Indiana's hopes for the tournament seem all but wrapped up, but Northwestern gets a big upset before the conclusion of the season.
No. 3 Michigan 77-67 vs Minnesota
Minnesota put up quite the fight in this matchup until Michigan put it all together in the second half to pull away. The Wolverines dominated the glass, winning the rebound battle 37-16. The Gophers got nothing from their bench, while the Wolverines dominated that aspect, getting 35 points off the bench. It wasn't a dominant, lopsided win for the Wolves like in most of their games, but they proved once again they can pull away from anyone in the second half. This game had all the makings of a potential trap game, as Minnesota came into this game hot on a two-game winning streak, but instead, the Wolverines closed the door on Minnesota and got back in the win column.
UCLA 81-62 vs USC
Chad Baker-Mazara was great again for the Trojans in his second straight game back, but unfortunately, that was the only bright spot for USC. The Bruins dominated their rival USC. Donovan Dent was the star of this game as he dropped 30 points, shot 5-6 from 3, and 10-16 from the field. Dent continues to be exactly what UCLA hoped he would be and at the best possible moment for the Bruins. He was the MVP of the last overtime win over Illinois, and now he dominates vs the Bruins foe. 14 turnovers and Alijah Arenas losing his touch for another game were just too much for the Trojans to overcome. The Trojans hoped to have their tournament hopes continue after this game, but instead, they kept their rival's hopes still going.
Overview
The Hoosiers and the Trojans both saw their tournament hopes vanish with two grueling losses. Michigan and UCLA get two big wins and help keep the momentum and vibes high heading into meaningful basketball. Michigan put together another great second half to cool down the Minnesota Gophers. The Bruins have now won 2 straight after having 2 straight blowout losses to contenders.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Biggest winners & losers for February 24 in Big Ten men's basketball