It’s a cliché: “Anything can happen in the Big Ten”. However, this week proves it: Michigan State lost at Northwestern, Ohio State lost at Illinois, and Indiana lost at home to Minnesota. Oh, and Nebraska finally won a league contest. It was quite a week.
Standings
Here are the current Big Ten standings:
| Team | Big Ten | Overall | ||||
Wins | Losses | Percent | Wins | Losses | Percent | |
| Illinois | 4 | 1 | 0.800 | 15 | 3 | 0.833 |
| Michigan State | 4 | 1 | 0.800 | 15 | 3 | 0.833 |
| Ohio State | 4 | 2 | 0.667 | 16 | 3 | 0.842 |
| Michigan | 4 | 2 | 0.667 | 14 | 4 | 0.778 |
| Purdue | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 13 | 5 | 0.722 |
| Indiana | 3 | 3 | 0.500 | 15 | 3 | 0.833 |
| Wisconsin | 3 | 3 | 0.500 | 14 | 5 | 0.737 |
| Iowa | 3 | 3 | 0.500 | 11 | 8 | 0.579 |
| Northwestern | 2 | 3 | 0.400 | 12 | 5 | 0.706 |
| Minnesota | 2 | 4 | 0.333 | 14 | 5 | 0.737 |
| Nebraska | 1 | 5 | 0.167 | 9 | 8 | 0.529 |
| Penn State | 1 | 5 | 0.167 | 9 | 10 | 0.474 |
Results
Here are the results from last week’s games (Week #3):
Tuesday (01/10/2012)
Iowa lost at Michigan State, 95-61
Ohio State lost at Illinois, 79-74
Wednesday (01/11/2012)
Northwestern lost at Michigan, 66-64 (overtime)
Penn State lost at Nebraska, 70-58
Thursday (01/12/2012)
Wisconsin won at Purdue, 67-62
Minnesota won at Indiana, 77-74
Saturday (01/14/2012)
Michigan lost at Iowa, 75-59
Michigan State lost at Northwestern, 81-74
Sunday (01/15/2012)
Minnesota won at Penn State, 80-66
Indiana lost at Ohio State, 80-63
Nebraska lost at Wisconsin, 50-45
The home teams did pretty well this week, going 8-3. There were a couple surprises:
- Ohio State lost at Illinois on Tuesday. Illinois is pretty good, and they’re now tied for 1st place in the league, but OSU wasn’t supposed to lose 2 of their first 6 games. It’s tough to win on the road in the Big Ten.
- Minnesota won at Indiana on Thursday. Minnesota came into the game at 0-4 in the Big Ten, and IU had won all their home games to that point. It was quite an upset.
- Michigan lost at Iowa on Saturday. Once again, it’s tough to win on the road in the Big Ten.
The Upcoming Week
Here are the games scheduled for the upcoming week (Week #4):
Tuesday (01/17/2012)
Michigan State at Michigan
Iowa at Purdue
Wednesday (01/18/2012)
Indiana at Nebraska
Northwestern at Wisconsin
Thursday (01/19/2012)
Illinois at Penn State
Saturday (01/21/2012)
Purdue at Michigan State
Michigan at Arkansas (non-conference)
Ohio State at Nebraska
Sunday (01/22/2012)
Penn State at Indiana
Wisconsin at Illinois
Northwestern at Minnesota
There are several big games this week:
- Michigan State at Michigan on Tuesday. These teams are bitter rivals, and the game is for more than bragging rights; the winner stays near the top of the standings, while the loser drops down towards the middle.
- Purdue at Michigan State on Saturday. Michigan State has a tough week coming up.
- Wisconsin at Illinois on Sunday. Illinois is tied for 1st place, but they need to win this one to stay there.
Full Schedule
Here’s the entire Big Ten schedule, with the teams in alphabetical order. I’ll include this table every week, with the wins and losses filled in:
| Team | Record | Wins | Losses | Remaining Games |
| Illinois | Total: 4-1 | Minnesota (H)Northwestern (A) Nebraska (H) Ohio State (H) | Purdue (A) | Penn State (A)Wisconsin (H) Minnesota (A) Michigan State (H) Northwestern (H) Indiana (A) Michigan (A) Purdue (H) Nebraska (A) Ohio State (A) Iowa (H) Michigan (H) Wisconsin (A) |
Home: 3-0 | ||||
Away: 1-1 | ||||
| Indiana | Total: 3-3 | Ohio State (H)Michigan (H) Penn State (A) | Michigan State (A)Minnesota (H) Ohio State (A) | Nebraska (A)Penn State (H) Wisconsin (A) Iowa (H) Michigan (A) Purdue (A) Illinois (H) Northwestern (H) Iowa (A) Minnesota (A) Michigan State (H) Purdue (H) |
Home:2-1 | ||||
Away: 1-2 | ||||
| Iowa | Total: 3-3 | Wisconsin (A)Minnesota (A) Michigan (H) | Purdue (H)Ohio State (H) Michigan State (A) | Purdue (A)Nebraska (H) Indiana (A) Minnesota (H) Penn State (H) Northwestern (A) Penn State (A) Indiana (H) Wisconsin (H) Illinois (A) Nebraska (A) Northwestern (H) |
Home: 1-2 | ||||
Away: 2-1 | ||||
| Michigan | Total: 4-2 | Penn State (H)Minnesota (H) Wisconsin (H) Northwestern (H) | Indiana (A)Iowa (A) | Michigan State (H)Purdue (A) Ohio State (A) Indiana (H) Michigan State (A) Nebraska (A) Illinois (H) Ohio State (H) Northwestern (A) Purdue (H) Illinois (A) Penn State (A) |
Home: 4-0 | ||||
Away: 0-2 | ||||
| Michigan State | Total: 4-1 | Indiana (H)Nebraska (A) Wisconsin (A) Iowa (H) | Northwestern (A) | Michigan (A)Purdue (H) Minnesota (H) Illinois (A) Michigan (H) Penn State (H) Ohio State (A) Wisconsin (H) Purdue (A) Minnesota (A) Nebraska (H) Indiana (A) Ohio State (H) |
Home: 2-0 | ||||
Away: 2-1 | ||||
| Minnesota | Total: 2-4 | Indiana (A)Penn State (A) | Illinois (A)Michigan (A) Iowa (H) Purdue (H) | Northwestern (H)Michigan State (A) Illinois (H) Iowa (A) Nebraska (A) Wisconsin (H) Ohio State (H) Northwestern (A) Michigan State (H) Indiana (H) Wisconsin (A) Nebraska (H) |
Home: 0-2 | ||||
Away: 2-2 | ||||
| Nebraska | Total: 1-5 | Penn State (H) | Wisconsin (H)Michigan State (H) Ohio State (A) Illinois (A) Wisconsin (A) | Indiana (H)Ohio State (H) Iowa (A) Northwestern (A) Minnesota (H) Michigan (H) Penn State (A) Illinois (H) Purdue (A) Michigan State (A) Iowa (H) Minnesota (A) |
Home: 1-2 | ||||
Away: 0-3 | ||||
| Northwestern | Total: 2-3 | Penn State (H)Michigan State (H) | Ohio State (A)Illinois (H) Michigan (A) | Wisconsin (A)Minnesota (A) Purdue (H) Nebraska (H) Illinois (A) Iowa (H) Purdue (A) Indiana (A) Minnesota (H) Michigan (H) Penn State (A) Ohio State (H) Iowa (A) |
Home: 2-1 | ||||
Away: 0-2 | ||||
| Ohio State | Total: 4-2 | Northwestern (H)Nebraska (H) Iowa (A) Indiana (H) | Indiana (A)Illinois (A) | Nebraska (A)Penn State (H) Michigan (H) Wisconsin (A) Purdue (H) Michigan State (H) Minnesota (A) Michigan (A) Illinois (H) Wisconsin (H) Northwestern (A) Michigan State (A) |
Home: 3-0 | ||||
Away: 1-2 | ||||
| Penn State | Total: 1-5 | Purdue (H) | Michigan (A)Northwestern (A) Indiana (H) Nebraska (A) Minnesota (H) | Illinois (H)Indiana (A) Ohio State (A) Wisconsin (H) Iowa (A) Michigan State (A) Nebraska (H) Iowa (H) Wisconsin (A) Northwestern (H) Purdue (A) Michigan (H) |
Home: 1-2 | ||||
Away: 0-3 | ||||
| Purdue | Total: 3-2 | Iowa (A)Illinois (H) Minnesota (A) | Penn State (A)Wisconsin (H) | Iowa (H)Michigan State (A) Michigan (H) Northwestern (A) Indiana (H) Ohio State (A) Northwestern (H) Illinois (A) Michigan State (H) Nebraska (H) Michigan (A) Penn State (H) Indiana (A) |
Home: 1-1 | ||||
Away: 2-1 | ||||
| Wisconsin | Total: 3-3 | Nebraska (A)Purdue (A) Nebraska (H) | Iowa (H)Michigan State (H) Michigan (A) | Northwestern (H)Illinois (A) Indiana (H) Penn State (A) Ohio State (H) Minnesota (A) Michigan State (A) Penn State (H) Iowa (A) Ohio State (A) Minnesota (H) Illinois (H) |
Home: 1-2 | ||||
Away: 2-1 |
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