Big Ten basketball report for January 17 – top contenders win the day

Big Ten basketball delivered many games featuring the best of the best in the conference on Saturday. Nebraska further proved it is the team to beat in the conference, while other top teams in the league kept pace. The USC Trojans, however, still have some work to do to feel safe about an NCAA Tournament bid.

Here are the scores and the rest of my analysis from Saturday in Big Ten basketball:

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No. 13 Illinois 77-67 vs Minnesota

Illinois proves to be the deeper team in yet another matchup. The Fighting Illini were too big and too strong for the Golden Gophers, and that led to a 10-point victory. The Gophers’ defensive strategy gave the Fighting Illini fits in the first half, and that led to shooting inefficiencies. The dominant offense that has been on full display all season long showed up in the second half, and Illinois came out firing on all cylinders, making basket after basket. The big man off the bench, Zvonimir, was lights out with 18 points and a 5-8 impressive shooting split. The Fighting Illini proved they are battle-tested, and they can weather tough storms.

Ohio State 86-74 vs UCLA

Tyler Bilodeau went on a tear by himself for the Bruins, going off for 30 points, but all great things come in 3s. The Buckeyes had their 3 stars show up and show exactly what this team can be when those 3 are hot. Bruce Thornton is the usual lead guy; however, while getting his usual 20 points, he took the backseat to John Mobley Jr., who led the Buckeyes with 28 points. Devin Royal was the next guy in line with 22 points and 9 rebounds. When the Buckeyes have production like this with their top 3 guys, they can play with anyone.

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Wisconsin 96-87 vs Rutgers

Wisconsin is on a 4-game winning streak currently, and it has been at the hands of star Nick Boyd, who is averaging 20 points a game. He had his 4th 20 + point game in the last 5 games to propel the Badgers to the win over Rutgers. It was a 32-point night and 9 assists. The Badgers are putting the Big Ten on…

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Publish date : 2026-01-18 17:49:00

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