Wednesday Big Ten Basketball Preview: USC at Iowa headlines 3-game slate

Today is a short one for everyone’s favorite college basketball conference.

Tuesday’s jam-packed action of conference title contenders, a rivalry game and Michigan State’s close call on the road at Rutgers is in the rearview mirror. Wednesday’s slate could offer some excitement, but none of the teams playing today are in realistic title contention. That doesn’t mean they aren’t interesting!

Advertisement

Let’s talk about it:

USC Trojans at Iowa Hawkeyes

Time/TV channel: 7 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. CT, 4 p.m. PT (ugh!) on Big Ten Network

KenPom spread: Hawkeyes by 9

This is one I’m headlining for the intrigue.

On one side of the court you have USC, a team that pushes the pace on offense with some real talent that’d probably be higher up on the conference latter if it weren’t for a smattering of injuries. On the other you have Iowa, a team that grounds the entire game to a near halt. Something’s gotta give.

The Trojans, even in their injured state, can hang with almost everybody in the league and even got a win at Wisconsin during their latest trip east. I think Iowa’s gonna prove too much to handle and will be able to dictate the terms of the game at home, but USC’s gonna make it more difficult than a lot of other teams would.

Advertisement

Minnesota Golden Gophers at Wisconsin Badgers

Time/TV channel: 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network

KenPom spread: Badgers by 8

Ah, a rivalry game.

This one’s weird though. Wisconsin’s about two rungs below the team it was last season and Minnesota has been… weird this year. The Barn is always a rough place for opposing teams to play for one reason or another but it lost some of that aura these past few seasons before getting it right back this year with home wins over Indiana and Iowa.

But this isn’t The Barn, it’s the Kohl Center. But Wisconsin just lost to USC at home. Again, weird.

That aside, I think the Badgers get back to their winning ways. The Gophers have lost five straight, including one to this very Wisconsin…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/wednesday-big-ten-basketball-preview-193945368.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-01-28 19:39:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.