Big Ten basketball report for January 31 – USC wins, UCLA loses

With the upper-echelon teams in Big Ten basketball getting the day off, there were still classic matchups that went down to the wire. Indiana and UCLA delivered a game that had the feel of an NCAA Tournament game, while having potential implications on both teams’ chances to make the tournament. USC won, but in a less-than-inspiring fashion.

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

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Wisconsin 92-82 vs Ohio State

Wisconsin scorers proved to be the best in this matchup, as both John Blackwell and Nick Boyd combined for 43 to lead the Badgers past the Buckeyes. The Badgers got production from everywhere. Big man Nolan Winter had a double-double. Austin Rapp posted 19 points from the bench, knocking down 5 3s, all of which came in the first half. Wisconsin proved to be the better squad, and they made the Buckeyes’ shot at the tournament even more shaky with this win.

Indiana 98-97 vs UCLA

UCLA falls for the first time at home, ending their 14-game home winning streak vs the Hoosiers. The Hoosiers showed up to play, as they had 3 players touch 20 points on the night, one of whom was Reed Bailey, who had 24 off the bench. Lamar Wilkerson and Nick Dorn both combined for 50 points. This game felt every bit of a tournament game; even with the score, this was an intense defensive game. UCLA did just about all they could, with 4 of their starters putting up more than 15 points and getting great production from their stars. This was just a toss-up game, and the Hoosiers made the shots and plays to come out on top late. This was a huge win for the Hoosiers, and a win that could propel them into a tourney run and berth. For the Bruins, this could very well do the opposite. This could be the exact game that causes them not to get in.

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USC 78-75 vs Rutgers

Coming off a tough stretch of games, the Trojans could not have faced Rutgers at a better time. Yet still, this was a game that could definitely have gone the other way. Ezra…

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Publish date : 2026-02-01 18:11:00

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