A look at the upcoming week around the Big Ten Conference:
GAME OF THE WEEKEND: No. 16 Ohio State at No. 6 Purdue, Sunday. This is the only regular-season meeting between teams in the thick of the conference race. Purdue won two of three against the Buckeyes last season, with one decided in overtime and all by single digits. The Buckeyes (13-4, 6-2), like every team, will have their hands full dealing with the 7-foot-4 Zach Edey and and 6-10 Trevion Williams. After this, the Buckeyes have only two games left against opponents currently ranked. This would be a big hurdle to clear for Purdue (17-3, 6-3), which still must play at Michigan State and Wisconsin and at home against Illinois.
LOOKING AHEAD:
PLAYER TO WATCH: Michigan's Hunter Dickinson is on quite a roll since the calendar flipped to 2022. Before foul trouble marred his Wednesday outing against Northwestern, he had three straight 20-point games — and that's in spite of a case of COVID-19 that caused him to miss a game. The Wolverines (10-7, 4-3) need the 7-1 sophomore at his best again when they play at Michigan State (15-4, 6-2) on Saturday. His recent back-to-back performances against Maryland and Indiana were his best of the season. He didn't just control the post, the big guy flashed his shooting touch by going a combined 4 for 6 on 3-pointers.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
The Big Ten has five teams ranked in the
ON THE WOMEN’S SIDE: The conference's game of the year, so far, is set for Monday night when No. 6 Indiana (14-2, 6-0) visits No. 7 Michigan (18-2, 9-1). It will be the teams' only regular-season meeting. The Hoosiers have had three straight games postponed because of COVID-19 and will be playing for the first time in 15 days. The matchup between Indiana's 6-3 Mackenzie Holmes and Michigan's 6-2 Naz Hillmon is worth watching. ... National player of the year candidate Caitlin Clark has led No. 23 Iowa (13-4, 7-1) to six straight wins.
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