The second round of the Big Ten Tournament was just as exciting and action-packed as the first. Four teams are now one game closer to a shot at the championship on Sunday.
An Indiana team kicked off the action on Thursday and another finished it, which couldn’t be more fitting for a tournament taking place in the Hoosier state. The day was filled with ups and downs for all the teams competing, but ultimately only four could come out on top and be one step closer to winning the Big Ten Tournament. Read more for takeaways from the day:
Final Scores:
Oregon 72 Indiana 59
Wisconsin 70 Northwestern 63
Illinois 106 Iowa 94
Purdue 76 USC 71
Takeaway #1: Oregon was prepared for this end-game situation
The Indiana Hoosiers came out hot in the first half, and while the score was close, it felt like they were dominating most of the time. That was until there were just over four minutes left in the half, and the score was tied at 27. Oregon ended up pulling away and led the Hoosiers 37-29 at the end of the first half. Going into the second, the Ducks were able to maintain their lead, and while the Hoosiers brought the score close multiple times, Oregon was still able to walk away with the win, defeating Indiana 72-59.
But Oregon was ready for a situation like this as it’s something they’ve faced before this season. They knew that IU was going to play with intensity and prepared for it accordingly. In a press conference after the game sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad explained the Duck’s thought process going into the game.
“We knew they were going to go on a run…We played in a lot of situations like that this season where games have come down to that towards the end of the game. We just know how to stick together towards the end and keep trusting our teammates and coaches to finish the game,” said Shelstad.
Shelstad led his team in scoring, providing 18 points as well as 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Another thing that Oregon prepared well for was Indiana’s Luke Goode. The senior forward is key to the Hoosier’s offense and the Ducks knew that shutting him down would be extremely important. They were able to hold Goode to 4 for 11 from the field goal and 0 for 4 from behind the arc. This was huge as Goode is currently averaging nearly 40% from the three-point line and 9.1 points per game.
Oregon’s ability to prepare for a game like they did against Indiana is going to be vital for them going into the rest of the Big Ten tournament and into the NCAA tournament. For now, they will get ready to take on Michigan State on Friday. The game can be found on the Big Ten Network at 12 p.m. EST.
Takeaway #2: Wisconsin’s offense was the key to victory
While Northwestern and head coach Chris Collins were looking to continue their season in the second round, Wisconsin put up a fight that they couldn’t overcome. The Badgers had elite players who each played great games. John Tonje put up 18 points, shooting 7-for-14, and also grabbed 7 rebounds. He shined on the court. Another notable player for Wisconsin was Nolan Winter who also produced 18 points along with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
During the first half, the game had a narrow margin of victory- this was until the 6-0 run by the Badgers. After this as the game continued, the Wildcats just kept getting further behind. While Northwestern only lost by seven points, they were down by 18 at 5:28 of the second half.
Ultimately, the Wisconsin victory was a result of their stellar offense. It wasn’t just Tonje and Winter that put their words in, however it was a collective effort. Max Klesmit began a 14-4 run from his 3-pointer. Also, while they didn’t have a great start to their 3-point performance, in the second half they shot 5-for-13 from outside the arc. Four of these occurred during a key stretch. Overall, Wisconsin shot 41.5% from the field.
On the other hand, it is still important to recognize the success that the Wildcats did have. Nick Martinelli recorded the game-high points total with 22. He also grabbed seven rebounds within his 39 minutes on the court. Martinelli marked the post points that a Wildcat has scored within a singular season (663 points). He was asked about his offensive performance in the postgame press conference;
“I get the ball a ton in great sports, and sometimes shots are falling, sometimes they’re not. Over time you continue to build as a player, and you continue to build the trust in your teammates, the they throw you the ball more,” Martinelli said.
Wisconsin will step back onto the court in Indianapolis on Mar. 14 at 2:30 p.m. EST. They face UCLA who haven’t yet begun their Big Ten Tournament play.
Takeaway #3: Record-breaking numbers
In the third game of the day, Illinois took down Iowa, but not without a solid fight from both sides. It was a close, back-and-forth first half that ended with an Iowa three-point buzzer beater made by Payton Sandfort, although Illinois still led with a score of 49-45.
Once the second half began, Illinois took off while Iowa struggled on the defensive side, allowing Illinois to continue to assert their dominance. What really shook Iowa was when head coach Fran McCaffery got ejected from the game with 13:33 left to play. It was a game of catchup for the Hawkeyes, but they just couldn’t quite get there and fell to the Fighting Illini with a final score of 106-94. The point total between the two teams is 200, which set a record for the most combined points of all time in a Big Ten Tournament game. Just in the first half, they combined for 94 points.
To credit the Hawkeyes, their 94-point total was the third-highest so far. It is not common that in a college game the losing team scores that many- sometimes not even the winner. A significant part of this was thanks to Payton Sandfort and his 30-point performance. He shot 11-for-20 and made 8 of his 13 3-point attempts.
Along with Sandfort’s impressive offensive show, Josh Dix produced 21 points, making 10-of-17 from the field. These player’s efforts just weren’t enough in the end to will the team to victory. Sandfort reacted to the loss in the locker room after the game and his four years as a Hawkeye.
“The people in this room, I’m so proud of everybody…I just want to talk about how great this team was and I hope we stay together. It didn’t end at all like we wanted it to,” Sandfort said.
The point distribution for the Fighting Illini was notable as well. All five starters including Kylan Boswell, Will Riley, Tomislav Ivsic, Tre White, and Kasparus Jakucionis reached double digits. Three of them (Boswell, Riley, and White), were in the 20s. This goes to show how strong Illinois offense is and that they certainly have more than just a couple people to count of to score.
Takeaway #4: Purdue proved their depth
To round out the day, the 14-seed USC Trojans took on the 6-seed Purdue Boilermakers for a chance at a spot in the quarterfinals. With 10:16 left in the first half, the score was tied at 17. Thanks to an impressive offense and their ability to shut down Big Ten Player of the Year junior guard Braden Smith, USC was able to go on a run, leading by ten with 7:14 left in the half. However, the Boilermakers kept the Trojans on their toes and tied the game up again around the four minute mark and ending the half on a tie with a score of 35-35.
It continued to be a nail-biter into the second half and remained so for the remainder of the game with neither team being able to pull away from the other. However, in the end the Boilermakers came out on top with an exhilarating finish and a final score of 76-71.
If there’s one thing Purdue proved today, it’s their depth. They had three players who scored in the double digits and Camden Heide who provided nine points coming off the bench. Leading the way for the Boilermakers was Trey Kaufman-Renn who finished with an impressive 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists.
In the first half of the game, USC was able to hold Smith to just 3 points, shooting 0 for 1 from the three-point line. When facing this Purdue offense, one thing that is key is focusing on shutting down Smith and USC did just that. Although, thanks to the depth that comes with the Boilermakers’ roster as well as Smith’s eventual 12 total points, this was not enough for the Trojans to walk away with the win.
The Boilermakers will face Michigan on Friday 25 minutes after the Illinois vs Maryland game.