Feb. 4—Beat writer Scott Richey breaks down what Purdue, Wisconsin and Illinois have to do to win a Big Ten title:
➜ The Boilermakers win the Big Ten title if … nothing changes. There’s a reason Purdue started the season as the league favorites, and Zach Edey is still a 7-foot-4, 300-pound menace for opposing teams to deal with that’s averaging 23.4 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks and hasn’t fouled out of a game since Dec. 8, 2020 — his fifth game ever.
➜ The Boilermakers lose the Big Ten title if … a team or two, because it will probably take two more losses to put the title in jeopardy, can slow Edey down, while simultaneously not letting one of Purdue’s capable supporting cast to go off for a career game. Nebraska did it last month, but Edey has four 30-point outings in the six games since.
➜ Their must-watch game is … the rematch with Illinois on March 5 in Champaign. Purdue already has an 83-78 win against the Illini at Mackey Arena that wasn’t as close as the final score would seem to indicate. But that Illinois team didn’t have Terrence Shannon Jr., and the rematch will be at a raucous State Farm Center.
➜The Badgers win the Big Ten title if … they can avoid the type of epic collapse that cost them a road win Thursday in Lincoln, Neb. Wisconsin led host Nebraska by as many as 19 points before losing 80-72 in overtime. It wasted a 28-point performance from sophomore guard and former Illinois commit AJ Storr, who is arguably the No. 1 reason the Badgers are contending.
➜ The Badgers lose the Big Ten title if … the way they crumbled against the Cornhuskers is repeated. They’re not infallible. Even at home. Wisconsin has managed not to get run off the court since early-season stumbles to Tennessee, Providence and Arizona, but playing Purdue twice and Illinois once in the next 10 games creates the opportunity.
➜ Their must-watch game is … Sunday when they host Purdue for a noon showdown on CBS in a top-10 matchups. Wisconsin can either let Thursday’s loss at Nebraska snowball and give the Boilermakers a bigger lead in the conference standings, or the Badgers can protect home court and keep the Big Ten title hunt interesting.
Illinois (16-5, 7-3)
➜ The Illini win the Big Ten title if … what’s developed into a top-five offense can be paired with the kind of superb defense they played in the first month-plus of the season. At some point, Illinois allowing its opponents to shoot 49 percent and average 74 points could be a problem. Also, beating Wisconsin and Purdue next month wouldn’t hurt.
➜ The Illini lose the Big Ten title if … it loses a game or two it shouldn’t. Like that home loss to Maryland on Jan. 14 that is still the biggest blemish on Illinois’ overall résumé. Like Sunday’s game against Nebraska. Or any of the three games at the end of the month, including a game at Penn State on Feb. 21 and home games against Iowa (Feb. 24) and Minnesota (Feb. 28).
➜ Their must-watch game is … at Iowa. It’s not outlandish to think the Big Ten title comes down to the final Sunday. Especially with Wisconsin and Purdue also playing on March 10. Illinois clinched a share of its last conference championship in a similar scenario in March 2022. Against the Hawkeyes. Who’s down for a repeat?
