Big Ten Roundup (Jan. 15): Perkins Leads Iowa to 4th Straight Win; Boilers-Spartans Tangle

Iowa went small and ran Maryland off the floor on Sunday, winning 81-67 for its fourth straight victory. Michigan and Rutgers also won, and No. 3 Purdue and Michigan State are set to tangle on Monday afternoon. Here's our Big Ten Roundup for Jan. 15.

Iowa keeps finding different ways to win every night, and the Hawkeyes did that again on Sunday, beating Maryland 81-67 in Iowa City for their fourth-straight win thanks to having success with a five-guard lineup..

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery went small more out of necessity when forwards Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca picked up two early fouls, but it worked to perfection against a Maryland team that plays pretty small themselves. Iowa guard and Indianapolis native Tony Perkins led the way with a career-high 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting.

It was a nice day for Perkins, because he had been struggling of late, making just 6-of-28 shots over the last three games. He scored nine of the Hawkeyes’ first 17 points. Iowa is now 12-6 overall and 4-3 in the league after an 0-3 start. Maryland is 11-6, and 2-4 in the Big Ten. 

“That was my goal to come in like that today,” Perkins said. “Make moves, get to the rim, do what I do best. Hit pull-ups, just play my game, just not think about it.”

“It was a good game for Tony,” Fran McCaffery said. “There's more space for him. He has an aggressive mindset, and that's what you want. If they’re switching, there’s more space. If they’re pressing, there’s more space. And he just went after it.”

To read the complete game story from our Sports Illustrateed/FanNation Iowa site, InsideTheHawkeyes.com, CLICK HERE

Michigan 85, Northwestern 77

Kobe Bufkin had a team-high 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting, including 5-for-6 in the second half as Michigan beat Northwestern 85-77 in Ann Arbor. Dug McDaniel added a career-high 17 points and five assists and Hunter Dickinson had 10 points and 15 rebounds for the Wolverines (10-7, 4-2 Big Ten).

Northwestern (12-5, 3-3 in the Big Ten) continued to make runs at Michigan, with seven lead changes and four ties in the second half, but the Wolverines held them off down the stretch to snap a two-game losing streak. 

"We were resilient," Howard said. "We understand basketball is a game of runs and if we lay down and are not resilient, we wouldn't have the outcome we wanted. I feel like (this win) could help a lot (in March). This is a perfect time to gain momentum, so if we lock in on our next opponent and take each game one at a time, we should be fine."

Boo Buie led all scorers with 22 points, and teammate Robbie Beran added 16 for Northwestern. Michigan shot 52 percent from the field against a Northwestern team that was No. 10 in the country in field goal defense (37.8 percent). 

Michigan's Kobe Bufkin had a career-high 20 points in the Wolverines' win over Northwestern on Sunday. (USA TODAY Sports)

Rutgers 68, Ohio State 64, OT

Cam Spencer scored 21 points and Clifford Omoruyi added 14, including the game-winner in overtime as Rutgers (13-5, 5-2 in Big Ten) beat Ohio State to split the season series.. 

The Buckeyes were led by freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh, who scored 20 points off the bench and pulled down 11 rebounds. His jumper with 49 seconds remaining sent the game to overtime.

Ohio State (10-7, 2-4 in Big Ten) has lost four in a row and only beat Rutgers the first time on a missed call at the end of the game. They'll look to end its four-game skid at Nebraska on Wednesday. 

Omoruyi’s game-winning layup marked the 22nd lead change of the game, giving Rutgers a 62-61 lead. Forward Mawot Mag knocked down a three-pointer from the corner to seal the victory.

Big Ten standings 

Here are the Big Ten standings through Sunday, Jan. 15

Monday's games

• No. 3 PURDUE at MICHIGAN STATE, 2:30 p.m. ET: Two of the best teams in the Big Ten so far this season square off on Monday afternoon when Purdue (16-1, 5-1 in Big Ten) travels to East Lansing to take on Michigan State (12-5, 4-2 in Big Ten). After a two-game road trip that included a win at Wisconsin,  the Spartans are glad to be back home. They are 7-1 at the Breslin Center so far this season, with its only loss coming at the hands of Northwestern in December. TV: FOX. Here's how to watch, with TV info and preview. CLICK HERE Point spread: Purdue is a 3.5-point favorite, and the over/under is 133.5 according to the SISportsbook.com gambling website. 
• ILLINOIS at MINNESOTA, 6 p.m. ET: Illinois looks to add to its current three-game winning streak on Sunday night when it travels to Minneapolis to take on Minnesota (7-8, 1-4 in Big Ten). The Illini have bounced back nicely after losing their first three league games, beating Wisconsin and Michigan State at home in the process. Minnesota got its first league win on Thursday in a win at Ohio State. TV: Big Ten Network. Point spread: Illinois is a 9.5-point favorite and the over/under is 137.5, according to the SISportsbook.com gambling website. 

Related stories on Big Ten basketball

• TOM BREW COLUMN: Trayce Jackson-Davis has done some amazing things during his four-year career at Indiana, but there are still some negative fans who choose to bash him. It's ridiculous. CLICK HERE
• GAME STORY, INDIANA TAKES DOWN BADGERS: Indiana looked lost during a recent three-game losing streak, but they completely flipped the script on Saturday and shut down No. 18 Wisconsin 63-45 at Assembly Hall with a great defensive effort. CLICK HERE
• BIG TEN POWER RANKINGS (Vol. 3): Every Big Ten team has at least one loss now after Purdue, Wisconsin and Michigan all lost last week, and for the Boilermakers, they're still No. 1 despite losing at home to Rutgers. They bounced back nicely with wins over Ohio State and Penn State. Here's Volume 3 ofr our Big Ten Power Rankings. Volume 4 will be released later on Monday afternoon. CLICK HERE