Big Ten Roundup (Jan. 5): Rutgers, Iowa, Purdue Pick Up Crucial Conference Wins

It was an entertaining night of Big Ten basketball on Thursday. Rutgers and Iowa protected home court against Maryland and Indiana, respectively, and No. 1 Purdue pulled off a gritty win on the road against No. 24 Ohio State. Here's our Big Ten roundup for Jan. 5, including a preview of Saturday's Big Ten games.

Big Ten play is in full swing as 2023 begins, and Thursday provided plenty of exciting action. It started with a red-hot Rutgers team hosting Maryland, followed by the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers hitting the road for a top-25 matchup against Ohio State. The night ended with a wild matchup between Indiana and Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Here's our Big Ten roundup for Jan. 5, including a breakdown of Thursday's games and a preview of upcoming matchups.

Thursday's Big Ten basketball games

• RUTGERS 64, MARYLAND 50: Thursday's slate of Big Ten hoops began with Rutgers (11-4, 3-1) claiming a 64-50 win over Maryland (10-5, 1-3). The Terrapins didn't back down at Jersey Mike's Arena, cutting Rutgers' lead to four points with 14:27 left in the game. But Rutgers' defense made things difficult for Maryland down the stretch, turning 18 Maryland turnovers into 18 fast-break points. Paul Mulcahy, Cam Spencer and Caleb McConnell each finished in double figures for Rutgers, while Jahmir Young added 13 and Donald Carey scored 12 for Maryland. 
• No. 1 PURDUE 71, No. 24 OHIO STATE 69: Purdue (14-1, 3-1) responded to Monday's home loss against Rutgers with a gutsy 71-69 win at No. 24 Ohio State (10-4, 2-1). The Buckeyes led by as much as 12 points in the first half, but it was back and forth for the final 20 minutes. A Sean McNeil 3-pointer gave Ohio State a three-point lead with 41 second remaining, but Justice Sueing turned the ball over with a one-point lead and 26 second on the clock. Purdue freshman Fletcher Loyer drilled a 3-pointer with 12 second left, and the Boilermakers got a stop on the final possession to move to 14-1 on the season.
• IOWA 91, No. 15 INDIANA 89: Indiana (10-4, 1-2) got out to its best start of the season, leading Iowa 28-7 in the first seven minutes of play. The Hawkeyes (9-6, 1-3) cut the deficit to 10 points at halftime, and their zone defense frustrated the Hoosiers in the second half. After playing tough defense on Kris Murray, Indiana sixth-year forward Race Thompson went down with a scary knee injury in the first half. Murray finished the game with 30 points – 21 in the second half – and Iowa secured a 91-89 win. Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 30 points with nine rebounds and freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 21 points with nine assists, but Indiana let a six-point lead slip away in the final 3:44.

Up next

Big Ten basketball takes a break on Friday before resuming with a trio of games on Saturday. 

• Nebraska (8-7, 1-3) at Minnesota (6-7, 0-3): Saturday's slate begins at Noon ET on the Big Ten Network. The Golden Gophers are coming off a narrow 63-60 loss at No. 14 Wisconsin on Tuesday. Versatile forwards Dawson Garcia (14.2 ppg) and Jamison Battle (12.9 ppg) lead Minnesota in scoring, and Saturday represents a prime opportunity for the Gophers' first conference win. This sets up an intriguing matchup with Nebraska big man Derrick Walker, who averages 13.7 points and 8.2 rebounds. Nebraska looks to bounce back from a blowout loss at Michigan State on Tuesday.
• No. 14 Wisconsin (11-2, 3-0) at Illinois (9-5, 0-3): Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. After a 78-75 home loss to Wake Forest on Nov. 29, the Badgers have won six games in a row, including conference wins over Maryland, Iowa and Minnesota. Wisconsin's balanced attack features four double-digit scorers, led by Tyler Wahl at 13.2 points per game. Illinois is desperate for a Big Ten win, and defeating Wisconsin could go a long way to turning the Illini's season around. Illinois is 3-4 in its last seven games with losses to Maryland, Penn State, Missouri and Northwestern. 
• Michigan (9-5, 3-0) at Michigan State (10-4, 2-1): This rivalry matchup begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX. The Spartans have had an up-and-down season, claiming non-conference wins over Kentucky, Villanova and Oregon before ugly losses to Notre Dame and Northwestern. Coach Tom Izzo has Michigan State playing well as of late, winning five games in a row and crushing Nebraska at home on Tuesday. Michigan has been a tough team to figure out this season, losing 63-61 at home to a 6-8 Central Michigan team on Dec. 29. Coach Juwan Howard and the Wolverines are 3-0 in Big Ten play, though, defeating Minnesota, Maryland and Penn State. 

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• GAME STORY: Indiana let a big lead slip away and lost to Iowa 91-89 Thursday night despite a heroic 30-point, 9-rebound night from Trayce Jackson-Davis. It was a painful loss too, because senior forward Race Thompson left with a serious knee injury. CLICK HERE
• WHAT WOODSON SAID: Indiana coach Mike Woodson met with the media on Thursday night after the Hoosiers blew a 21-point lead and lost to Iowa, 91-89. He was upset with the officiating, and also Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. Here's the full video, plus the transcript. CLICK HERE
• PHOTO GALLERY: The Indiana Hoosiers traveled to Iowa City to restart their Big Ten season, but lost 91-89 to the Iowa Hawkeyes. The photographers had a great night. Here are 15 images from the game. CLICK HERE
• WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS' DUNK: Indiana freshman point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino made a crisp pass to Trayce Jackson-Davis for an easy dunk against Iowa in the first half. CLICK HERE
• WATCH HOOD-SCHIFINO'S 3-POINTER: Indiana freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino was in rhythm from 3-point land early on in the Hoosiers' road trip to Iowa. CLICK HERE
• WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS' AND-ONE: Indiana got out to a strong start on Thursday at Iowa, led by an early and-one from Trayce Jackson-Davis in his return to the lineup. CLICK HERE
• GUNN, PERKINS REUNITED: Tony Perkins and CJ Gunn were teammates at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis during the 2019-20 season when their dreams of a state title were cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now at Iowa and Indiana, respectively, Perkins and Gunn take the court against each other Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. CLICK HERE