There are nine (yes, nine) Big Ten teams back in action on Friday evening and into the night. Just one of these teams, Maryland, is playing a fellow high-major opponent. Not a dig against the rest, it’s
sensible to start slow, but yeah, this slate isn’t all that interesting unless someone manages to lose.
Let’s talk about it.
Georgetown Hoyas at Maryland Terrapins
- Time/TV: 6 p.m. ET on FS1
- KenPom Spread: Terps by 11
Despite some pretty prominent injuries, Maryland cruised to an easy win over Coppin State to open up the Buzz Williams era in… Baltimore.
Yep, this matchup will be Williams’ first as the Terps’ head coach at the Xfinity Center in College Park. It’ll be interesting too, with Maryland welcoming in a fellow prominent DMV area program in Georgetown as the Hoyas enter year three of Ed Cooley’s rebuild.
The Hoyas look solid after going into Rupp Arena and earning an exhibition win over Kentucky before opening the regular season with a strong showing against Morgan State despite a really poor shooting night. If the shots go in for Georgetown, it could be dangerous on the road.
Boston Terriers at Northwestern Wildcats
- Time/TV: 6 p.m. ET on Peacock
- KenPom Spread: Wildcats by 17
Northwestern opened the season with a dominant showing over Mercyhurst, and will seek similar results against Boston. The Wildcats could do themselves a favor by finding easier ways to put points on the board after leaving some meat on the bone in the season opener.
Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons at Ohio State Buckeyes
- Time/TV: 6:30 p.m. ET on BTN
- KenPom Spread: Buckeyes by 21
The good news: Ohio State scored 118 in its season opener against IU Indy.
The bad news: Ohio State allowed 102 points in its season opener against IU Indy.
So, here’s the thing. IU Indy runs a very, very, very wild system that emphasizes quick scoring above all else, usually sacrificing some defense in the process. For now, I’m going to attribute that score to the weirdness of that system and will do so unless this Buckeye defense shows real cracks. It shouldn’t against PFW.
Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Purdue Boilermakers
- Time/TV: 7 p.m. on Peacock
- KenPom Spread: Boilers by 27
Truly not much to watch for here other than whether or not Trey Kaufman-Renn, who was out against Evansville with what seems to be a short-term hip injury, plays. Either way, Purdue should resoundingly take care of business here. Might be worth tuning into Peacock for a peek at the Boilers’ rotation at center.
Western Illinois Leathernecks at Iowa Hawkeyes
- Time/TV: 7 p.m. ET on B1G+
- KenPom Spread: Hawkeyes by 24
Yeaaaaah, this is a B1G+ game. The Hawkeyes looked great in their season opener and it’s always worth a look to see what Ben McCollum is running but this one shouldn’t be interesting. Iowa should win by a lot.
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles at Illinois Fighting Illini
- Time/TV: 8: 30 p.m. ET on Peacock
- KenPom Spread: Illini by 26
Illinois looked great on both ends of the floor in its season opener and will look to carry that kind of performance against a team that figures to be around the top of the ASUN again. The Eagles are definitely more of a challenge, but not enough to seriously threaten the Illini in Champaign unless things get weird.
Northern Illinois Huskies at Wisconsin Badgers
- Time/TV: 8:30 p.m. ET on BTN
- KenPom Spread: Badgers by 27
Wisconsin looked great against Campbell and should look better against NIU. Tune into this one to see how Greg Gard operates with a roster that has enough new faces to make things interesting.
Rice Owls at Oregon Ducks
- Time/TV: 10 p.m. ET on B1G+
- KenPom Spread: Ducks by 17
While most of the country was sleeping on Tuesday, Oregon came disastrously close to losing a buy game to Hawaii, which would’ve been the second instance of a team from the Aloha State handing a program in the northwest a loss on their home court this season.
Oregon shouldn’t need late game heroics to beat Hawaii. Ideally the Ducks use that game as fuel and prove a point against Rice.
Pepperdine Waves at UCLA Bruins
- Time/TV: 10:30 p.m. ET on BTN
- KenPom Spread: Bruins by 20
UCLA looked uninspiring against Eastern Washington in a game that was pretty competitive from the time of the tip to the final buzzer. Mick Cronin was pretty incensed afterward and will demand more from his team against cross-town Pepperdine.
If the Bruins look listless again, it could spell trouble in Westwood.
