We only have three games on the Big Ten slate this Wednesday, with two of the three teams featuring coaches in year one at their programs. Niko Medved and Darian DeVries are both in year one at Minnesota
and Indiana, respectively, with Oregon’s Dana Altman giving DeVries his first break in the coaching business at Creighton.
Plenty of crossover. Let’s talk about the basketball.
Minnesota Golden Gophers at Missouri Tigers
- Time/TV: 8 p.m. on SEC Network/SECN+
- KenPom Spread: Tigers by 3
I’m really, really interested in what Niko Medved’s first Gophers team is going to look like against its first high-major opponent. Minnesota has resoundingly beaten KenPom sub-300s Gardner Webb and Alcorn State and now hits the road to take on a Mizzou program that’s been solid, on average, under Dennis Gates.
Medved is the first truly established coach Minnesota has hired in a while. Ben Johnson cut his teeth as an assistant at multiple gigs before taking over in Minneapolis and Richard Pitino spent just one year at FIU when he was hired.
These Gophers look balanced, not slanted either offensively or defensively, while the Tigers boast a really strong scoring attack after finishing top-10 in efficiency last season. It’s a huge opportunity for Medved to pick up a statement road win.
Milwaukee Panthers at Indiana Hoosiers
- Time/TV: 7 p.m. on FS1
- KenPom Spread: Hoosiers by 24
Indiana is coming off of a blowout 100-77 win over fellow Milwaukee program Marquette, a game that happened in Chicago. The Hoosiers return to the friendly confines of Assembly Hall for this matchup against a Milwaukee team that’ll pose more of a challenge than Alabama A&M did in the opener but less of one than the Eagles.
The Hoosiers are gonna score points, that much is clear. Milwaukee has a pretty poor defense, allowing 86 points to both of its opponents on the year.
South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Oregon Ducks
- Time/TV: 9:30 p.m. on Peacock
- KenPom Spread:
Oregon has fallen fast in KenPom’s efficiency rankings after close wins over Hawaii and Rice to open the 2025-26 season. The Ducks were without star guard Jackson Shelstad against the Rainbow Warriors, but he was able to return against the Owls… but the struggles remained.
Those teams aren’t slouches, they’re on the better end of lower-level competition the league has faced up to this point, but it’s less than encouraging that the Ducks haven’t been able to put either way. This is still a Big Ten team, any opponent ranked past 100 in KenPom should be a 10+ point win at least.
South Dakota State is similar, the Jackrabbits are ranked a hair lower than Rice. Will those concerning trends continue?
