The Big Ten had a plethora of games on Friday night, highlighted by Michigan and UCLA tangling with opponents on the west side of the country. Iowa also had an interesting game against Xavier.
Let’s take
a look at what happened.
Game of the Night:
–No. 6 Michigan Wolverines 67, TCU Horned Frogs 63
The first two games of the season were a whirlwind for the Wolverines. The team looked amazing to open up things against Oakland, but struggled for consistency against Wake Forest on Tuesday. That all led to Friday’s matchup on the road against TCU, where the Wolverines would seek (yet again) to prove they were worthy of their top 10 ranking.
Once again, there was plenty of drama.
While Michigan went on to win the game, it took quite an effort to get there. The Wolverines started slowly and traveled for much of the first half, thanks to a litany of turnovers and a slow outside shooting night. However, Michigan’s defense tightened down by the break and Michigan began making progress in the second half. Yaxel Lendeborg also had a far better game than he did against Wake Forest, finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Freshman Trey McKenney also had 11 points off the bench. Michigan eventually did enough to escape with a 67-63 win.
Michigan will now return home sitting at 3-0. The results weren’t always pretty, but it’s hard to complain too much about three wins in November, especially when two came away from home. The team will now get a few days off before facing Middle Tennessee at home on Wednesday.
The Rest:
–No. 14 Illinois Fighting Illini 84, Colgate Raiders 65
This was an absolute destruction, as Illinois cruised to an easy win over Colgate at home to improve to 4-0 on the season. David Mirkovic led the way with 27 points and 21 rebounds. Keaton Wagler also had 19 points. Illinois will now prepare for a massive game against Alabama in Chicago next Wednesday. Buckle up.
–Iowa Hawkeyes 81, Xavier Musketeers 62
Through two games, Iowa had performed admirably under new head coach Ben McCollum. However, nobody was quite sure whether that performance would translate to better opponents. That made Friday night’s home game against Xavier particularly important. It would be the team’s first chance to prove itself against somebody decent.
Fortunately for fans, Iowa passed the test. The Hawks not only won the game, but did so comfortably, thanks to 21 points and eight rebounds from Bennett Stirtz. Iowa finished with 1.16 points per possession and pushed itself to 3-0 on the season. The team will now get a few days off before returning to action against Southeast Missouri at home on Tuesday.
–Northwestern Wildcats 81, DePaul Blue Demons 79
It’s always fun to see two cross-town rivals battle it out and fans in the Chicago area got to see that on Friday night, as Northwestern traveled to face DePaul. The game lived up to the billing as well, as it went back and forth before being decided in the final minutes. Fortunately for Wildcat fans, Nick Martinelli did just enough to get Northwestern across the finish line, finishing with 24 points and five rebounds in the process. Arrinten Page also had 22 points in just 28 minutes of action.
Northwestern improved to 4-0 with the win. The team will now prepare for a trip to West Virginia, where it will open up play against Virginia next Friday.
–Rutgers Scarlet Knights 84, Lehigh Mountain Hawks 72
This one was a bit closer than Scarlet Knight fans would have liked, but Rutgers ultimately got the job done and scored a 12-point win at home. Dylan Grant led the way with 28 points and four rebounds. Emmanuel Ogbole also had a great showing with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Rutgers will now prepare for another tuneup opportunity at home against American on Tuesday.
–USC Trojans 87, Illinois State Redbirds 67
The Trojans got a nice win on Friday, cruising past a respectable Illinois State team in Inglewood. Rodney Rice led the way with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Chad Baker-Mazara also had a nice showing with 18 points and four rebounds. The win pushed USC to 3-0 overall. The Trojans will now prepare for a similarly rated Troy squad at home on Thursday.
–No. 5 Arizona Wildcats 69, No. 15 UCLA Bruins 65
It’s hard not to have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, UCLA fell short in a quasi-home game against Arizona where it had more than enough opportunities to win. It’s a game that will give Bruin fans heartburn for awhile, especially since it came against a former Pac 12 foe. However, on the other hand, UCLA looked rough through its first three games and still found a way to go toe-to-toe with the Wildcats. While we don’t believe in “moral victories”, that has to be a positive takeaway. Unfortunately, the team’s offense just couldn’t do enough to get the win, finishing with just 0.97 points per possession. Tyler Bilodeau led the way with 19 points.
UCLA fell to 3-1 overall with the loss. The Bruins will now get a few days off before facing Sacramento State at home on Tuesday. Fans will have to wait until November 25th before UCLA gets another chance at securing a quality win.
–Washington Huskies 81, Washington State Cougars 69
The Huskies bounced back from last weekend’s loss to Baylor well in this one, going on the road against rival Washington State and scoring a 12-point win. Wesley Yates led the effort with 26 points and seven rebounds. Zoom Diallo also had a solid performance with 20 points, four rebounds, and four assists. The win pushed Washington 3-1 on the season. The team will now prepare for Southern at home on Tuesday.
