Friday Big Ten Recap: Nebraska Tops MSU

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After close to a month off, conference play resumed on Friday night with four quality games on the docket. The biggest ended up happening in Lincoln between two top 15 units.

Let’s take a look at what happened.

–No. 13 Nebraska Cornhuskers 58, No. 9 Michigan State Spartans 56

For folks who’ve been following things closely, Nebraska’s rise has been a long time coming. It began back in 2024, when the Huskers finally broke through under Fred Hoiberg and earned their way into the NCAA Tournament. And while the team couldn’t do anything in the bracket, making the cut felt like it finally got the pressure off the Huskers and the program’s leadership. Then things continued building last year, as Nebraska won the Crown Tournament and carried many of those pieces into this season.

Still, even with all of those things happening behind the scenes, Friday was a special night because the Huskers finally arrived nationally. Nebraska was given a national stage by the Big Ten against a premier program in Michigan State and delivered, beating the Spartans in an epic battle. The game swung repeatedly, but Rienk Mast made some major plays down the stretch to get the win. Mast finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in 36 minutes of action. It was an impressive effort.

The win pushed Nebraska to 14-0 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten play. The team has now won 18 straight games dating back to last season and now must be considered a legitimate Big Ten title contender, even with how Michigan and Purdue have been playing. Nebraska simply keeps winning and deserves recognition for it. It’ll be a celebratory atmosphere in Lincoln at least for a few more days.

On the other side, Michigan State fell to 12-2 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play following the loss. It was the kind of loss that will give Spartan fans mixed feelings moving forward. On the one hand, there was nothing embarrassing about the result. Michigan State played well enough to win and fell short against an undefeated team on the road on a Friday night — nothing about that is concerning, at least on paper.

However, on the other hand, Michigan State’s goals for this season are lofty and this loss will likely weigh heavily in what’s already looking like a Big Ten title race. The Boilers and Wolverines are absolutely rolling and the Spartans can’t afford to lose any ground to those two if it wants to be in the race in March. The win was also significant enough to push Nebraska into that picture as well, who is now a game up on Michigan State. We’ll have to wait and see how things shake out, but this feels like a loss that could weigh the team down.

Nebraska will return to action on Monday on the road against Ohio State. KenPom has the Huskers as modest underdogs in that one. Michigan State will return to action on Monday at home against USC.

–No. 2 Michigan Wolverines 96, No. 24 USC Trojans 66

While this result generally went according to plan, with Michigan rolling to an easy win at home, the result itself should turn some heads. Michigan embarrassed a ranked USC team without even playing particularly well. The Wolverines shot just 20 percent from three-point range and two starters (Nimari Burnett and Yaxel Lendeborg) played limited minutes with injury concerns. Few teams could beat a ranked opponent with either of those factors, but Michigan not only did it with both, but won by 30. It’s another incredible performance.

Michigan improved to 13-0 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten play with the win, while USC fell to 12-2 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play with the loss. The Wolverines will now prepare for a road game against Penn State on Tuesday. USC will get Michigan State on the road on Monday night.

–Ohio State Buckeyes 80, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 73

This projected as an important game for both sides. Ohio State needed to rebound from some recent struggles against competent opponents and Rutgers desperately needed a resume win to keep its postseason hopes alive, at least for another week. And the game played out accordingly, with a tight battle until the final minutes, when Ohio State pulled away for an 80-73 win. Bruce Thornton led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Devin Royal also had a nice showing with 16 points and four assists.

Ohio State improved to 10-3 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play with the win, while Rutgers fell to 7-7 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play with the loss. The Buckeyes will now prepare for a huge home game against Nebraska on Monday night. Rutgers will get Oregon at home on Monday.

–Oregon Ducks 64, Maryland Terrapins 54

Like the game above, this featured two teams heading into tip in desperation mode. However, Oregon proved to be too much for the Terps, as the Ducks scored a 10-point road win. Takai Simpkins led the way with 16 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Nate Bittle also had 16 points and seven rebounds. Maryland kept things interesting for quite some time, but the team’s offense finished with just 0.83 points per possession.

Oregon improved to 8-6 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play with the win, while Maryland fell to 7-7 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play with the loss. The Ducks will now prepare for Rutgers on the road on Monday. Maryland will get Indiana at home on Wednesday.

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