Wha' happened?

Much to my surprise, Michigan State was dropped by Maryland, 80-62 (67 possessions). The Spartans don't get slapped around like this very often, and it took something of a perfect storm for the Terrapins to pull it off. Maryland shot the lights out (9-19 behind the arc, 57.3 eFG overall), MSU didn't (2-9 on three pointers, 43.9 eFG), and MSU's turnover problems resurfaced (22.3 TO Rate). This was a tight game at halftime, with the Terps up by 3, but this just wasn't MSU's night. Goran Suton was out, they missed 15 FTs (shooting 44.4% on the game), and Raymar Morgan took all of 4 shots, scoring 4 points. Box score.

Now, Maryland isn't a bad team, but the Terps will more than likely fight to get to the NCAA Tournament this season. I still have faith that the Spartans will take the Big Ten title, but that faith is definitely shaken. The Spartans wil try and rebound against Oklahoma State tonight.

Purdue continues to hum along, taking care of Boston College 71-64 on Wednesday. Ray was spot on - the difference was all in the turnovers. Purdue's TO Rate is decidedly low on the season so far, and if they improve much on last season's solid figure (18.5), the Boilermaker offense should take off. They'll need that offense against Blake Griffin and the Sooners today. E'Twaun Moore led Purdue with 19 points on 14 shots, 6 assists (3 TOs). Box score.

Chaminade gave Indiana all it could handle on Wednesday before the Hoosiers pulled out a two point victory, 81-79. Now, there's some solace to be found in a couple items - first, this was Chaminade's home court, a few thousand miles away from Bloomington. As ESPN's crew put it during the game, this was Chaminade's "Super Bowl" (basketball guys, not football). That said, IU's defense was...subpar. Despite the fact that Chaminade turned it over on 23.4% of their possessions, they still scored 1.16 points per possession. While IU's offense will not be a thing of beauty this season, it appears that the defense is the biggest worry for the Hoosiers. Tom Pritchard has emerged as IU's go to player on offense, and that continued last night. The big man went for a near dub-dub with a 19/9 line on 10 shots. Box score.

Also on Wednesday, Butler came from behind to beat Northwestern 57-53 in Indianapolis. This is the kind of game the Wildcats needed to win if they're going to get to the tournament this season. Had they valued the basketball more, that might have happened too. Usually when you outshoot your opponent like Northwestern did (56.8 eFG to 44.4 eFG), you win. Usually. But when you turn it over on 28% of your possessions, it's very difficult to win. Also, Kevin Coble cannot disappear in games like this. Coble played 38 minutes but only took 4 shots, and frankly, Northwestern doesn't sport a supporting cast good enough to allow Coble to take nights off against quality opponents. Box score.

Also Wednesday, Minnesota rolled past Eastern Washington, 88-67. Colton Iverson led the Golden Gophers with 20 points on 13 shots. The Minnesota offense was unstoppable in this one, averaging nearly 1.4 points per possession. Box score.

Today, in addition to Oklahoma/Purdue and MSU/Oklahoma State, we have Illinois against Kent State, Rhode Island/Penn State, and Iowa takes on West Virginia.