Michigan Basketball gets another break as Penn State upsets Wisconsin
Michigan basketball hasn’t played for a week and still the Wolverines keep getting a bigger lead in the Big Ten conference standings.
Over the last two days, things in the Big Ten conference could not have gone any better for Michigan basketball.
On Friday night, Illinois knocked off Iowa, the team sitting alone in second place behind the Wolverines with just two losses. The win by Illinois improved its record to 7-3, but also dropped Iowa to 6-3, which put Michigan basketball two games up in the loss column.
The Fighting Illini were actually tied with Wisconsin for second place in the conference standings, that is until Penn State had something to say about it.
The Nittany Lions were supposed to play Michigan basketball earlier this week but that was one of the games that was postponed. It was second time the game was pushed back.
The Badgers, who also have a game against Illinois next Saturday, were on the road against Penn State and really needed to hold serve against the 13th-place team in the conference.
But crazy things happen in college hoops, especially the Big Ten, which has a strong case for being the strongest league in the country. And Penn State gave fans a reminder of that with its 81-71 win, a victory that featured a 50-point second half.
What it means for Michigan
For Penn State, it moves the Nittany Lions to 3-6 in the league and 6-7 overall, but the real consequence is for the Badgers, who’s chances of winning the conference title took a big hit.
As far as the Wolverines are concerned, the past 24 hours could not have gone better. Illinois and Wisconsin are supposed to meet next week, so either the Illini will get their fourth loss or Wisconsin will gets its fifth.
Iowa, which has three losses, is also playing Ohio State, a team that has four. That means the four closest contenders are all playing each other, while Michigan waits for Feb. 11 when it will host Illinois, before taking a trip to Wisconsin Feb. 14.
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The way things are going, if Michigan can even split those two games right after the pause, it will be in a very strong position to win the outright Big Ten title.