Last Night in College Basketball: A Big Weekend For The Big Ten

Men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball – there’s no shortage of college ball, every night. Don’t worry, we’re here to help you figure out what you missed but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from the weekend in college basketball. Big Ten’s Big Four Have a Big Weekend Entering play on Friday, four teams were tied atop the Big Ten at 9-1. And all four were, coincidentally, in action against one another over the weekend. Michigan took on Michigan State on Friday, while Illinois visited Nebraska on Sunday, giving us two matchups that would shake up the conference standings regardless of outcome. Ultimately, Michigan and Illinois separated from the pack with dubs. The Wolverines earned their first victory in the Breslin Center since 2018, while the Illini went into Husker territory and handed Nebraska its second-straight defeat. Now, it’s Michigan and Illinois at 10-1, tied atop the standings, while Nebraska and Michigan State are tied for third at 9-2, still in double-bye territory ahead of 8-3 Purdue and Wisconsin. Michigan won, 83-71, in a game that never felt anywhere near that close. The Spartans shot 37% overall and just 4-for-23 from 3; going 23-for-27 from the line kept them in the game, but even then it was just keeping Michigan State from falling even further behind. Sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. had 31 points and went 12-for-14 on free throws — he outscored every other Spartans starter combined, while the Wolverines had a more balanced offensive attack and another 20 points off the bench, too. As for the Illini and Huskers, Nebraska had already won the previous matchup between the two — that’s Illinois’ lone conference defeat — but this time it was not able to repeat the feat. Illinois had won 10 in a row since that loss to Nebraska, and made it 11 with a 78-69 W. Freshman guard Keaton Wagler scored a game-high 28 points on 7-for-15 shooting, along with 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals to help lead Illinois to the win. While Nebraska did lead for 35% of the game and plenty of other minutes were spent tied up, for the second time in a row the Huskers were undone by fouls. Illinois went to the line 26 times compared to Nebraska’s five trips there, and the Illini sank 21 free throws — it didn’t matter that the Huskers had 6 more 3-pointers than Illinois when there was a 17-point difference at the line between the two teams. UConn dominates Tennessee after brief scare Tennessee vs. UConn is the stuff of legend, a rivalry that helped women’s college basketball ascend to the levels it finds itself at today thanks to a decade-spanning regular season series and loads of March Madness encounters, including four national championship games. And in the present, Tennessee is also the last team that UConn had lost to, back in February of 2025: the Huskies entered play on Sunday against the Lady Vols not just winners of 50-straight Big East games, but also 38 overall, the current No. 1 and the defending national champions. Dominant, yes, but also due for an upset if you wanted to frame things that way, and how poetic would it have been if old frenemy Tennessee were the one to deliver it? For a time, it looked like a real possibility — UConn came out of the gate firing with relentless offensive and defensive energy to build up a 21-5 lead with 3:18 left in the first, but Tennessee fought back, and fast, to narrow that gap to 25-19 by the end of the first quarter. The game was then tied, 42-42, at the half, and UConn had to work to get things back to even — the Huskies fell behind in the second quarter for the first time all season, and it took scoring the last two buckets of the half to avoid trailing as it ended. The two continued to battle in an even back-and-forth to start the third quarter, with both teams playing a very physical game of defense that caused turnovers and loose ball after loose ball and rebounds that just couldn’t be ripped down without ping-ponging around multiple bodies first. Sophomore forward Sarah Strong sank a layup to make it 59-53 UConn with 4:14 left in the third quarter, and it was the start of a devastating run that would still be going when the frame ended. UConn poured it on for the next four minutes, in a stretch that included sophomore guard Kayleigh Heckel blitzing downcourt to go coast-to-coast for a layup on successive plays, and the third ended with the Huskies up, 71-53. The fourth quarter was much of the same, and UConn would win, 96-66 — the 30-point win represented the worst loss Tennessee has ever suffered at the hands of the Huskies since the two first matched up in 1995. Fifth-year guard Azzi Fudd had the top GameScore in all of Division I women’s basketball on Sunday (28.8) thanks to a game-high 27 points with 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and a block. Strong added 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting with 9 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and 3 blocks — the star forward is currently flirting with a 60/40/90 shooting season, as she’s at 59.9% overall, 39.1% on 3-pointers and 92.5% on free throws, with Sunday a reminder that it’s not just because of the Big East competition. Maybe most importantly, as far as prognosticating goes, is what UConn did to Tennessee as the fast-paced, physical game went on. Tennessee looked gassed after keeping pace with UConn — not just in scoring, but in the relentless defensive pressure that has been Connecticut’s hallmark this season — for 2.5 quarters. The Huskies did not slow down even a little bit despite sticking with their starters for more minutes than usual, and as the Lady Vols’ pace dipped, UConn pushed even harder and the points piled on. That motor might be what separates UConn from the rest of the competition come March — at the least, it’s something the rest of the field needs to figure out how to solve before then. Peterson slowed by cramping, but outscores Dybantsa The matchup between No. 14 Kansas and No. 13 BYU has been long-awaited thanks to the presence of two presumed early picks in the NBA Draft: freshmen Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa. Peterson, a guard, has starred for Kansas when he has actually been on the court, while Dybantsa has had some quiet stretches in the first halves of some matchups, but then exploded late to put up the numbers that have him third in the nation in scoring. On Saturday, Peterson came out firing early, scoring 18 points in just 20 minutes of play, but as has been the case with him far too often this season, he had to exit due to cramping in his leg. Coach Bill Self stated that he believed it was a conditioning issue owing to the time Peterson missed due to an ankle injury — just one practice after too much time off, followed by cramps. The Jayhawks managed to hold off BYU in the second half despite the absence of Peterson, however, winning 90-82 even though the Cougars outscored them in the half 49-37. Which does neatly explain just what Kansas is capable of with and without Peterson against top-tier competition: BYU allowed 53 points in the half that the star guard played most of, and held Kansas to 37 in the one where Peterson was benched. [Casey Jacobsen’s Top 25: Florida, Illinois Climbing; Purdue Falls] While Dybantsa did score 17 points, senior guard Richie Saunders III was the star for the Cougars in defeat. He scored a game-high 33 points on 11-for-19 shooting with 10 rebounds for the double-double, and had 2 assists, 2 steals and a block besides. It helped BYU get close, but not close enough. Oregon upsets ranked Maryland Oregon hasn’t been ranked this season, but maybe that should change. The Ducks sit 21st in the NCAA Evaluation Tool, or NET, and on Saturday came from behind against No. 16 Maryland to win, 68-61. Now, the lead wasn’t particularly huge — the Terps went up by 8 with a strong second quarter — but that’s part of it, too. Oregon’s defense, which ranks 16th in the country by Defensive Rating, held Maryland to 37% shooting despite an 11-for-17, 27-point showing from junior guard Oluchi Okananwa. The rest of the Terps combined for 12-for-46 shooting, or, 26.1%. Shutting down the rest of the squad let Oregon take back the lead and build its own, with sophomore forward Ehis Etute leading the charge with a double-double earned with 26 points on 10-for-15 shooting and 11 rebounds. Etute also had 3 assists, 3 steals and a block in a dominant performance. What sealed the deal for the Ducks, though, was junior guard Sofia Bell. In the fourth quarter, Bell took three shots, and made them all: each was a 3-pointer, with the first putting Oregon ahead, 55-54, the second pushing that lead to 58-54 and the final giving them a 61-54 lead. For good measure, Bell then sank a pair of free throws to get Oregon to its final of 68 points. An 11-steal triple-double Taylee Chirrick was thieving all over the place on Saturday for Montana State. The sophomore guard — who led the Big Sky conference in steals per game last year at 3.3 and is swiping even more this time around at 4.3 to once again lead — stole the ball 11 times against Portland State. If it had just been the steals, Chirrick’s performance would be worth mentioning, but it was one of the best overall games of the weekend by anyone: she also scored 31 points while pulling down 11 rebounds, giving Chirrick a triple-double. All three figures were career-bests for Chirrick, and the 11 steals tied the Big Sky single-game record, as well. Montana State would end up winning, 91-43, dominating Portland State en route to a 9-1 conference record that has them atop the Big Sky. Chirrick, in addition to the 4.3 steals per game, is scoring 18.3 with 7.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 49.6%. Michigan outlasts Michigan State in OT It was a double Michigan win over the weekend: both the men’s and women’s teams faced crossstate rival Michigan State, and in both cases, the Wolverines came out on top. The women’s affair was a much closer one, with No. 13 Michigan State refusing to go away against a tough No. 9 Michigan squad. This one was close throughout: Michigan was up after the first quarter, 25-22, then the Spartans took the second, 20-16 to go up by a single point entering halftime. Each team scored 23 points in the third quarter, and Michigan outscored Michigan State in the fourth, 17-16, but not by enough to avoid overtime — a Kennedy Blair jumper with five seconds left tied things up at 81, and then there was a halfcourt buzzer beater miss out of a desperate grab for a loose ball that resulted in the sophomore guard picking up a steal. It went in and out instead of just the first thing, though, sending the game to OT. Overtime was more of the same, with the Spartans striking first but then the Wolverines hitting back, and harder, to go up 89-83 — sophomore guard Olivia Olson sank a 3 with 3:18 to go to cap a 47-second stretch where she also had a layup and a free throw. The Spartans would battle back and narrow the lead, but simply ran out of time before they could close that gap all the way. Michigan would win, 94-91, in what was a real nailbiter from start to finish. A 2OT Thriller in Westwood Two teams squarely on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bubble combined for one of the most exciting games of the season on Saturday. UCLA erased a 10-point deficit in the final two minutes against Indiana, and sophomore guard Trent Perry pulled up for a 3-pointer with two seconds left to send the game to overtime. Indiana then scored with six seconds remaining in the first extra period to extend the game another five minutes, courtesy a layup from senior forward Sam Alexis, who had just 7 points on the day even with all the extra time. In what would be the final overtime, UCLA senior guard Donovan Dent fell asleep on a decisive out of bounds play, fouling Indiana’s Trent Sisley with less than a second left on the clock and the game tied at 97. The freshman forward then made the game-winning free throw for just his third point of the day. With the two-overtime road W, Indiana moved to 6-5 in conference play, while UCLA slipped to 7-4 — the Bruins missed an opportunity to join Purdue and Wisconsin in a tie for fifth, within shouting distance of a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament, and instead now has to fend off further challenges from the Hoosiers in 7th place. Remember, teams 5-9 in the Big Ten standings get a single bye, and UCLA is now just one game up on three teams tied for the final two byes. Florida Beat ‘Em Anyways Hey, Todd Golden told everyone what was going to happen. The Florida coach reacted to Alabama getting back ex-G League player Charles Bediako due to a temporary restraining order that granted him eligibility once more by saying that, “We’re going to beat them anyways.” Fast-forward to this weekend when the No. 19 Gators and No. 23 Tide squared off, and “beat” doesn’t fully explain what went down. Florida won, 100-77, with Bediako basically being a non-factor despite starting and playing 24 minutes: he scored just 6 points and had 7 rebounds, but Florida outrebounded Bama 44-33 and held them to 44% shooting. The Gators shot 51% despite struggles from deep, and still managed to sink 17 free throws despite shooting just 65% from the line. Florida stole the ball 13 times and forced 18 turnovers overall, on which it scored 25 points; Alabama got Florida to cough the ball up just twice all game, and did not score either time that it happened. This was a beatdown in which Florida led for 90% of the game, and by as many as 27 points. Junior forward Alex Condon was the highlight, with 25 points on 11-for-15 shooting paired with 7 rebounds, 6 assists as well as 2 steals and blocks each. The Gators are now in second in the SEC at 7-2, behind 7-1 Texas A&M, while Alabama fell to 4-4 despite its being ranked, leaving it all the way in ninth.