College Basketball
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Quick Hits From Day 1 at the 2025 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS — The 2025 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament tipped off on Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Although it was the bottom six teams in action, the first day churned out some pretty fun games.

All three games were decided by single digits, with the final game of the night between Rutgers and USC being the most exciting. But we’ll talk about that a little bit later.

Here are a few quick hitters from Day 1 at the Big Ten Tournament.

Day 1 final scores

Chris Collins unhappy with Northwestern’s hotel accommodations

Northwestern pulled out a 72-64 win over Minnesota on Wednesday to advance to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. So, you might think coach Chris Collins was all smiles after the game. Instead, he decided to air some grievances in the postgame press conference.

Collins revealed after the game that Northwestern’s team hotel didn’t have any air conditioning Tuesday night, leaving players sweltering through the night. Needless to say, he wasn’t very happy with the situation.

“Our guys are just a tough group of guys. They’ve had a lot
thrown at them. Even last night, they put us in a hotel, the
rooms were a thousand degrees,” Collins said. “There was no AC in the
hotel, and our guys’ rooms were 85 degrees, and that’s
where the league puts you. Every way they turn, they’re
trying to get us, and our guys just are a resilient bunch.

“We’re used to being treated like that by this league.”

Go ahead and tell us how you really feel, Chris.

Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament hopes evaporate

Look, I’m no bracket analyst, but it sure seems like any chance Ohio State had of making the NCAA Tournament evaporated into the Indianapolis air on Wednesday night. The Buckeyes dropped a 77-70 decision to Iowa in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Ohio State is now 17-15 on the year with losses in five of its final seven games.

Entering this week’s tournament, Ohio State was considered one of the Last Four In teams among multiple bracket analysts. As of Wednesday night, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi moved the Buckeyes to the outside of the 68-team field. I’m guessing most bracket projections have a similar fate for the Buckeyes.

A double-overtime thriller

The first night of the Big Ten Tournament ended in thrilling fashion, with No. 11 Rutgers and No. 14 USC going into double-overtime to close the evening. The Trojans dominated the first half, leading by as many as 15 points and taking a 41-30 lead into halftime.

But Rutgers implemented a full-court press early in the second half that gave USC some trouble and allowed the Scarlet Knights to get back into the game. The two teams continued to trade punches, resulting in a double-overtime game.

Ultimately, USC was able to pull through in the final five minutes and post a 97-89 victory. Three separate Trojans scored in double figures, with Desmond Claude scoring 28, Wesley Yates III adding 24 and Rashaun Agee scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

It was an instant classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

How low can you go?

Well, it turns out that being the lower seed in the Big Ten Tournament was an advantage in the first round. All of the lower seeds advanced to the second round. Surely that won’t be a trend that continues long, will it?

ALL-BIG TEN TEAMS ANNOUNCED: The All-Big Ten men’s basketball teams for the 2024-25 season were announced on Tuesday, as well as winners of the individual awards. CLICK HERE

2024-25 TRANSFER PORTAL DATES: In late March, the transfer portal windows will open in both men’s and women’s college basketball. There will be a 30-day window for players to enter. CLICK HERE

MARCH MADNESS DATES, LOCATIONS: The 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is sneaking up quickly. Here are the dates, locations and TV information for this year’s March Madness tournament. CLICK HERE

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