This B1G Week 1/25-31

Hello and welcome friends to another edition of This B1G Week. The main story in the Big Ten right now is teams going on pause due to COVID-19 outbreaks in their programs/departments. Michigan State is finally getting back to playing this week while their in-state rivals Michigan are going on a state-imposed two-week pause causing their next four games to be postponed. Nebraska has only played twice this calendar year and won't play again until February 3rd. If the Huskers come back on the 3rd they'll have played once in 32 days and will need to play 15 games between February 3rd and March 7th.

This week we are adding a brand new segment called The Bracketology Report. In this segment we'll list out the Big Ten teams that are currently projected to be in the NCAA Tournament, and the current seed projection, based on Bracket Matrix's latest update. Bracket Matrix aggregates many of the top bracketology sites, averages each team's seed, and says who is in the tournament based on their average seeding.

Big Ten Game of the Week

Friday - 9 pm - FS1- Iowa @ Illinois - Two of the top four teams going at it on a late Friday night. I see this game as a toss-up but I am 100% certain a team from a state that starts with the letter I will win.

Nonconference Game of the Week

Saturday - 6 pm - ESPN - Kansas @ Tennessee - The Big 12 SEC Challenge has become a fun way to end January each year. The Jayhawks and Volunteers are both teams that are good but not great. Kansas is riding a three game losing streak and I think they'll turn it around once they face Rocky-Top.

Team of the Week

Penn State Nittany Lions - Penn State have quickly gotten hot. After losing their first five conference games the Nittany Lions won both games last week giving them their first winning streak since their first two games of the year. 

Team of the Weak

Northwestern Wildcats - The 'Cats are in a rough rough patch. They started as the story of the league by winning their first three conference games. Now they haven't won since Boxing Day, losing seven straight games. 

Bracketology Report

Teams In The Field (According to Bracket Matrix) - Nine Teams In The Field: Michigan (1 Seed), Iowa (2 Seed), Wisconsin (3 Seed), Ohio State (4 Seed), Illinois (4 Seed), Minnesota (5 Seed), Purdue (7 Seed), Indiana (10 Seed), Rutgers (10 Seed)

Actual Rankings

1. Michigan - 8-1 - 13-1
2. Iowa - 6-2 - 12-3
3. Wisconsin - 6-3 - 12-4
4. Illinois - 6-3 - 10-5
5. Ohio State - 6-4 - 12-4
6. Purdue - 6-4 - 11-6
7. Minnesota - 4-5 - 11-5
8. Indiana - 4-5 - 9-7
9. Rutgers - 4-6 - 8-6
10. Maryland - 3-6 - 9-7
11. Northwestern - 3-7 - 5-8
12. Michigan State - 2-4 - 8-4
13. Penn State - 2-5 - 5-6
14. Nebraska - 0-5 - 4-8

B1G Picks

Wednesday

7 pm - BTN - Penn State @ Ohio State

Grant's Pick: Ohio State, Troy's Pick: Ohio State

9 pm - BTN - Wisconsin @ Maryland 

Grant's Pick: Wisconsin, Troy's Pick: Wisconsin

Thursday 

7 pm - FS1 - Michigan State @ Rutgers

Grant's Pick: Michigan State, Troy's Pick: Michigan State

Friday

9 pm - FS1 - Iowa @ Illinois

Grant's Pick: Illinois, Troy's Pick: Iowa

Saturday

3 pm - BTN - Wisconsin @ Penn State

Grant's Pick: Wisconsin, Troy's Pick: Wisconsin

7:30 pm - BTN - Minnesota @ Purdue

Grant's Pick: Purdue, Troy's Pick: Purdue

Sunday

1 pm - CBS - Michigan State @ Ohio State

Grant's Pick: Ohio State, Troy's Pick: Ohio State

7:30 pm - BTN - Rutgers @ Northwestern

Grant's Pick: Rutgers, Troy's Pick: Rutgers

Grant's Previous Week Pick Record: 6-5

Grant's Total Pick Record: 100-32

Troy's Previous Week Pick Record: 4-7

Troy's Total Pick Record: 99-33



To stay up to date on the newest Head in the Game articles (and general sports commentary), follow @headingameblog on Twitter. You can also find us on Twitter @T_RoyStory (Troy) and @G_Tingley (Grant)

This B1G Week 1/18-24

Hello and welcome friends to another edition of This B1G Week. Well, the schedule is officially getting wacky. Multiple programs (Penn State, Michigan State, and Nebraska) have all had outbreaks within their programs causing several games to be rescheduled. After going through the entire non-conference play with games only being canceled based on the non-Big Ten teams it looks like things are catching up with the league. Hopefully, everyone gets and stays healthy and we can have things off the court go just as well as they are going on the court. 

Big Ten Game of the Week

Saturday - 4 pm - CBS - Ohio State @ Wisconsin - Ohio State is red hot in their last few games. Wisconsin had an up and down week having been blown out by Michigan and following it up by beating Rutgers.

Nonconference Game of the Week

Monday - 9 pm - ESPN - Kansas @ Baylor - Kicking things off with some Monday night basketball is a top ten matchup in the Big 12. Baylor had their first game this year that they won by less than double figures and Kansas is coming in being typically as strong as they are. 

Team of the Week

Minnesota Golden Gophers - Michigan looked unstoppable earlier in the week when they played Wisconsin, then they went to Minnesota. The Gophers handled the Wolverines on Saturday and handed them their first loss of the season. 

Team of the Weak

Northwestern Wildcats - Of the teams that haven't had to go on pause, Northwestern is probably the coldest team. The 'Cats were the hottest team in the Big Ten starting off 3-0 but have lost their last five games including two this past week. 

Actual Rankings

1. Michigan - 6-1 - 11-1
2. Iowa - 6-1 - 12-2
3. Wisconsin - 5-2 -11-3
4. Ohio State - 5-3 - 11-3
5. Purdue - 5-3 - 10-5
6. Illinois - 5-3 - 9-5
7. Minnesota - 4-4 - 11-4
8. Indiana - 3-4 - 8-6
9. Rutgers - 3-5 - 7-5
10. Northwestern - 3-5 - 5-6
11. Michigan State - 2-4 - 8-4
12. Maryland - 2-5 - 7-6
13. Penn State - 0-4 - 3-5 
14. Nebraska - 0-4 - 4-7

B1G Picks

Tuesday

6:30 pm - BTN - Purdue @ Ohio State

Grant's Pick: Ohio State, Troy's Pick: Ohio State

7 pm - FS1 - Maryland @ Michigan

Grant's Pick: Michigan, Troy's Pick: Michigan

8:30 pm - BTN - Penn State @ Illinois 

Grant's Pick: Illinois, Troy's Pick: Illinois

Wednesday

9 pm - BTN - Northwestern @ Wisconsin

Grant's Pick: Wisconsin, Troy's Pick: Wisconsin

Thursday

7 pm - BTN - Rutgers @ Penn State

Grant's Pick: Rutgers, Troy's Pick: Rutgers

9 pm - FS1 - Indiana @ Iowa

Grant's Pick: Iowa, Troy's Pick: Iowa

Friday

7 pm - FS1 - Michigan @ Purdue

Grant's Pick: Michigan, Troy's Pick: Michigan

Saturday

Noon - Fox - Illinois @ Michigan State

Grant's Pick: Michigan State, Troy's Pick: Illinois

2 pm - BTN - Maryland @ Minnesota

Grant's Pick: Minnesota, Troy's Pick: Minnesota

4 pm - CBS - Ohio State @ Wisconsin

Grant's Pick: Ohio State, Troy's Pick: Wisconsin

7 pm - BTN - Northwestern @ Penn State

Grant's Pick: Northwestern, Troy's Pick: Northwestern

Sunday

Noon - TBD - Rutgers @ Indiana

Grant's Pick: Rutgers, Troy's Pick: Indiana

Grant's Previous Week Pick Record: 5-3

Grant's Total Pick Record: 94-27

Troy's Previous Week Pick Record: 4-4

Troy's Total Pick Record: 95-26



To stay up to date on the newest Head in the Game articles (and general sports commentary), follow @headingameblog on Twitter. You can also find us on Twitter @T_RoyStory (Troy) and @G_Tingley (Grant)

This B1G Week 1/11-17

 Hello and welcome friends to another edition of This B1G Week. It's been a week. We're not going to get into it so here's This B1G Week.

Big Ten Game of the Week

Tuesday - 7 pm - ESPN - Wisconsin @ Michigan - This is the game where we could see how for real Michigan is. They've had possibly the easiest Big Ten schedule so far but that'll change on Tuesday once they face off against Wisconsin. The Badgers are looking to set themselves up for the conference crown and winning this game will go a long way. 

Nonconference Game of the Week

Tuesday - 9 pm - ESPN 2 - West Virginia @ Baylor - The Baylor Bears have been dominant this season. The closest anyone has come to them is when Illinois lost to them by 13. This will be their biggest test since that game. 

Team of the Week

Michigan Wolverines - While Michigan only was able to play one game this week they were very impressive in that win over Minnesota. Michigan is the only team yet to lose a Big Ten game this season and one of only 9 teams in the country that have yet to lose. 

Team of the Weak

Rutgers Scarlet Knights - Rutgers started the season off extremely strong but have struggled of late. They kicked off the week by losing to MSU by 23 and ended it by losing to OSU by 11.

Actual Rankings

1. Michigan - 5-0 - 10-0
2. Iowa - 5-1 - 11-2
3. Wisconsin - 4-1 - 10-2
4. Illinois - 5-2 - 9-4
5. Ohio State - 3-3 - 9-3
6. Indiana - 3-3 - 8-5
7. Purdue - 3-3 - 8-5
8. Northwestern - 3-3 - 5-4
9. Minnesota - 3-4 - 10-4
10. Rutgers - 3-4 - 7-4
11. Michigan State - 2-4 - 8-4
12. Maryland - 2-5 - 7-6
13. Penn State - 0-3 - 3-4
14. Nebraska - 0-4 - 4-7

B1G Picks

Tuesday

7 pm - ESPN - Wisconsin @ Michigan

Grant's Pick: Wisconsin, Troy's Pick: Wisconsin

Wednesday

7 pm - BTN - Northwestern @ Ohio State

Grant's Pick: Ohio State, Troy's Pick: Ohio State

9 pm - BTN - Illinois @ Nebraska

Grant's Pick: Illinois, Troy's Pick: Illinois

Thursday

7 pm- FS1 - Purdue @ Indiana

Grant's Pick: Indiana, Troy's Pick: Indiana

9 pm - FS1 - Michigan State @ Iowa

Grant's Pick: Iowa, Troy's Pick: Iowa

Friday

7 pm - FS1 - Wisconsin @ Rutgers

Grant's Pick: Wisconsin, Troy's Pick: Wisconsin

Saturday

Noon - Fox - Ohio State @ Illinois

Grant's Pick: Illinois, Troy's Pick: Illinois

Noon - BTN - Nebraska @ Maryland

Grant's Pick: Maryland, Troy's Pick: Maryland

2 pm - ESPN 2 - Michigan @ Minnesota

Grant's Pick: Michigan, Troy's Pick: Michigan

Sunday

Noon - CBS - Indiana @ Michigan State

Grant's Pick: Michigan State, Troy's Pick: Michigan State

1 pm - BTN - Penn State @ Purdue

Grant's Pick: Purdue, Troy's Pick: Purdue

Grant's Previous Week Pick Record: 8-3

Grant's Total Pick Record: 89-24

Troy's Previous Week Pick Record: 7-4

Troy's Total Pick Record: 91-22



To stay up to date on the newest Head in the Game articles (and general sports commentary), follow @headingameblog on Twitter. You can also find us on Twitter @T_RoyStory (Troy) and @G_Tingley (Grant)

This B1G Week 1/4-10

Hello and welcome friends to another edition of This B1G Week. This is the very first This B1G Week of 2021, or as I like to call it Twenty Twenty Pun. Also out this week is the first NET rankings of the season are out and surprise surprise, the Big Ten has a strong presence in them. Illinois (4), Michigan (6), and Iowa (7) represent the conference in the top ten. Wisconsin (11) and Rutgers (17) fill out the top twenty for the Big Ten.

Big Ten Game of the Week

Tuesday - 9 pm - ESPN 2 - Rutgers @ Michigan State - There's no sugarcoating it, MSU has had a capital R Rough start to this Big Ten Season. They followed up their 0-2 start by getting clobbered at Minnesota and a too close for comfort victory over Nebraska. Rutgers is off to probably their best start since joining the Big Ten. This game will help us figure out if Michigan State can turn things around or if Rutgers will be competing for a top spot in the conference. 

Nonconference Game of the Week

Saturday - Noon - ESPN - Texas @ West Virginia - Texas is coming off of one of the biggest road victories at Kansas on top of an already stellar season. West Virginia has been great all season as well. This makes for a banger of a game to start your Saturday off right. 

Team of the Week

Iowa Hawkeyes - Iowa has surprised me a little this season. I knew their offense would be amazing, which it is, but I assumed their defense would be a garbage fire. Don't get me wrong it's still a garbage fire but the flames are a little low than I thought they'd be. The handled a red hot Northwestern squad midweek then went in and won a game at Rutgers which is hard to do regardless of crowd size. 

Team of the Weak

Northwestern Wildcats - The 'Cats came back down to earth just as fast as they went up into space. They lost their two games this past week by 17 and 19 and we're too impressive. It's hard to tell which is the fluke: their first three games or these two, or more likely they fall somewhere in between. 

Actual Rankings

1. Michigan - 4-0 - 9-0
2. Illinois - 4-1 - 8-3
3. Iowa - 3-1 - 9-2
4. Wisconsin - 3-1 - 9-2
5. Minnesota - 3-2 - 10-2
6. Rutgers - 3-2 - 7-2
7. Northwestern - 3-2 - 7-2
8. Ohio State - 2-3 - 8-3
9. Purdue - 2-3 - 7-5
10. Indiana - 1-2 - 6-4
11. Michigan State - 1-3 - 7-3
12. Maryland - 1-3 - 6-4
13. Penn State - 0-3 - 3-4
14. Nebraska - 0-4 - 4-7

B1G Picks

Monday

8 pm - BTN - Maryland @ Indiana

Grant's Pick: Indiana, Troy's Pick: Indiana

Tuesday

7 pm - BTN - Nebraska @ Purdue

Grant's Pick: , Troy's Pick: 

9 pm - ESPN 2 - Rutgers @ Michigan State

Grant's Pick: Michigan State, Troy's Pick: Rutgers 

Wednesday

6:30 pm - BTN - Penn State @ Ohio State

Grant's Pick: Ohio State, Troy's Pick: Ohio State

8:30 pm - BTN - Minnesota @ Michigan

Grant's Pick: Michigan, Troy's Pick: Michigan

Thursday

7 pm - ESPN - Iowa @ Maryland

Grant's Pick: Iowa, Troy's Pick: Iowa

7 pm - FS1 - Indiana @ Wisconsin

Grant's Pick: Wisconsin, Troy's Pick: Wisconsin

9 pm - BTN - Illinois @ Northwestern

Grant's Pick: Illinois, Troy's Pick: Illinois

Friday

7 pm - BTN - Purdue @ Michigan State

Grant's Pick: Michigan State, Troy's Pick: Michigan State

Saturday

Noon - BTN - Ohio State @ Rutgers

Grant's Pick: Rutgers, Troy's Pick: Rutgers

2:15 pm - BTN - Michigan @ Penn State

Grant's Pick: Michigan, Troy's Pick: Michigan

Sunday

2:30 pm - BTN - Minnesota @ Iowa

Grant's Pick: Iowa, Troy's Pick: Iowa

6 pm - BTN - Indiana @ Nebraska

Grant's Pick: Indiana, Troy's Pick: Indiana 

8 pm - BTN - Maryland @ Illinois 

Grant's Pick: Illinois, Troy's Pick: Illinois

Grant's Previous Week Pick Record: 8-4

Grant's Total Pick Record: 81-21

Troy's Previous Week Pick Record: 9-3

Troy's Total Pick Record: 84-18



To stay up to date on the newest Head in the Game articles (and general sports commentary), follow @headingameblog on Twitter. You can also find us on Twitter @T_RoyStory (Troy) and @G_Tingley (Grant)