While Penn State fell to Illinois to continue its six-game losing streak, the Big Ten saw several other storylines in the past week of conference play.
From top-25 showdowns to busted win streaks and continued losing streaks, many teams had their fair share of highlights and big games.
Here’s a recap of the conference action this week.
USC falls to Oregon, Minnesota
USC has looked like a different team this year without JuJu Watkins, and that was on display even more this past week.
Entering the week as No. 21 in the AP poll, the Trojans fell to two unranked teams in Oregon and Minnesota.
USC pulled into a commanding 23-9 lead after the first quarter against the Ducks, and that was extended even more to a 16-point lead at half. However, Oregon flipped the script in the final quarter, outscoring USC 26-8 to win the game.
Against the Golden Gophers, Jazzy Davidson — the No. 1 athlete in the Class of 2025 — scored 21 points alongside senior Kara Dunn’s 27 points.
The team’s bench was the ultimate letdown, however, scoring just three points.
Minnesota’s Grace Grocholski and Sophie Hart combined for 40 to win 63-62, sending USC to the middle of the Big Ten with a 2-3 conference record.
Purdue beats Wisconsin, Washington
Following three straight losses, Purdue found some hope to rejuvenate its season with a pair of upset wins over Wisconsin and Washington.
The Boilermakers had a disappointing start to the season, losing to their satellite campus Purdue Fort Worth and to Central Michigan. However, they showed signs of strength in their two wins that could carry deeper into the season.
Purdue pulled out to a commanding 18-9 lead after the first quarter to Wisconsin, and despite the Badgers closing the gap to one point at halftime, closed out the game while outscoring Wisconsin by seven points in the second half.
A big part of Purdue’s success came from the triple, as it went 12-for-20 from deep. Sophomore Nya Smith led the way with four 3-pointers, followed by Madison Layden-Zay’s three triples.
The first quarter played out a little differently against Washington, however, as Purdue entered the second quarter down by nine points.
While junior Sayvia Sellers scored 23 points against the Boilermakers, they were able to bring the game to overtime tied at 63 each.
Layden-Zay and Tara Daye put the nail in the coffin in overtime, each scoring 19 points on the game to win by six — tying USC with 10 wins on the year.
No. 19 Ohio State earns upset over No. 8 Maryland
After falling to No. 1 UConn and No. 4 UCLA earlier in the year, Ohio State earned its first big win of the year as it handed Maryland its second loss of the year.
The Terrapins came out of the first quarter shooting 60% from deep with a 24-12 lead over Ohio State. However, the Buckeyes scored 28 points in the second and fourth quarters to win by 13 points.
Jaloni Cambridge continued to craft her second straight All Big Ten season, scoring 28 points on Maryland.
Kylee Kitts, Kennedy Cambridge and Chance Grey all scored double digits as well, combining for 43 points.
Despite the loss, Maryland’s Oluchi Okananwa scored 27 points, recording over 20 points for the fifth time this year.
MORE BASKETBALL CONTENT
Entering the second quarter down by eight, Penn State stormed back and outscored Ohio State …
If you’re interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here.