Colossal blowouts, final scramble for wins leading to Big Ten season finale

The Indiana men's basketball team may have been blown out by Michigan 112-64 Sunday, but Hoosier coach Bobby Knight can take pride in the fact that he only lost the game, not his words.

"Somebody come up with a really good question," Knight said after the game. "It'd be the first bright thing of the day."

So one brave reporter decided to call Knight's bluff. The reporter asked Knight if he thought Michigan played well.

Bad idea.

And that was The General's cue.

"Well, I know a whole hell of a lot more about it than you do so you can imagine how good I thought they were today."

Incidentally, Michigan's point total was the most points allowed by the Hoosiers under Knight.

Awesome.

A win against No. 22 Illinois tomorrow would be a great way for the Hoosiers to rebound, but it won't be easy.

The Fighting Illini are coming off a 79-72 win over Iowa. Jerry Hester and Kevin Turner scored 20 and 17 points, respectively, for the Illini. Illinois is also the only team in the Big Ten that can catch first-place Michigan State in the hunt for the Big Ten title because of Purdue's loss to Penn State Saturday.

Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, this is a hungry Illini team. The victor of the game will be the team that needs the win more than the other. That's why the Illini will win.

Pick: Illinois 71, Indiana 57

Speaking of teams that are hungry, the No. 10 Spartans would be more than happy to stave off an Illini run. What better way to do that than with a win over No. 11 Purdue this Saturday? With the Boilermakers coming off an upset at the hands of the Nittany Lions, the Spartans have them right where they want them -- and they have them at home, too.

Pick: Michigan State 69, Purdue 58

The Big Ten named Lion forward Jarrett Stephens co-Big Ten Player of the Week along with Illinois' Hester. Last week, Stephens averaged 22 points per game in three games. He scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the Lions' 90-81 win over Ohio State, posted career highs in scoring (27) and rebounding (11) in Penn State's 82-77 loss at Minnesota and hit 7 of 8 shots for 15 points in the Lions' 74-63 win over Purdue Saturday.

"He's played a significant role in the success of the team in various ways," Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said. "I'm elated that this happened to a guy like Jarrett."