One weekend down and all 12 B1G teams have officially kicked off their seasons. Also, the local Big East teams Marquette, DePaul and Notre Dame have gotten things going as well, in addition to all the local mid-major programs.
All 12 B1G teams have won a game so far except for Michigan State, who fell to top-ranked North Carolina in the Carrier Classic Friday night, 67-55. The schedule does not get easier yet for the Spartans, who travel to Madison Square Garden to face #6 Duke in the Champions Classic Tuesday night. Also facing off that night are #2 Kentucky and #12 Kansas in the new event that will feature these four teams for the next several seasons as they all get the opportunity to play each other.
Indiana has emerged as the “first place” team after a 2-game weekend with wins over Stony Brook (96-66 on Fri.) and Chattanooga (78-53 on Sun.). All other conference teams besides MSU and IU are 1-0, with the game results as follows:
FRIDAY: #3 Ohio State def. Wright State 73-42; #18 Michigan def. Ferris State 59-33; Purdue def. Northern Illinois 96-34; Minnesota def. Bucknell 70-58; Nebraska def. South Dakota 65-48; Iowa def. Chicago State 96-53; Illinois def. Loyola (IL) 67-59.
SATURDAY: #14 Wisconsin def. Kennesaw State 85-31; Penn State def. Hartford 70-55.
SUNDAY: Northwestern def. Texas-Pan American 60-36.
Other local teams, besides NIU, Loyola and Chicago State mentioned above, were in action and their results follow:
FRIDAY: #21 Marquette def. Mount St. Mary’s 91-37; DePaul def. Texas-Pan American 91-72; E Michigan def. Illinois-Chicago 68-57; Valparaiso def. Georgia Southern 90-81; Indiana State def. Eastern Illinois 79-72; Creighton def. N Carolina A&T 97-65; Fresno State def. Illinois State 55-47.
SATURDAY: Notre Dame def. Miss. Valley State 80-67; Evansville def. Butler 80-77 (OT); Ohio Dominican def. Southern Illinois 64-63.
SUNDAY: #16 Arizona def. Ball State 73-63; Creighton def. Chicago State 95-61; Bradley def. UMKC 68-58.
