Mitch McGary recorded a double-double (MGoBlue.com)

The end result was as expected, but the route Michigan took to its 83-66 win over Penn State was anything but. The first 27 minutes of the game were especially tense, bringing back haunting images of the Wolverines’ humiliating loss in Happy Valley just two weeks ago.

After falling behind 14-3 in the first five minutes, Michigan scored 11 straight to tie the game. The two teams fought evenly throughout the remainder of the half and the Wolverines took a nervous 35-33 lead into the locker room.

The second half started out much in the same way, back and forth for the first seven minutes. With just over 12 minutes remaining, and Michigan clinging to a five point lead, Jon Horford gave Michigan the spark it needed to pull away. His put-back started a 10-0 run to give Michigan a 15-point lead before the Nittany Lions got back on the board. By then, it was too late and Michigan didn’t give away the lead in the way it did in Happy Valley two weeks ago.

As usual, Trey Burke led all scorers with 21 points, while Tim Hardaway Jr. and Nik Stauskas each added 15. But perhaps Michigan’s most valuable player of the game was freshman Mitch McGary who kept the Wolverines in the game in the first half. He seemed to be the only Michigan player capable of scoring early on and pulled down rebound after rebound, finishing the game with his second career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Horford also finished in double figures with 11.

Michigan shot 46 percent overall and hit 6-of-18 three-pointers, while turning the ball over just three times. That’s in stark contrast to the 15 turnovers the Wolverines committed against Penn State two weeks ago. Michigan also converted 19-of-23 free throws, which is encouraging after the end-game meltdown against Indiana on Sunday.

Michigan gets another shot at revenge on Friday against Wisconsin in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines faced Wisconsin just once this season, an overtime heartbreaker in Madison. You can bet the Maize and Blue are eager for another shot given the way the loss went down when Badger guard Ben Brust hit a half court shot at the buzzer to extend the game.

#6 Michigan (5) vs Penn State (12)
Thursday, Mar. 14 | 2:30pm ET | Big Ten Network
25-6 (12-6)	Record	10-20 (2-16)
Slippery Rock 100-62 IUPUI 91-54 Cleveland State 77-47 Pittsburgh 67-62 Kansas State 71-57 NC State 79-72 Bradley 74-66 W. Michigan 73-41 Arkansas 80-67 Binghamton 67-39 West Virginia 81-66 E. Michigan 93-54 C. Michigan 88-73 Northwestern 94-66 Iowa 95-67 Nebraska 62-47 #9 Minnesota 83-75 Purdue 68-53 Illinois 74-60 Northwestern 68-46 #10 Ohio State 76-74 OT Penn State 79-71 Illinois 71-58 #9 Michigan State 58-57 Purdue 80-75	Wins	St. Francis PA 65-58 Providence 55-52 OT Bucknell 60-57 Penn 58-47 Army 78-70 Delaware State 80-76 OT New Hampshire 72-45 Duquesne 84-74 #4 Michigan 84-78 Northwestern 66-59
#15 Ohio State 56-53 #3 Indiana 73-81 Wisconsin 62-65 OT #8 Michigan State 52-75 Penn State 78-84 #2 Indiana 71-72	Losses	#6 NC State 55-72 Akron 60-85 Boston College 61-73 La Salle 57-82 Wisconsin 51-60 #5 Indiana 51-74 Northwestern 54-70 Purdue 42-60 #18 Michigan State 72-81 Nebraska 64-68 #7 Indiana 49-72 #14 Ohio State 51-65 Iowa 67-76 Purdue 49-58 Nebraska 53-67 Iowa 72-74 #4 Michigan 71-79 Illinois 59-64 Minnesota 44-73 #22 Wisconsin 60-63
75.4	Points Per Game	61.5
62.6	Scoring Defense	67.7
871-for-1,788 (48.7%)	Field Goal %	632-for-1,612 (39.2%)
734-for-1,756 (41.8%)	Def. Field Goal %	640-for-1,500 (42.7%)
238-for-614 (38.8%)	3-point %	153-for-519 (29.5%)
205-for-624 (32.9%)	Def. 3-point %	200-for-581 (34.4%)
358-for-507 (70.6%)	Free Throw %	427-for-613 (69.7%)
11.5	FT Made/Game	14.2
35.0	Rebounds Per Game	35.0
32.0	Opp. Reb. Per Game	33.5
14.5	Assists Per Game	9.8
9.3	Turnovers Per Game	12.4
6.0	Steals Per Game	5.4
2.6	Blocks Per Game	3.2
G – Trey Burke (19.2) G – Tim Hardaway Jr. (14.8)	Leading Scorer	G – D.J. Newbill (16.1) G – Jermaine Marshall (15.5)
F – Glenn Robinson III (5.5) F – Mitch McGary (5.3)	Leading Rebounder	F – Ross Travis (7.3) G – D.J. Newbill (5.0)

Just two weeks ago, Michigan traveled to Happy Valley for what many figured would be an easy victory. But things didn’t go as planned and Michigan suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the then-winless in conference Nittany Lions. Many national analysts have dubbed it the upset of the season, and it certainly ranks right up there with TCU’s win over Kansas. Was Michigan looking ahead to its impending battle with Michigan State, or does Penn State simply present a tough matchup for the Wolverines, having played them tough in the first meeting as well?

Today, we get a chance to find out in the rubber match. Michigan and Penn State face off in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at 2:30pm EST in Chicago. The winner will move on to face Wisconsin at the same time on Friday, while the loser will be knocked out. Michigan has nothing to fear as far as continuing its season, though it could lose a spot in the Auburn Hills pod, but Penn State is playing for a chance to extend its season at least another day.

While the Nittany Lions enter this one 10-20 overall and 2-16 in the Big Ten, they have been playing much better basketball at the end of the season than what was displayed for most of it. Aside from a 73-44 loss to Minnesota, Penn State picked up its second conference win of the season at Northwestern and then nearly knocked off Wisconsin to close the season.

If Michigan wants to advance to face Wisconsin, it will have to find a way to slow down the guard combination of Jermaine Marshall and D.J. Newbill, who scored 25 and 17, respectively, in the upset. The good news is Michigan has been playing much tougher defense since that loss. The Wolverines will need to continue that intensity on the defensive end this afternoon.

Another key for Michigan will be protecting the ball. In the loss, Michigan turned it over 15 times, which led to 20 Penn State points. That’s really what doomed Michigan, since the Wolverines shot 51.7 percent from the field, out-rebounded Penn State 37-30, and dominated the paint, 44-24.

Finally, Michigan needs to embrace the moment. The Wolverines have struggled away from home the past couple of seasons and need to treat this game like the opening round of next week’s NCAA Tournament, which will be a very similar situation: neutral site against an inferior opponent. As mentioned above, a loss wouldn’t ruin Michigan’s season, but it would drop their seeding for the NCAA Tournament and make their road to a title much harder, so the Wolverines must stay focused and play with the intensity they played with against Michigan State and on Sunday against Indiana. Do that, and Michigan will face another revenge game against Wisconsin tomorrow.

Prediction: Michigan 81 – Penn State 68

No recap. Maybe in the morning we’ll realize this was just a nightmare.

#4 Michigan vs Penn State
Wednesday, Feb. 27 | 6:30pm ET | Big Ten Network
23-4 (10-4)	Record	8-18 (0-14)
Slippery Rock 100-62 IUPUI 91-54 Cleveland State 77-47 Pittsburgh 67-62 Kansas State 71-57 NC State 79-72 Bradley 74-66 W. Michigan 73-41 Arkansas 80-67 Binghamton 67-39 West Virginia 81-66 E. Michigan 93-54 C. Michigan 88-73 Northwestern 94-66 Iowa 95-67 Nebraska 62-47 #9 Minnesota 83-75 Purdue 68-53 Illinois 74-60 Northwestern 68-46 #10 Ohio State 76-74 OT Penn State 79-71 Illinois 71-58	Wins	St. Francis PA 65-58 Providence 55-52 OT Bucknell 60-57 Penn 58-47 Army 78-70 Delaware State 80-76 OT New Hampshire 72-45 Duquesne 84-74
#15 Ohio State 56-53 #3 Indiana 73-81 Wisconsin 62-65 OT #8 Michigan State 52-75	Losses	#6 NC State 55-72 Akron 60-85 Boston College 61-73 La Salle 57-82 Wisconsin 51-60 #5 Indiana 51-74 Northwestern 54-70 Purdue 42-60 #18 Michigan State 72-81 Nebraska 64-68 #7 Indiana 49-72 #14 Ohio State 51-65 Iowa 67-76 Purdue 49-58 Nebraska 53-67 Iowa 72-74 #4 Michigan 71-79 Illinois 59-64
76.0	Points Per Game	61.2
61.3	Scoring Defense	67.7
764-for-1,547 (49.4%)	Field Goal %	547-for-1,409 (38.8%)
630-for-1,510 (41.7%)	Def. Field Goal %	544-for-1,288 (42.2%)
216-for-542 (39.9%)	3-point %	130-for-459 (28.3%)
177-for-551 (32.1%)	Def. 3-point %	175-for-500 (35.0%)
307-for-434 (70.7%)	Free Throw %	366-for-524 (69.8%)
11.4	FT Made/Game	14.1
35.5	Rebounds Per Game	35.4
30.5	Opp. Reb. Per Game	33.5
14.9	Assists Per Game	9.6
9.5	Turnovers Per Game	12.8
5.7	Steals Per Game	5.2
2.7	Blocks Per Game	3.2
G – Trey Burke (18.9) G – Tim Hardaway Jr. (15.1)	Leading Scorer	G – DJ Newbill (15.8) G – Jermaine Marshall (15.0)
F – Mitch McGary (5.7) F – Glenn Robinson III (5.5)	Leading Rebounder	F – Ross Travis (7.0) G – DJ Newbill (5.6)

Two short weeks ago, the Michigan basketball team was just coming off an embarrassing 23-point loss at the hands of arch rival Michigan State, their third downfall in four games and fourth conference defeat. The Spartans and the Hoosiers of Indiana both stood two full games ahead of the Wolverines in the Big Ten standings, and any chances of Michigan repeating as conference champions looked slim at best. My oh my, what can happen in such a short time.

Tonight, Michigan travels to Penn State in control of their own destiny, a seemingly distant dream just last week, after Michigan State lost two in a row and Indiana fell at the hands of the Minnesota Gophers last night. To win the Big Ten, Michigan still has plenty of work to do, however, and before both MSU and IU travel to Ann Arbor, the Wolverines need to take care of business tonight in Happy Valley. Here are three quick thoughts for the matchup:

1. Defend the Pick-and-Roll: Last Sunday, Penn State went to the Crisler Center and gave Michigan everything they could handle, holding a lead for much of the first half and staying within striking distance throughout. The key to their success was something that has hounded Michigan’s defense all year – the pick-and-roll. Guards D.J. Newbill and Jermaine Marshall continuously used screens to break wide open into the lane on their way to scoring a combined 28  points on 16 shots and exploited Michigan’s strong hedges by dishing the ball to an uncovered Sasa Borovnjak time and time again, helping him score 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. John Beilein is known to defend the pick-and-roll by using the screener’s defender (usually a big man, like Jordan Morgan or Mitch McGary) to hedge (or help defend) the opposing guard using the screen. When the big man hedges, the screener will then typically roll to the basket. At that point, Michigan’s defense needs to help out the big man who is hedging by sliding over and covering the rolling big man. This is almost always going to leave someone open for an instant, but strong help defense and quick recoveries are the easier-said-than-done way of defending the ball screen. Tonight, Michigan needs to help off their defenders when a big man rolls to the basket without worrying about the two wings that will usually be camped behind the three-point line. For some teams, that would be asking to be beat, but the Nittany Lions really struggle to shoot the ball, coming into this game at 28.3 percent from downtown. Nick Colella is the only regular who is even respectable from three, and he only shoots 34.6 percent himself. A strong pick-and-roll defense should shut down the majority of Penn State’s offense and give Michigan an easy win.

1. Jordan Morgan’s Health: Ever since going down to a nasty ankle sprain at Ohio State in January, Jordan Morgan has been less than 100 percent to say the least. Against Illinois, he finally played double digit minutes for the first time in more than a month, shoring up Michigan’s defense and rebounding significantly. There is no doubt now that Morgan is the Wolverine’s best big defender, and while he has yet to score the ball consistently since his injury, his on-court presence is going to be huge for Michigan both tonight and down the stretch. Trey Burke quipped after Sunday’s win that the redshirt junior out of Detroit seemed to be at 99.9 percent. If Morgan can get back to full health, Michigan’s chances of running the table to close out conference play increase dramatically. For Morgan, a nice, easy win over Penn State tonight should help.

1. Focus, Focus, Focus: The reason you probably don’t know a whole lot about Penn State is pretty simple: they are terrible and no one is talking about them. Tim Frazier, a preseason All-Big Ten point guard, went down early in the season with a torn ACL, and what’s left of Pat Chambers’s squad is unimpressive, to say the least.  They have lost an astounding 14 straight games and have not sniffed victory since 2012. They shoot a conference-worst 38.8 percent from the field and turn the ball over 13 times a night. Needless to say, this is a game Michigan should win comfortably. Before you decide to skip tonight’s game, however, there is more to be said about the fight in this team. Chambers is a fiery coach who is certainly not letting his team pack it in for the rest of the season, and his guys have responded in a big way, losing by an average of just five points per game over their last three (Iowa, at Michigan, at Illinois). The Big Ten is a roughshod league, and Penn State clearly doesn’t have the talent to match up with the nation’s best teams, but they are going to give everything they have to try to make up for their loss in Ann Arbor and give themselves something to hang their hats on. With games against Michigan State and Indiana just around the corner for Michigan, John Beilein needs to make sure that his team is absolutely focused on tonight’s game, or else the classic trap game could jump up on them.

Prediction: Penn State’s confidence is pretty high right now after sticking with three good teams, but they are also probably a little down on themselves for not pulling any game out. Michigan, on the other hand, is feeling rejuvenated after receiving plenty of help from Indiana, Ohio State, and Minnesota and should be prepared to put Penn State away early. Trey Burke continues his torrid pace and Nik Stauskas gets back on track with 15 points as Michigan coasts to an 81-64 win.

Glenn Robinson III had a much needed monster game (Carlos Osorio, AP)

On a day Michigan fans celebrated the history of the basketball program with former stars like Cazzie Russell, Glenn Rice, and Phil Hubbard in the house for the re-dedication of the refurbished Crisler Center, this year’s team slogged its way to an eight-point victory over the still winless-in-the-Big-Ten Penn State Nittany Lions.

Sunday seemed to be the perfect day to welcome back past players as athletic director Dave Brandon cut the ribbon on his crown masterpiece of a basketball facility, but for 30 minutes or so, the Wolverines seemed tired, off, and perhaps lacking effort before finally pulling out a win to end their first losing streak since the end of last season. Penn State has been downright awful in coach Pat Chambers’ second year leading the program, and despite great effort over the past couple games, the Lions simply lack the talent, size, and athleticism to compete in the Big Ten, much less against the cream of the conference. And despite Chambers’ constant bickering with the officials over the 25 fouls called on his players, they once again came up short in the talent department on the court.

With Penn State’s last win coming nearly two months ago at the end of December, the Nittany Lions are running out of time to tally a victory in the new year; a win today would have been huge, but Trey Burke simply would not let it happen.

As fans and players alike welcomed back past heroes with open arms, Michigan’s current All-American point guard set the stage to state his case for his own jersey number to be retired years down the line. Trey Burke has been the unquestioned best floor general in the country, and he continues to prove his worth, this time with a 29-point (9-of-16 FG, 3-of-4 3p., 8-of-9 FT), five-assist, zero-turnover gem as his point guard counterpart, Tim Frazier, could do nothing but watch from Penn State’s bench. Interestingly enough, Burke himself would be at Penn State today if not for a change of heart his last couple years in high school. It’s hard to imagine them still being winless in the Big Ten if that were the case today.

It was pretty clear throughout Sunday afternoon’s contest that no one from Happy Valley would be able to check Burke on the offensive end of the court, but Penn State also had its hands full with freshman running mate Glenn Robinson III.

Robinson, who emerged early this year as one of the premier freshmen in the country with eye-popping athleticism and a knack for always finding the ball around the rim despite his very quiet nature on the floor, has been in a well-publicized struggle throughout Michigan’s last four games, three of which ended as road losses. Today, he finally came around again, providing countless sparks for the laid back afternoon crowd to erupt as he threw down five “He just did that?!” throwdowns on his way to 21 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting mark from the field and 9-of-11 mark from the free throw line. He also managed to grab 10 rebounds to record his second career double-double.

Trey Burke had a season-high 29 points (Carlos Osorio, AP)

In Michigan’s most difficult stretch of the year, a four-game gauntlet that included three road games at top-25 teams and one top-15 home matchup, Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr. were the only two Michigan players that seemed to belong on the same court as the competition. Robinson III, who was rolling beforehand, hit the wall hardest, tallying just 18 points in those four games on a horrendous 7-of-24 mark from the field. Today, Robinson III found his game again and got back in his groove by getting behind and jumping above the defense; his teammates found him time and time again.

Joining Robinson III’s comeback effort was fellow freshman Nik Stauskas, who struggled himself to a lesser extent over the same difficult series of games. His three-point stroke continues to regress to the mean, but Stauskas manages to find offense through other routes as commentators continue to pen him as “not just a shooter”. Today the Canadian scored 18 points on nine shots as he made all three of his two-point attempts and got to the line at a solid rate with his penetrating ability.

Michigan fans at this point can only hope that today’s performances ended the cold shooting spells of Michigan’s two offensive-minded freshmen, but the worries do not end there. Burke, Robinson III, and Stauskas combined for a far-too-many 68 of Michigan’s 79 points. The rest of the team was notably absent from the scoring column, including star junior wing Hardaway, Jr., whose eight points don’t look so good knowing that it took him 11 shots to get there. After that, only two more Wolverines combined to score three points.

Perhaps most concerning of all for John Beilein is the play he got from big men Mitch McGary, Jordan Morgan, Jon Horford, and Max Bielfeldt. That foursome combined to score zero (yes, zero) points on five shots and only grabbed seven rebounds total in 47 minutes of playing time. The biggest worry for Michigan was not the relatively small winning margin, as the outcome was hardly in doubt for such a lop-sided matchup, but rather the fact that Penn State was able to grab 36 percent of their own misses and 77.4 percent of Michigan’s clankers. One of the Wolverines’ biggest strengths all year has been in their ability to compete on the boards and turn rebounds into points; being out-rebounded by a smaller, less athletic team at home is a problem that needs to be addressed immediately.

If Michigan is to compete for a second consecutive Big Ten championship, or at least another share of the title, today’s effort will need to be improved upon. There were plenty of good signs throughout, especially from the aforementioned freshmen scoring wings, but the big men and Tim Hardaway especially need to find their game over the remaining five games.

Still sitting two full games out of first place in the Big Ten, Michigan will probably have to win out to achieve their preseason goal of a Big Ten title. With everybody on their games, the Wolverines have the firepower to do that. If anyone is not playing up to par, however, games against Michigan State and Indiana are going to be difficult to pull out, even in the friendly confines of the christened Crisler Center.

Today’s back-and-forth game with Penn State didn’t do much to convince critics that Michigan has what it takes. But that doesn’t matter now. All that counts are two letters: Ws and Ls. Five more of the former and Michigan is right back in the thick of things. Today was a start.

#4 Michigan vs Penn State
Sunday, Feb. 17 | 12pm ET | Big Ten Network
21-4 (8-4)	Record	8-16 (0-12)
Slippery Rock 100-62 IUPUI 91-54 Cleveland State 77-47 Pittsburgh 67-62 Kansas State 71-57 NC State 79-72 Bradley 74-66 W. Michigan 73-41 Arkansas 80-67 Binghamton 67-39 West Virginia 81-66 E. Michigan 93-54 C. Michigan 88-73 Northwestern 94-66 Iowa 95-67 Nebraska 62-47 #9 Minnesota 83-75 Purdue 68-53 Illinois 74-60 Northwestern 68-46 #10 Ohio State 76-74 OT	Wins	St. Francis PA 65-58 Providence 55-52 OT Bucknell 60-57 Penn 58-47 Army 78-70 Delaware State 80-76 OT New Hampshire 72-45 Duquesne  84-74
#15 Ohio State 56-53 #3 Indiana 73-81 Wisconsin 62-65 OT #8 Michigan State 52-75	Losses	#6 NC State 55-72 Akron 60-85 Boston College 61-73 LaSalle 57-82 Wisconsin 51-60 #5 Indiana 51-74 Northwestern 54-70 Purdue 42-60 #18 Michigan State 72-81 Nebraska 64-68 #7 Indiana 49-72 #14 Ohio State 51-65 Iowa 67-76 Purdue 49-58 Nebraska 53-67 Iowa 72-74
76.0	Points Per Game	60.8
61.0	Scoring Defense	67.3
716-for-1,449 (49.4%)	Field Goal %	501-for-1,304 (38.4%)
584-for-1,402 (41.7%)	Def. Field Goal %	504-for-1,196 (42.1%)
284-for-506 (40.3%)	3-point %	116-for-422 (27.5%)
164-for-511 (32.1%)	Def. 3-point %	162-for-458 (35.4%)
265-for-378 (70.1%)	Free Throw %	342-for-491 (69.7%)
10.6	FT Made/Game	14.3
36.0	Rebounds Per Game	35.5
30.4	Opp. Reb. Per Game	34.0
15.0	Assists Per Game	9.3
9.6	Turnovers Per Game	12.6
5.7	Steals Per Game	5.4
2.8	Blocks Per Game	3.3
G – Trey Burke (18.2) G – Tim Hardaway Jr. (15.5)	Leading Scorer	G – D.J. Newbill (16.2) G – Jermaine Marshall (14.7)
F – Mitch McGary (6.0) F – Glenn Robinson III (5.4)	Leading Rebounder	F – Ross Travis (7.0) G – D.J. Newbill (5.8)

After a grueling four-game stretch over the last two weeks, the Wolverines return home for a much needed break. Three losses have left Michigan two games back in the Big Ten race with no wiggle room remaining.

Thankfully, Penn State is next on the docket – for two of the next three – and should allow Michigan the opportunity to work out some of the kinks that have developed over the past couple of weeks.

Penn State comes in winless in the conference and just 8-16 overall. None of the eight wins have come against a quality opponent and two of them were in overtime. Needless to say, this is not a very good basketball team.

The Nittany Lions were dealt a huge blow in the fourth game of the season when point guard Tim Frazier ruptured his Achilles’ tendon. He was a first-team All-Big Ten member a year go as the lone bright spot of the team, averaging 18.8 points per game overall and 19.6 in conference play.

Without Frazier, Penn State needed another playmaker to step up and they got it from D.J. Newbill. The sophomore leads the team with a scoring average of 16.2, but is averaging 20 over the past four games including a 26-point output against Iowa on Thursday. That was nearly enough to earn Penn State’s first conference victory, but Iowa pulled it out 74-72. He also scored 27 on Jan. 16 against Michigan State and has just three games all season of single-digits. Perhaps the most impressive part of Newbill’s scoring is that he does it mostly from inside the arc. He’s just 11-of-54 from three-point range on the season.

Fellow guard Jermaine Marshall averages 14.7 points per game including a 29-point and 10-rebound output against Michigan State, which was by far his best game of the season. He’s a better three-point shooter than Newbill, hitting 31 percent, though he doesn’t shoot as well overall.

No other Nittany Lion averages in double figures. Forward Ross Travis is the third leading scorer at 6.4 points per game, but leads the team with a seven rebound average. He has five games of double-digit rebounds as well as five double-digit scoring games.

Forward Sasa Borovnjak, a 6’9″ junior, averages 6.1 points, but is coming off a 14 points performance against Iowa. Freshman Brandon Taylor averages sis points and is capable of stepping out and hitting the occasional three despite his 6’9″, 235-pound frame.

As a team, Penn State shoots just 38.4 percent overall and 27.5 percent from three-point range. The Nittany Lions turn the ball over 12.6 times per game and give up 34 rebounds per contest.

Even though the Lions nearly pulled off a win over Iowa on Thursday and played Michigan State tough, don’t expect Michigan to have much trouble. The Wolverines will be wearing white retro jerseys to commemorate the 1968 team that opened Crisler Arena. Michigan should win comfortably. Prediction: Michigan 77 – Penn State 59.

Michigan has the unique position of having three big rivals. Most teams only have one rival to get up for, but year-in and year-out, Michigan has three. While we, as fans, hate each of these teams, we carry some respect for them. Michigan State and Ohio State carry conference affiliation ties while Notre Dame, well, we all just put up with them. All season long, it’s fun to keep track of how each of them is doing, but there’s only so much time on Saturday to watch games. More often than not, they play at the same time Michigan does so you don’t get a chance to do your “advanced scouting.” Well, don’t fret because we’ve got you covered. This weekly feature will give you an overview of Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Ohio State’s games the previous weekend and a look ahead to the upcoming one.

#5 Notre Dame 30 – #8 Oklahoma 13
Record: 8-0
This Week: Home vs. Pittsburgh (4-4, 1-3 Big East) | 3:30pm | NBC

I did not expect Notre Dame to win Saturday night, nor did I expect it to be as wide a margin as it was. Yet, the Irish are now sitting at 8-0 with USC the only remaining opponent of note. The score might lead one to think the game wasn’t very close but up until the latter half of the fourth quarter it was anyone’s game.

Boomer Sooner was no match for the Irish (photo by Wesley Hitt, Getty Images)

The game was back and forth for the first three plus quarters before Notre Dame pulled ahead with 17 unanswered. The Irish dominated on the ground, taking advantage of Oklahoma’s weak rush defense to the tune of 215 yards. No single player went over 100 yards but Riddick, Wood and Golson all found the end zone. Landry Jones was 35-for-51 for 356 yards, exposing the Irish secondary, but he failed to put the ball in the end zone and was picked off by Manti Te’o late in the game.

Oklahoma tied the game at 13 with just over nine minutes remaining in the game on a Blake Bell run, and it looked like this one was going to go down to the wire. The Irish, however, had other ideas as Everett Golson capped off a 73-yard drive with a touchdown run. Manti Te’o sealed the Irish victory as he picked off a Landry Jones pass with 4:27 remaining. Notre Dame added a field goal and the Sooners turned the ball over on downs on their own 20, leading to another Irish touchdown.

The Irish defense stifled Oklahoma on 3rd downs (5-of-14) and have yet to allow more than 17 points in any one game. I think it’s safe to say the Irish are making their way back to national relevance, but I will hold off any praise until I see a BCS bowl appearance in back to back seasons of at least 10 wins.

This Week:

The Irish head back home to take on an average Pitt team. I expect to see more of the same solid Irish defense we have seen thus far as Notre Dame continues its quest towards the BCS title game.

Prediction: Notre Dame 27 – Pitt 12

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Michigan State 16 – Wisconsin 13 OT
Record: 5-4 (2-3 Big Ten)
This Week: Home vs. #20 Nebraska (6-2, 3-1 Big Ten) | 3:30pm | ABC

Wisconsin, barring a complete collapse and some miracles, is heading to Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game. They experienced a little hiccup Saturday as Michigan State stunned them in overtime, giving the Badgers their first home loss since 2009, snapping a streak of 21 straight.

MSU celebrates the fact that it's no longer in danger of missing a bowl (photo by Andy Manis, AP)

It was a typical Big Ten battle as the Spartans bottled up Montee Ball and held the Badgers to 190 yards of total offense. Michigan State was nothing special on offense as their normally stout rushing attack was held to 61 total yards. Neither team looked good in this one but MSU managed to get the game into overtime and won on an Andrew Maxwell touchdown pass.

It was a bit surprising to see Montee Ball held to such a low total but the Spartans have proven to be solid against the run. William Gholston and Max Burrough combined for eight tackles for loss as they again led the Michigan State defense.

This Week:

Sparty heads back home to take on a Nebraska team fresh off its upset win over Michigan. I was not that impressed with Nebraska last week, despite their win, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see MSU frustrate Taylor Martinez into some bad decisions and come away with the win, which would be great for Michigan. But we shall see what happens.

Prediction: Michigan State 24 – Nebraska 21

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Ohio State 35 – Penn State 23
Record: 9-0 (5-0 Big Ten)
This Week: Home vs. Illinois (2-6, 0-4 Big Ten) | 3:30pm | ESPN

Braxton Miller exploded – surprise surprise – for three touchdowns as Ohio State ran away with the game against Penn State. His passing left something to be desired as he was only 7-for-19, but his legs got the job done again with 25 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns.

OSU won the "Probation Bowl" or the "Ineligibowl" as some were calling it (photo by Gene J. Puskar)

The outcome was never in doubt after half as OSU rattled off 21 points in the third, kicked off by a pick six from Ryan Shazier. Penn State attempted to come back but couldn’t close the gap. Once again, Ohio State gave up a ton of yards through the air as Matt McGloin went 27-for-45 for 327 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick.

The Buckeyes used their ground game to pound Penn State into submission, racking up 234 yards and three touchdowns.

This Week:

OSU looks primed to win its next two games against Illinois (on Saturday) and at Wisconsin, setting up a great game against Michigan. Michigan will be fighting for a shot at the Big Ten title game and OSU will be playing its last game of the season. Michigan’s defense has been stout against the run and pass but its offense has been incredibly one-dimensional. We’ll touch more on that as the game approaches, but needless to say it should be a great game. Illinois won’t put up much of a fight, and OSU should win easily.

Prediction: Ohio State 42 – Illinois 17

It got hairy at the end, but Michigan pulled out its fourth consecutive road victory to stay alive in the Big Ten title race, setting up a scenario in which Michigan is forced to root for one bitter rival to beat the other.

Michigan looked as if it was going to cruise to an easy victory, opening up an 18 point lead in the first half. Penn State closed the half with a 7-0 run to head into the locker room trailing by 11. Michigan shot 14-for-20 in the first half and 7-of-10 from three-point range.

The second half was similar as Michigan widened the lead to 54-35 with 11:43 to play. But Penn State went on a 15-2 run over the next six minutes to pull within six. The lead was cut to  four with 2:40 remaining but Trey Burke took his man baseline for a layup to stop the run. From there, Michigan got a jumper from Tim Hardaway and 5-of-6 free throws to hold on for the win.

Burke led the way for Michigan with 19 points while Evan Smotrycz had his best game of the Big Ten season with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, 3-of-4 from three. Hardaway added 13 and Novak scored 11 to give Michigan four players in double figures. Stu Douglass was just one away with nine points.

Aside from the first 15 minutes of the game when Michigan was unconscious from the field, it wasn’t pretty, but any road win in the Big Ten is a good one, even against the last place team. Most importantly, it put Michigan in position to have a shot at its first Big Ten championship in 25 years.

We now turn our attention to the Michigan State-Ohio State game at 4pm Eastern time, needing Ohio State to win in order to result in a three-way tie for the Big Ten title.

It all comes down to Super Sunday. For the first time in 25 years, Michigan can win a Big Ten basketball championship but today it will take not one game but two to do so. Michigan visit State College for its final game of the regular season needing a win to keep its title hopes alive.

#16 Michigan v. Penn State
	Sunday, Mar. 4 1 p.m. ET ESPN State College, Pa.
22-8 (12-5)	Record	12-18 (4-13)
Ferris State 59-33 Towson 64-47 W. Illinois 59-55 #8 Memphis 73-61 UCLA 79-63 Iowa State 79-66 Oakland 90-80 Ark. Pine-Bluff 63-50 Alabama A&M 87-57 Bradley 77-66 Penn State 71-53 Minnesota 61-56 #16 Wisconsin 59-41 Northwestern 66-64 OT #9 Michigan St. 60-59 Purdue 66-64 #20 Indiana 68-56 Nebraska 62-46 Illinois 70-61 #6 Ohio State 56-51 Northwestern 67-55 OT Illinois 72-61	Wins	Hartford 70-55 Radford 62-46 LIU 77-68 USF 53-49 Youngstown St. 82-71 Boston College 62-54 Mount St. Mary’s 72-43 Cornell 74-67 Purdue 65-45 #25 Illinois 54-52 Nebraska 67-51 Iowa 69-64
#6 Duke 75-82 Virginia 58-70 #11 Indiana 71-73 Iowa 59-75 Arkansas 64-66 #3 Ohio State 49-64 #10 Michigan St. 54-64 Purdue 75-61	Losses	#2 Kentucky 47-85 St. Joseph’s 47-65 Mississippi 70-72 Lafayette 57-61 Duquesne 59-66 #16 Michigan 53-71 Northwestern 56-68 #12 Indiana 82-88 Nebraska 58-70 Minnesota 66-80 #13 Indiana 54-73 #3 Ohio State 54-78 #20 Wisconsin 46-52 Iowa 64-77 #12 Michigan St. 57-77 #17 Wisconsin 55-65 Northwestern 66-67 Purdue 56-80
66.5	Points Per Game	61.8
60.5	Scoring Defense	65.3
720-for-1,577 (45.7%)	Field Goal %	654-for-1,660 (39.4%)
657-for-1,554 (42.3%)	Def. Field Goal %	623-for-1,444 (43.1%)
247-for-705 (35.0%)	3-point %	187-for-616 (30.4%)
177-for-521 (34.0%)	Def. 3-point %	239-for-637 (37.5%)
309-for-430 (71.9%)	Free Throw %	359-for-529 (67.9%)
10.3	Free Throws Made/Game	12.0
31.1	Rebounds Per Game	34.1
31.5	Opp. Rebounds Per Game	31.9
13.1	Assists Per Game	10.9
10.6	Turnovers Per Game	12.3
4.9	Steals Per Game	6.7
2.1	Blocks Per Game	2.3
G – Trey Burke (14.5) G – Tim Hardaway (14.5)	Leading Scorer	G – Tim Frazier (18.8) G – J. Marhshall (10.3)
F – Jordan Morgan (5.7) F – Evan Smotrycz (4.8)	Leading Rebounder	G – Tim Frazier (4.8)

Penn State is in a battle of its own, for the bottom of the barrel in the Big Ten, needing a win to finish a game ahead of Nebraska for last place. The Nittany Lions enter with a 12-18 record, 4-13 in the Big Ten, the only wins over Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska, and Iowa.

PSU is led by junior guard Tim Frazier who averages 18.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. In the first meeting against Michigan on December 29, Frazier scored 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting. His season high was 30 against Nebraska and his low was three against Lafayette when he missed all 12 shots from the field. In Big Ten play, he’s virtually guaranteed to get his 20 points, but thankfully for the opponent, he’s about all Penn State has.

The only other Nittany Lion in double figures is sophomore guard Jermaine Marshall who averages 10.3. He scored nine against Michigan in December, hitting both of his three-point attempts, and has a season high of 22 against Boston College.

Penn State is last in the Big Ten in three-point percentage at 30.4 percent, but senior guard Cammeron Woodyard hits at a 36.8 percent clip. By comparison, only Evan Smotrycz has a better percentage for Michigan, but he has attempted 33 fewer threes. Woodyard averages 8.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

In addition to not shooting well from the outside, Penn State is second to last in the conference in defensive three-point percentage, giving up threes at a 37.5 percent rate. In the first meeting, Michigan hit just 8-of-25 but still won handily.

In that meeting, Tim Hardaway Jr had his highest scoring game of the season with 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, despite hitting just 1-of-7 threes. Also in that game, Smotrycz recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Trey Burke added 13 points and seven assists. Michigan won 71-53.

It shouldn’t be a tall task for Michigan to pull off its fourth straight road win. With a chance to shrug off the weight of the last 25 years, Michigan will be energized. Expect a lot of Hardaway who is coming off a great game against Illinois.

If Michigan wins, the focus will then turn to East Lansing where the Maize and Blue will be forced to root for one rival to beat the other. An Ohio State win would give Michigan a share of the Big Ten title along with Ohio State and Michigan State. It would also give Michigan a 2-seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament. A Michigan State win would give State the Big Ten title alone and Michigan would take second place. It would also give Michigan the 2-seed.

Regardless of what happens in the Michigan State-Ohio State game, Michigan gets the 2-seed in the BTT with a win over Penn State. That would slot Michigan against the winner of the 7/10 game on on Friday at 6:30 EST. The 7/10 game will likely feature Northwestern and Minnesota.

Tim Hardaway Jr led all scorers with 26 points (photo by MGoBlue.com)

Michigan opened Big Ten play on Thursday night with a convincing 71-53 win over Penn State. It was Michigan’s sixth-straight win since losing to Virginia exactly a month ago.

It took the offense a few minutes to get going, but once it did, it pulled away. Evan Smotrycz scored the first bucket of the game, but Michigan went scoreless for the next three minutes. Tim Hardaway Jr hit a jumper and Trey Burke scored twice to put Michigan ahead and the Wolverines never relinquished the lead. The defense forced nine turnovers in the half.

Michigan took a 36-22 lead in the locker room and then widened the lead to 20 on a Jordan Morgan dunk three minutes into the second half. The lead got to as many as 22 at 54-32 and the closest Penn State could get was 16 as Michigan cruised to a comfortable win.

Hardaway led the Wolverines with 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, despite connecting on just 1-of-7 three-pointers. Smotrycz turned in his third consecutive double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Burke was the only other Wolverine in double figures with 13 points. He also added a team high seven assists.

Michigan shot 47.2 percent from the field and hit 13-of-15 free throws, while holding Penn State to just 26.7 percent shooting from downtown.

Michigan now has a couple of days off before hosting Minnesota (12-2, 0-1) on Sunday at 4pm.