Ohio State loses three in a row! Sunday afternoon brought two teams together in need of a victory, both emotionally and with regards to the Big Ten standings. No. 4 Ohio State (18-7, 12-7) currently sits in fifth place in the B1G, but were beaten by No. 3 Michigan last weekend, 92-87. It was a back and forth battle that wasn’t decided until the closing minutes, but with the loss, Ohio State’s aspirations for a Big Ten title were all but dashed. They then faced the ninth-place Michigan State Spartans on Thursday, who had just beaten No. 5 Illinois two days prior. The Spartans entered last week with a record of 11-9, and 5-9 in conference play. But knocking off the Illini gave them new life, and they started creeping up the metaphorical tournament “bubble” following that victory. Tom Izzo and his gang then topped off their week by knocking off the No. 4 team in the nation as well, defeating Ohio State 71-67 inside the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Ohio State, who at one time was a legitimate contender for the conference crown, are now fighting for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament and (potentially) a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. #ohio #state # buckeyes #basketball No. 9 Iowa (18-7, 11-7), on the other hand, had won four straight games before their meeting with Michigan this week. They were battered and bruised by the Wolverines, and were outscored 47-28 in the second half of that game. The Wolverines had the size to challenge Luka Garza down low, who was held to 16 points on 6-of-19 shooting. And because the Wolverines were able to stick freshman big man Hunter Dickinson on Garza, the rest of the Michigan defense was not compromised on the perimeter, challenging the likes of Jordan Bohannon and Joe Wieskamp and holding the Hawkeyes to just 31.6% shooting from beyond the arc. When all was said and done, the Wolverines had handed Iowa a 22-point loss, 79-57. It was the worst loss of the season for Iowa, and their lowest scoring output of their season as well.