With the just three games remaining, the chances that Indiana wins the Big 10 get better every single day, especially with their 77-73 win over Purdue on Saturday afternoon.
The duo of Troy Williams and Yogi Ferrell was too much for the Boilermakers, combining for 37 points in relatively unimpeded form. Ferrell’s explosions came after not having scored 15 or more points since February 2 at Michigan, while Williams was just two games removed from going scoreless at Michigan State.
We knew that the closing stretch would be difficult, but we weren’t sure whether things would shape up so that Indiana wins the Big 10. After trips to Illinois, Iowa, and a home date with Maryland, we’ll know one way or another.
Yes, Tom Crean’s Hoosiers control their own destiny at this point. The only teams nipping at their heels remain Iowa and Maryland, with the Hawkeyes just one win back and the Terps one loss back in the standings. While unlikely, losing at Illinois wouldn’t kill the Hoosiers as they’d still have a chance to pull off the season sweep of Iowa (guaranteeing them at the go-ahead in the tiebreaker atop the standings, should they both end up there) and also put Maryland to be with what would be their fifth conference loss, assuming they don’t lose before hand.
Just a few weeks ago, we were asking whether or not we’d see a full Crean collapse in Bloomington, leading to a changing of the guard within IU. Now, we’re outlining their straightforward path to a conference title. Welcome to college hoops.
