Counting ‘em down: Watch top plays

Another week of Big Ten basketball is in the books, and that means it’s time to run down the best plays from Feb. 6-12 action. There were plenty of highlights this past week, but which ones have a spot on BTN.com blogger Brent Yarina’s Hardwood Highlights? See Brent’s top 10 plays in this post. Don’t agree? Cast your vote for the top play at the bottom of this post.

Also, keep up with all the best highlights from across the Big Ten with our Did You See This? feature. Oh, and don’t forget BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart writes about college hoops throughout the season.

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Michigan downs Illinois; Purdue sweeps NU

No. 25 Michigan beat reeling Illinois (recap) and Purdue topped Northwestern (recap) in Big Ten men’s hoops action Sunday. Gus Johnson was on the call for the Wildcats-Boilermakers game, and we posted his best calls here. Catch up on both games with our BTN.com scoreboard and get stats, video and recaps in this post. Throughout the season, BTN.com editors watch for the best highlights and post them in our Did You See This? feature.

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Big Ten Geeks: Beast Mode

Prior to his breakout performance against Ohio State, Adreian Payne had scored double figures in exactly two Big Ten games as a Spartan. And although his offense was certainly a big reason for Michigan State’s victory, his defense probably deserves more credit. Payne did something that few ever will–make Jared Sullinger look like a bad basketball player. The Ohio State big man was frustrated all game long, and although he had 17 points and 16 rebounds, it came at a cost of 10 turnovers (not to mention 4 fouls).

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Best of Gus: Northwestern at Purdue

Just as we did during 2010-2011 hoops season, we’re archiving Gus Johnson’s greatest calls this season. Johnson is calling men’s basketball for BTN all winter long. We clip and post his best calls and archive them here during games, so bookmark the page and come back all season right up through the Big Ten tourney. Right now, watch Johnson call Drew Crawford’s powerful one-handed slam and get all of his best calls from Sunday night’s Northwestern-Purdue game in this post.

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Purdue’s Johnson goes into stands, hits teardrop

Purdue’s Matt Painter has been challenging his players to show more effort. Terone Johnson exhibited just the kind of hustle his coach is seeking Sunday night. On one particular play, Johnson went into the crowd to save a loose ball and suffered a pretty nasty spill in the process. After a few seconds on the ground, Johnson got up and found his way back on the court. Making the play even better, Johnson got the ball back, drove the lane and hit a teardrop. It was quite a sequence. Watch it here. If you’re thinking you’ve seen a Boiler make a similar play, you’re right. Dru Anthrop put on a balancing act there in December.

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Sunday’s Women’s Hoops Roundup

There were a quartet of Big Ten women’s basketball games Sunday, highlighted by No. 10 Ohio State knocking off No. 19 and first-place Purdue, 80-71, at Value City Arena. In other action, No. 21 Penn State defeated Northwestern, Illinois nipped Indiana at the buzzer and Iowa took down Michigan State. Catch up on all four of the games on our BTN.com scoreboard and get stats, video and recaps in this post.

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It’s on: MSU win opens up Big Ten title race

Not only was No. 12 Michigan State’s upset victory at No. 3 Ohio State huge for the Spartans (AP recap), but it did wonders to the Big Ten title race. Entering Saturday night’s contest at Value City Arena, where the Buckeyes hadn’t lost during the Jared Sullinger era, Ohio State had a chance to move two games ahead of the Spartans and the other legit Big Ten title contenders (Michigan and Wisconsin). That didn’t happen, of course, and now four teams are within one game of the top spot in the Big Ten.

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Gophers top Hawkeyes, Huskers in Big Ten opener

In last year’s tri-meet against Iowa and Nebraska, the Gophers finished third out of the three competitors. But this season they did not let history repeat itself. It wasn’t Minnesota’s strongest meet. They struggled with the last three events, allowing Nebraska and Iowa to close the scoring gap. But the No. 6 Gophers pulled through and won the meet with a total score of 340.0. The 11th-ranked Cornhuskers finished in second with a 336.5, and No. 12 Iowa came in third at 334.5. Read the full recap at GopherSports.com.

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No. 12 MSU upsets No. 3 OSU; PSU downs Nebraska

No. 12 Michigan State handed No. 3 Ohio State its first home loss of the Jared Sullinger era (recap) and  Tim Frazier led Penn State past Nebraska (recap) in men’s hoops action Saturday. Catch up on all the action on our BTN.com scoreboard and get stats, video and recaps in this post. BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart covers Big Ten basketball throughout the season, and here are his latest posts. During all the action, BTN.com editors watch for the best highlights and post them in our Did You See This? feature.

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Payne propels No. 12 MSU past No. 3 OSU

In one of the biggest tests of his career, Adreian Payne played his best game as No. 12 Michigan State upset No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday at Value City Arena (AP recap). The sophomore big man scored a career-high 15 points, including 11 in the first half, went a perfect 6 of 6 from the field and frustrated Ohio State star Jared Sullinger. The 15-point night marked Payne’s first consecutive double-digit games — he tallied 12, which matched a career-high, Wednesday against Penn State. Watch two of Payne’s most impressive points, as he slams home Draymond Green’s missed shot. Speaking of Payne, he had a nice alley-oop in the aforementioned Penn State win.

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