Tom Crean and Indiana honored referee Ed Hightower in the closing moments of the team’s convincing 105-59 win over Samford on Friday night. Hightower, the longtime and high-profile Big Ten ref, was officiating his final game at Assembly Hall. Watch Crean and the Hoosiers honor Hightower in this post.

Two of the Big Ten’s top teams were in action Friday night, and there were plenty of highlights for both Indiana and Michigan State. Yogi Ferrell poured in a game-high 26 points and Noah Vonleh added another double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Hoosiers cruised to a 105-59 victory over Samford. In the nightcap, Adreian Payne had 26 points and 11 rebounds as Michigan State edged out a 62-53 win over Columbia.

What can $1.99 get you in Kentucky? A brand new Kentucky basketball shirt. Problem is, the shirt will make you look silly. That’s because the “Pursuit of Perfection”shirts are no longer relevant following No. 1 Kentucky’s loss to No. 2 Michigan State on Tuesday night. See the shirt in this post.

There will be a new No. 1 next week, and assuming Michigan State can avoid an upset vs. Columbia on Friday night, it will be the Spartans atop the polls. But Michigan State didn’t want to hear about that following its thrilling 78-74 victory over No. 1 Kentucky on Tuesday night at the United Center.

Ohio State played Tuesday night, and that means Sam Thompson put on another individual highlight reel. And, once again, this one featured yet another alley-oop on an inbound pass under Ohio State’s basket. He did it Nov. 3 vs. Walsh, and he did it a handful of times last season. One of these days, opponents will understand they have to keep the atheltic junior from running toward the hoop on inbound plays.

Down goes No. 1! No. 2 Michigan State dropped top-ranked Kentucky, 78-74, on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic at the United Center. The Spartans’ big win was just one of seven Big Ten games on the night. Get game recaps, stats and video highlights from all the games in this post.

Jerry Kill joined Monday night’s #BTNLive to talk about the white-hot Gophers, his dance moves and his view from the coaches box during the team’s four-game winning streak. Kill, who is focused on getting his epilepsy under control, said he plans to stay in the box for the rest of the season. Why not? The team is 4-1 under acting head coach Tracy Claeys. Watch our interview with Kill in this post.

Michigan State trailed Iowa, 2-0, in the Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament finals, but the Spartans scored three unanswered goals to rally and claim the championship. And no goal was more impressive than Adelle Lever’s go-ahead and eventual game-winner. Watch Lever put the Spartans ahead in this post.

Make it three Big Ten players who have been ejected as a result of college football’s new targeting rule. On Saturday, Indiana’s David Kenney was the latest to be given the boot for his hit on Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase late in the fourth quarter. Watch the hit in this post.

Everybody’s celebrating Minnesota’s 8-2 start and four straight wins. Yes, even Jerry Kill. The coach might be on a leave of absence to deal with his epilepsy, but he’s been in the booth watching his team during its hot streak. Following Minnesota’s 24-10 win over Penn State, the program’s first since 2004, Kill showed off his dance moves in the locker room. Watch the great scene in this post.

Excuse the Gophers for being a little excited after beating Penn State on Saturday. Not only did the win clinch its fourth consecutive Big Ten triumph, it marked the team’s first win over the Nittany Lions in nearly a decade. So, when the Gophers finally got their hands on the Governor’s Victory Bell – for the first time since 2004 – they were so pumped that they busted the bell. Watch it happen here.

Sam Thompson is a highlight waiting to happen, and the exciting and athletic Ohio State junior wasted no time adding to his impressive individual reel in Saturday’s season opener. Thompson hammered home a pair of big-time alley-oops in the team’s 89-50 win over Morgan State. Watch both alley-oops in this post.

Ohio State’s Shannon Scott entered his junior season with a grand total of 12 3-pointers. In Saturday’s season opener vs. Morgan State, Scott hit a trio of early treys in succession, the first coming at the 19:03 mark and the final at 17:55. That’s three 3s in 1:08 of game time. Not bad for a guy who’s known for his defense.

How close was Purdue to possibly dropping its season opener to Northern Kentucky on Friday? Answer: Really close. The Boilermakers denied Northern Kentucky on three potential game-winning buckets in the final seconds to hold on for the 77-76 win. Strong defense, indeed. But, make no mistake, it was closer than any Purdue fans had envisioned. Watch the wild finish in this post.

Rocker Tommy Lee wound up spinning at the Nebraska Cornhuskers season opener tonight at the new Pinnacle Bank Arena. You may recall the Motley Crue drummer “attended” Nebraska way back in 2004 for an NBC-TV reality show. His performance Friday night was part of the opening of the Huskers new arena.