It’s a light week for B1G teams. Before we get to that, we look at how Drew Claussen and I are doing in picking the league.
Last week
Drew: 5-2-0 (.714)
Paula: 6-1-0 (.857)
Season
Drew: 47-32-10 (.584)
Paula: 50-29-10 (.618)
In case you’re wondering, Drew and I picked the entire field for the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament, so I included them with last week’s total — and not just because I went 4-for-4 in the GLI. Honest.
This week
It’s Penn State at Ohio State and Michigan State at Wisconsin. The series in Madison will be televised by the Big Ten Network. No one is carrying the series in Columbus. All times are local.
Michigan State at Wisconsin
Drew: Wisconsin, a team that couldn’t buy a sweep during the first half of the season, and Michigan State, a team that has dropped five games in a row since it defeated and tied North Dakota on the road. This will probably end up as another split for the Badgers, but I’m going to be bold and pick a Wisconsin home sweep.
Paula: Last weekend, the Spartans lost two games in the Great Lakes Invitational, a 4-1 semifinal loss to Western Michigan and a heartbreaking 5-4 overtime loss to Michigan in the third-place game. The Badgers haven’t played since they split with Michigan in Ann Arbor, Dec. 9-10. These are the 103rd and 104th meetings between the squads. Last year, the Spartans were 3-1-0 against the Badgers. Friday’s game begins at 8:07 p.m., Saturday’s at 7:07 p.m.
Drew’s picks: Wisconsin 4-1, 3-1.
Paula’s picks: Wisconsin 3-2, 3-2.
No. 2 Penn State at No. 11 Ohio State
Drew: I’m stating the obvious, but if either team can pick up two wins this weekend it would be huge. The Nittany Lions haven’t played a game in more than a month so the Buckeyes should have the advantage of having their legs under them early in Friday’s game, and Ohio State should be eager to put last weekend’s loss to Miami behind it. This is a hard one to predict; I’ll say Ohio State wins on Friday and Penn State comes back for the split.
Paula: This is a series I don’t want to pick because I’m sure anything I pick will bite me. These two teams have split their last three series, but the Buckeyes lead this all-time series 9-5-0 with a 5-1-0 lead in Columbus. Friday’s game begins at 7:05 p.m., Saturday’s at 8:05 p.m.
Drew’s picks: Ohio State 4-3, Penn State 5-2.
Paula’s picks: Penn State 4-2, Ohio State 4-3.
