College Basketball February 28, 2026

The first meeting between these two was an absolute beatdown. Michigan State went on a 19-0 run and crushed Indiana 81-60 in East Lansing on January 13, the kind of wire-to-wire blowout that leaves scars. Now the Hoosiers get the rematch at home inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, and if there was ever a game with must-win written all over it for Indiana's tournament hopes, this is it. The Hoosiers are 17-11 overall and 8-9 in Big Ten play, which means they're sitting squarely on the bubble and absolutely cannot afford another bad loss. Every game from here on out is an audition tape for the selection committee, and a home win against a ranked Spartan team would do more for their resume than anything else left on the schedule.

Michigan State is one of the most complete teams in the country right now. At 23-5 and 13-4 in the Big Ten, the Spartans are locked in as a contender, and the reason starts with their defense. KenPom ranks Michigan State's adjusted defense at No. 6 in all of college basketball, and that's not just a number on a page, it's a lived experience for every opposing offense that has to deal with their length, athleticism, and rebounding. The Spartans out-rebound opponents by 12.1 per game, which ranks third nationally. That's a staggering margin that gives them extra possessions, limits second chances for opponents, and creates the kind of physicality that wears teams down over 40 minutes. Jeremy Fears Jr. has been the engine of this team at 14.9 points and 9.1 assists per game while shooting an absurd 90.9% from the free throw line. When your point guard is that efficient, that creative, and that dependable at the stripe, it's an incredibly hard team to beat in March.

Indiana's hope lies in two guys. Lamar Wilkerson has been absolutely electric this season, averaging 21.0 points per game with 92 made three-pointers, which ranks second all-time in program history at Indiana. If he gets hot from deep inside Assembly Hall, this game changes complexion in a hurry. Then there's Sam Alexis, who has been a revelation at home, averaging 16.0 points on a mind-boggling 92% shooting over his last three home starts. That's not a typo. When Alexis gets rolling at home, the combination of his interior scoring and Wilkerson's perimeter shot-making gives Indiana a two-headed attack that can hang with anyone in the Big Ten. The all-time series favors Indiana 74-60, and the ghosts of Assembly Hall have pulled off upsets before.

But here's the thing that should concern Indiana fans: ESPN gives the Spartans a 55.6% win probability even on the road, and the KenPom gap is enormous. Michigan State at No. 10 overall compared to Indiana at No. 54 is a 44-spot chasm that's hard to overcome even with a raucous home crowd. The Spartans' AdjD of No. 6 means they're equipped to neutralize Wilkerson's perimeter game and Alexis' interior finishing in ways most Big Ten opponents simply can't. If Fears controls the tempo, Michigan State dictates the glass, and that defensive identity travels to Bloomington, this could look a lot like January's first meeting. But desperate teams in March at home with their backs against the wall are dangerous, and Indiana knows exactly what's at stake. This is appointment television on CBS.

There's a certain kind of college basketball game that never gets national attention but tells you everything about the character of two programs. This is one of them. Rutgers and Maryland are sitting at identical 11-17 overall records and identical 4-13 Big Ten marks, which means somebody at the bottom of the conference standings is going to walk away feeling slightly less terrible about their season on Sunday afternoon. It's not glamorous, but these are the games where young players develop, where rotations get fine-tuned for conference tournament play, and where pride becomes the only currency left to spend. FS1 opens the Sunday college basketball slate with this one at noon, and for anyone tuning in, the recent history gives Rutgers a real edge in confidence.

The Scarlet Knights took the first meeting 68-57 back on February 15, and that game was defined by one player: Tariq Francis. He went off for 21 points and was the kind of dominant interior presence that Maryland simply had no answer for. Francis has been Rutgers' best player all season at 16.5 points per game, and he brings a physicality and aggression that's especially effective against the kind of undersized or inconsistent frontcourts you find at the bottom of conference play. If he can replicate that February 15 performance, Rutgers has a real shot at sweeping the season series. The question is whether the rest of the roster can provide enough supporting production, because at 11-17, it's obvious that Rutgers' depth and secondary scoring have been inconsistent all year.

Maryland has its own weapons. David Coit at 14.1 points per game provides steady perimeter scoring, while Pharrel Payne has been one of the most efficient players in the Big Ten at 17.5 points on 62.4% shooting from the floor. That's an elite conversion rate, and when Payne gets the ball in his spots on the block or in the mid-range, he's as reliable a bucket as you'll find in this conference. The Terrapins will want this to be a half-court slugfest where Payne's efficiency and XFINITY Center's home court advantage can be the difference. After dropping the first meeting by 11, Maryland knows exactly what went wrong and has had two weeks to prepare adjustments. In a game between two evenly matched teams at the bottom of the standings, the home floor often tips the scales, and College Park will be looking to send its seniors out with at least one more Big Ten win before the postseason.

Forget the records for a second and focus on the storylines, because this game has plenty of them. Marquette is retiring Markus Howard's jersey in this game, and if you know anything about college basketball history, you know what that means. Howard scored 2,761 points at Marquette, including multiple 40-point and 50-point games, and he was the kind of player who could single-handedly take over a building. The ceremony is going to be emotional, the Fiserv Forum crowd is going to be juiced, and Marquette's current roster, no matter how many losses they've racked up this season, is going to play with an extra gear of pride and intensity. The Golden Eagles are 18-2 in their last 20 home games against DePaul historically, and even in a disappointing 10-18 season, that kind of home dominance against a specific opponent is hard to ignore.

But here's the counterargument, and it's a strong one: DePaul is legitimately playing some of the best basketball of any team in the Big East right now. The Blue Demons just swept Creighton, including a gutsy 72-71 road win, and they're riding serious momentum heading into Milwaukee. CJ Gunn has been the catalyst, averaging 13.9 points per game on the season, but what stands out is his performance in the first meeting between these two teams, when he poured in 31 points and almost single-handedly dragged DePaul to an 80-75 victory on January 17. The Blue Demons have been an absolute machine against the spread, covering in 13 of their last 18 games and going 5-1 in their last six meetings against Marquette. When a team is covering at that rate, it tells you the market is consistently undervaluing them, and that's a trend worth respecting.

The loss of Sean Jones for the season is devastating for Marquette and can't be overstated. Without their floor general, the Golden Eagles have struggled to maintain any kind of offensive rhythm, and it's the primary reason they've cratered to 5-12 in Big East play. Nigel James Jr. has done his best to fill the void at 16.3 points per game, and he's going to want to put on a show for the jersey retirement crowd. But wanting it and executing it are two very different things, and DePaul's recent form suggests they're the more cohesive and confident team right now. The Blue Demons at 15-13 are playing for their conference tournament lives and potentially an NIT bid, while Marquette is playing for pride and a ceremony. Emotion can be a powerful motivator, but so can desperation, and DePaul has plenty of both heading into this one.

This is a classic Big East Sunday afternoon game where the atmosphere is going to be electric, the matchup has genuine intrigue, and the result could go either way despite what the season records suggest. Marquette's home court advantage against DePaul is historically overwhelming, but this isn't a typical Marquette team, and DePaul's recent surge, particularly Gunn's scoring explosion, makes the Blue Demons a very live underdog. The Markus Howard ceremony adds an emotional layer that could lift the Golden Eagles or burden them with too much feeling on a day when cold-blooded execution is what they actually need.

This is what mid-major college basketball is all about. Murray State and Bradley are dead even at 12-7 in Missouri Valley Conference play, this is the regular season finale for both teams, and the winner gains a significant advantage in the quest for a first-round bye in the MVC Tournament. ESPN2 is giving this game the national television treatment it deserves, because for these two programs, this is their Super Bowl. Everything they've built over the course of the season comes down to a Sunday afternoon in Peoria, and the stakes couldn't be clearer. A win here means momentum, favorable seeding, and a shorter path to the conference title. A loss means extra games, harder matchups, and a longer road to the NCAA Tournament bid that every MVC team is chasing.

Murray State at 20-10 has the slightly better overall record and has been one of the more consistent mid-major programs in the country for the better part of two decades. The Racers have a proud basketball tradition that includes multiple March Madness upsets, and their ability to perform in pressure situations is baked into the program's DNA. They've navigated a competitive MVC schedule to arrive at this moment tied for the lead, and that's not an accident. This is a team that knows how to win close games, manage tempo, and execute in the clutch. Coming into a hostile environment at Carver Arena for a winner-take-all regular season finale is exactly the kind of scenario where Murray State's experience and toughness should be an asset.

Bradley, though, has the home floor, and Carver Arena is one of those mid-major venues that can be genuinely difficult for visiting teams when the building is full and the stakes are high. The Braves at 19-11 have earned their position in this race through an aggressive, physical style of play that's particularly effective in Peoria. There's something about the way mid-major programs defend their home court in games like this that transcends individual talent, and Bradley will feed off the energy of a fanbase that knows exactly how important this afternoon is. With both teams at 12-7 and the MVC Tournament looming, expect a dogfight that goes down to the final few minutes. This is the kind of game that reminds you why conference rivalry games in late February are some of the best theatre in all of college sports, and why ESPN2 made the right call putting it on the national stage.