When the Michigan State Spartans authoritatively defeated the Maryland Terrapins in College Park on Saturday night, they left the Big Ten championship race up in the air. Maryland could have sealed the league title with a win. Instead, the Terps are now just one game ahead of three teams in a scramble for the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. If Maryland can’t sweep its last two games, we could easily have a split title this season.
Yet, the MSU win over Maryland left the Big Ten “up in the air” in ways which go beyond the conference standings. This result was more than just an act of dragging Maryland back to the pack and preventing the Terrapins from clinching the league title. This was a game which left everyone in college basketball wondering, “Was this a sign of Michigan State playing with familiar urgency under Tom Izzo late in the season, or was this a sign that Maryland isn’t a heavyweight team?”
It is hard to find a clear answer, and that is the ultimate sense in which the Big Ten is an uncertain place, one week before the conference tournament.
Yes, Michigan State looked strong in one game on one night, and yes, we have seen the Spartans come alive in March many times before after struggling in much of the regular season. Nevertheless, the Big Ten has been so up and down this season — with teams maxing out one night and then dropping stink bombs the next — that it is hard to have complete confidence in Michigan State’s win as an indication that the Spartans are ready to roll in March.
If anything, Michigan State’s March reputation is less relevant here than Maryland’s March reputation. The Terps have regularly fared poorly at the Big Ten Tournament. They have rarely done well in the NCAA Tournament under Mark Turgeon, a 2016 Sweet 16 appearance being their best result despite fielding numerous talented teams.
Will this MSU-Maryland result tell us more about the Spartans or the Terps in the coming days and weeks? We can all offer our answers, but the question doesn’t seem like an easy one to answer. This is why the state of the Big Ten is so muddled after 18 conference games. Not a whole lot feels safe, certain, or decided in this conference. That’s precisely why the Big Ten Tournament will be so interesting.