Analysis: One step closer to a B1G title

As wacky as the Big Ten has been in recent weeks with the top teams getting upset just about every night, you have to figure the rest of the conference was thinking it might just happen again Thursday night at halftime of the Indiana-Illinois game.

The Illini, a train wreck of a team the last several weeks, led Indiana by one and Illini leading scorer Malcom Hill had not scored a point. The Hoosiers, one of the top scoring teams in the nation, had been limited to 27 first-half points.

Fans in Iowa and Maryland in particular were hoping that their recent misfortunes might get a shot in the arm delivered by Illinois in Champaign.

But the second half was all Indiana.

The hot-shooting Hoosiers really got in going in the second half. IU hit 15 of 26 shots in the second half, 57.7 percent and 10 of 17 3-pointers to defeat Illinois going away 74-47. IU outscored Illinois 47-19 in the second half.

Yogi Ferrell had 27 points on 11 of 18 shooting. He also had five rebounds and five assists. He hit 5 of 10 3-pointers.

Nick Zeisloft, starting in place of the injured Robert Johnson, had 14 points including four 3-pointers. Thomas Bryant, who scored the first seven points of the second half, finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.

So here is what it all means: With two games two play in the conference season, Indiana has a one game lead in the loss column over both Iowa and Maryland at 11-4. The Hoosiers still play both the Hawkeyes and the Terrapins. If Indiana wins one of its final two games, the Hoosiers could finish no worse than tied for the second Big Ten title under Tom Crean.

Iowa has a tough final three games. The Hawkeyes play at Ohio State on Sunday, home against Indiana on Tuesday and then at Michigan on Saturday, March 5.

Maryland has two really tough road games, both in the state of Indiana ahead. The Terrapins are at Purdue on Saturday and will have to beat the Boilermakers in Mackey where Purdue is 15-1 this season. In the final conference game of the year, Maryland must travel to play Indiana on Senior Night in Assembly Hall where the Hoosiers are 16-0 this season.

So all Maryland has to do is find a way to come up with two wins against two teams that are 31-1 at home this season.

If both Iowa and Maryland were to lose this weekend, Indiana would clinch at least a share of the B1G title and then need just one win to win the conference outright.

The Hoosiers are now 23-6 overall and are currently considered a No. 5 seed by ESPN's Joe Lunardi. One would think if Indiana was able to earn a split next week and finish 14-4 the Hoosiers would have a good shot at getting a top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Win both of those games, and you could make a pretty argument for a No. 3 seed.

Indiana has five days off before it will play an Iowa team on national television next Tuesday. This will be an Iowa team playing on two days rest.

A big key for Indiana will be if Robert Johnson will have a chance to come back and play or if they give him extended rest and hope to get him back for Maryland on March 6. The other possibility is that the Hoosiers just play it safe and hold him out until the Big Ten Tournament or the NCAA Tournament. A lot depends on the severity of the injury and it is all complete speculation at this point.

So Indiana needs at least one more victory in its final two games to add to the Big Ten championship banner in Assembly Hall. Whatever the case, it's going to be a fun final week or two of the Big Ten race.