Big Ten Notes and News

Thursday

Iowa (10-21) vs Michigan (14-16), 2:30 p.m. EST

Indiana (10-20) vs Northwestern (19-12), 4:55 p.m. EST

Penn St. (11-19) vs Minnesota (18-12), 7:30 p.m. EST

Friday

Mich/Iowa vs No. 1 Ohio State (24-7), 12:25 p.m. EST

No. 5 Illinois (18-13) vs No. 4 Wisconsin (23-7), 2:25 p.m. EST

NW/Indiana vs No. 2 Purdue (26-4), 6:30 p.m. EST

Minn/Penn St. vs No. 3 Michigan State (24-7), 8:55 p.m. EST

As a whole, conference tournaments are little more than dress rehearsals for The Big Dance of the NCAA tournament.

Most teams fit into three categories 1) In. 2) Out. Or 3) On the Bubble.

Teams that are already in can play to "advance their seed" or "fine tune" their lineup for next week, but past history has given us uninspired performances from the top seeds. Does it really matter that much if you go to the NCAAs as a No. 4 seed or a No. 11?

Teams that don't have a chance of making the tournament will occasionally turn in an inspiring run during the conference tournament, but usually a lousy team during the year will still be lousy during tournament time.

The boys on the bubble are the most fun to watch. Bubble boys can either play their way into the real tournament with a few good wins or gear up for the NIT with a flop. These usually make for the most interesting theater.

This year's Big Ten Tournament, however, looks to be an exception.

Just about everybody has something to play for, and while there's not a lot of wiggle room with the NCAA Tournament Selection committee to add more than the top four that are already locked in the Big Ten has plenty of questions that need to be answered before "March Madness" kicks in earnest next week.

Here's a quick look at what the big boys of the Big 10 have to look forward to. All games are scheduled to be shown on ESPN2.

No. 1 seed Ohio State (24-7)

The Buckeyes have their sights set on securing a No. 1 seed next week, and staying close to home in the regional. OSU was co-champs with Purdue and Michigan State but got the top seed by virtue of a 2-1 record against the others.

Ohio State is the clear favorite, led by Evan Turner, who projects to be an NBA lottery pick if he comes out after his junior season. Turner missed some games with a back injury but has looked healthy since his return to the lineup at the end of the year and averaged 19.5 points per game.

Ohio State won the Big 10 Tournament title in 2007 and went on to the NCAA Championship game.

No. 2 seed Purdue (21-4)

The Boilermakers have more questions to answer than anybody after 6-8 Robbie Hummel blew out his knee with an ACL injury with three games left in the regular season. Hummel was the No. 2 scorer and leading rebounder and will be tough to replace.

Purdue did manage to finish 2-1 without Hummel, but not against the elite teams of the league.

A poor performance, and early exit could cost Purdue dearly in the minds of the seeding committee, who have been known to factor late injuries for key players against their teams.

No. 3 Michigan State (24-7)

 It has been up-and-down for MSU, which started the season 9-0 before hitting a slump. Another team with question marks as Trojan coach Tom Izzo announced guard Chris Allen (9.1 ppg) was "indefinitely suspended" for "not living up to team obligations."

Will Michigan State pull together in the face of adversity or fall apart?

Izzo's teams have not traditionally played well in the Big 10 Tournament, though they last won it in 2000 and went all the way to the national championship.

No. 4 Wisconsin (23-7)

The Badgers are definitely a team worth watching this week at the Big 10 Tournament, and even more so next week during the NCAAs.

With their deliberate-style of play, Wisconsin is one of the best teams in the nation at limiting turnovers and also won of the top defensive teams in the country. Not the most flashy team in the country, but a very tough draw.

Wisconsin finished only one game off the pace of tri-champs Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan State and played six weeks without 6-10 junior Jon Leuer who had a broken wrist. Leuer has been working his way back in the lineup and the Badgers won their last three games by an average margin of almost 25 points a game.

No. 5 Illinois (18-13)

Illinois is probably the only real "bubble team" in the league and their first-round matchup game with Wisconsin on Thursday at 2:25 p.m. EST is the most interesting game of the first two days.

Illinois was in prime position to go dancing just a few weeks ago, but lost 5-of-6 down the stretch, though it was a brutal stretch against the league's elite teams.

A win against the Badgers and Illinois can probably punch its ticket. A loss makes them one of the top teams in the NIT.

No. 6 Minnesota (18-12) and No. 7 Northwestern (19-12)

Both the Golden Gophers and the Wildcats had one-time hopes of making the NCAA field but both teams have been on down-slide for the past month.

It's hard to call either one of these a bubble team, because both would probably have to win the tournament to gain the automatic bid if they want to make it.

Even if one of them makes the finals, it will probably be too little too late, so it's do-or-die time for these two.