March Madness - Big Ten Tournament preview

2008 ncca tournament bracket
2008 ncca tournament schedule
NCAA tournament bracket


The Big Ten is considered down this year, with only four teams, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana and Michigan State, considered locks for NCAA Tournament bids entering conference tournament play that begins Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Here's a look at Thursday's games, with game odds available on WagerWeb.com on Thursday morning:

No. 8 seed Iowa vs. No. 9 Michigan, Noon
No. 7 Penn State vs. No. 10 Illinois, 3:30 p.m.
No. 6 Minnesota vs. No. 11 Northwestern, 5 p.m.

These three games frankly mean little. Barring an unlikely run to the Big Ten tournament championship, none of these teams will reach the NCAA Tournament.

So that sets them up as basically fodder for the second-round games, which set up like this on Friday (with my projected Thursday winners):

No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Iowa, noon No. 4 Michigan St. vs. No. 5 Ohio St., 2:30 p.m.
No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 10 Illinois, 6:30 p.m.
No. 3 Indiana vs. No. 6 Minnesota, 9 p.m.

In this second round of games, one stands out: Michigan State vs. Ohio State. The Buckeyes are very squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble and will be coming off a 63-54 home victory over Michigan State last Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

'They're playing for a lot, but we're playing for a lot,' Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said Monday. 'They're playing for [an NCAA] spot, but we're playing for our pride. Sometimes I'm not sure which one's bigger. Right now, I feel it's our pride.'

Don't look for Michigan State, which has been disappointing this year, to lose back-to-back games to the same team, and expect Wisconsin to handle Iowa. That would set up a Wisconsin-Michigan State semifinal, with the edge going to the Badgers. After all, Badgers coach Bo Ryan is 10-3 against Izzo.Although the top two seeds have played in the Big Ten championship game the last four seasons, the top four never have reached the semifinals the first decade of the event.

So that means I can't pick Indiana to beat Minnesota despite a big homecourt advantage. Indiana has the best 1-2 punch in the conference in Big Ten Player of the Year D.J. White and Eric Gordon, but it could be
time for all of the Kelvin Sampson mess to catch up to the Hoosiers.

Have to expect surprising Purdue to handle Illinois in the quarters and the Gophers in the semis, which leaves Wisconsin vs. Purdue in the final on Sunday.

Purdue has never won the Big Ten Tournament in the event's 10 years and it did sweep Wisconsin this season.

"If we could win the title, that'd be great, but this team has already made some history," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "Our goal is to win some games, get some experience and get ready for the NCAA tournament."

Wisconsin, meanwhile, has twice previously been the Big Ten tournament's top seed, but lost in the quarterfinals both times, and only three teams have been able to follow up a Big Ten regular season title with one in the conference tournament.

But the Badgers are playing better than anyone in the conference heading in. They have won their last seven games and 20 of their last 22. So the pick here is Wisconsin.

Bet on the Big Ten tournament at WagerWeb.com and check back for game previews.