Not Qualified To Comment » Big Ten Tournament Field is Set

Big Ten Tournament Field is Set

March 9, 2009 at 11:00 am | College Basketball
By: StevieY19

The logjam that made up the Big Ten standings was finally sorted out yesterday afternoon when Wisconsin beat Indiana. Going into the weekend Penn State could have been seeded as high as the two, but the Nittany Lions ended up with the six. Ohio State could have been as low as the eight seed, but ended up with the fifth seed and a first round bye.

A conference that is this close makes for a very exciting post-season tournament. The action starts Thursday when Minnesota plays Northwestern at 11 AM central time, followed immediately by Michigan against Iowa, and the day will finish with Penn State against Indiana.

The first batch of games should be plenty interesting as Minnesota and Northwestern split their contests this season. Minnesota is squarely on the bubble, while Northwestern likely needs to at least make the finals and maybe win the tournament to get in. Michigan and Iowa also split this season and the second game was an overtime win for the Hawkeyes. Michigan did a lot for their tourney chances Saturday, winning a huge game at Minnesota, but the Wolverines would feel a lot safer with a win Thursday. Finally, the Hoosiers will try to upset Penn State, who they almost beat last week in Happy Valley.

The rest of the field will have Thursday off and start up on Friday. The only Friday game that is set will be Ohio State against Wisconsin. The Badgers won the only meeting of the two teams by five points in Madison. Both teams are pretty safe tournament-wise, but another win could help avoid some anxious moments on Sunday. The top three seeds are Michigan State, Illinois, and Purdue. The Spartans will play the winner of the Minnesota-Northwestern game, Illinois gets Michigan or Iowa, and Purdue will play Penn State or Indiana.

The way Michigan State made it through the regular season, they are the obvious favorites. However, the Spartans also showed that they have no problems losing to whomever they choose, with bad ones to Penn State and Northwestern at home. I’ll have some detailed previews with bad predictions coming later this week, so check back for those. Meanwhile, here is the bracket to stare at while you watch the 24 and 25 seeds in the Big East Tournament early in the week.