By Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net,

INDIANAPOLIS- Big Ten player of the year, and likely national player of the year Evan Turner has become quite the polarizing figure this weekend. The Ohio State swing-man made magical memories for OSU fans on his way to becoming Big Ten tournament MVP. But he also angered many partisans of the teams who were vanquished by the Ohio State Buckeyes; en route to their tournament championship.

If he’s on your side- you love him. Here’s what his coach Thad Matta had to say after the tournament championship game.

“You know, at what point I literally said, hey, take the game over, and that’s when he hit the three off the pull-up. But when you say that to a guy like Evan, he’s so cerebral basketball-wise, he can do it with the pass, you can do it with the defensive stop. But his play-making ability is really good. And just with his size, they had smaller guys on him, they tried Johnson on him there for a while, but it was — when you look at the body of work over the weekend,

I mean, this has to go down as probably — I know I’ve been in this league for six years. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Of course, if you’re playing against Turner, you probably don’t enjoy his body of work so much. I even heard two different nicknames for ET circulating around the BTT. People who love him call him “His Royal Smoothness,” his detractors refer to him as “The Velociraptor.” Evan was candid about his disgust with the Illini trash-talking on Saturday. “They were just running their mouths too much, and that was it.They were hitting shots and front runners, and they were running them off entirely too much. That’s all I’m saying,” Turner re-iterated.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term “front-runner” he means they only talk smack when they’re winning, and remaining quiet when the game is tight.

So what did certain Illinois players say?

Now I can’t verify this, but what I heard from three different reporters who were court-side for Illini-Ohio St, was Illini freshman D.J. Richardson supposedly said: “If I keep spanking you, they’re going to send my black ass to jail.” At Turner. And Turner’s friend/former high school teammate Demetri McCamey added: “You’re going to prison,” at Richardson. Again these are not verbatim QUOTES, just what was SUPPOSEDLY overheard. Neverthless be proud Illini Nation. Your team, a bubble team, was talking smack to the Sporting News player of the year and his potential #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament teammates. As an alum, I find this to be one of the finest Illini moments of 2010 so far.

Of course, Turner is anything but innocent in this exchange, as we saw him make the “grasping money” signal with his hands towards the Illinois bench in one of the overtime sessions.

Whether that signifies the money he’ll soon make in the NBA, that his shot is “so money,” I don’t know. But what I do know is minutes after Ohio State’s 72-53 route at Illinois on Feb. 14, Evan Tweeted “You all witnessed the ‘Valentine’s Day massacre,”’ on his Twitter account after finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. So you could say he started this up a month ago.

(Also, in a semi-related story, Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson drew a technical foul for allegedly saying “he keeps grabbing on my sh#$t” to the referee; in reference to an opposing Minnesota player during the other game Saturday night.)

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

It’s time for another one of my crazy sports conspiracy theories.  The Illini were cruising along, looking like a solid 5 seed and maybe even a 4 seed in the NCAA Tourney.  Then they lost Frazier to a fractured hand/wrist and said he would probably not be back for the Big Ten tourney but he may be ready in time for the Big Dance.  After playing just so-so in the Big Ten tourney and not really raising or lowering their tournament resume, the Selection Committee then gives the Illini the 5 seed they were expected to get (albeit with a tough draw having to play the Hilltoppers in the first round and then the Zags in Portland).  Then all of a sudden reports come out that say Frazier will almost definitely not be ready for the tournament.  Hmmm…

So is the Selection Committee saying that the Illini are just as good a team without Frazier as they are with him?  That seems unlikely.  What does seem likely, however, is that the Illini were able to plant just enough doubt in the committee’s minds that Frazier might not be done for the year, that the committee felt obligated to give them the seed they would have had if Frazier was healthy.

God-willing Frazier is able to suit up and be healthy enough to make a difference, but that cast on his hand/wrist looks huge and pretty serious.  Either way, well-played Illini.

The early games are just about finished, with Michigan State beating Minnesota 64-56 and Ohio State and Wisconsin still going at it and it looks like it could go down to the wire….

5:30 pm (2) Illinois vs. (7) Michigan-

The first issue that comes to mind with this game is the availability of Chester Frazier for Illinois.  Frazier isn’t the most talented player on the team, but his importance has been noted here many times.  No offense (or pun) to Travis Walton, but Frazier is the best defender in the Big Ten.  Michigan and Illinois met twice this season, and played by the rules of the Big Ten and each won at home.  Other than the venue, the difference in the two games was easily Mike Tisdale.  Tisdale was non-existent in the first game due in part to a slow start and in part to Bruce Weber’s decision to put a smaller, quicker player on DeShawn Sims.  In the rematch, the big white had 24 points on 10 of 12 shooting, while Sims was held to seven points.

The teams’ experiences couldn’t be less similar leading up to the game this afternoon.  Michigan finished the season on a hot streak that has ensured them a spot in the NCAA Tournament, including a blowout win over Iowa yesterday.  The Illini have lost their last two games and haven’t played in eight days.  Michigan needs to keep pounding the ball down to Sims to be successful.  Sims scored 16 points in the first ten minutes yesterday and the combination of better seals down low and better entry passes has been key to Michigan’s success down the stretch.  For Illinois, they’ll need to find gaps in that 1-3-1 zone like they did in their last match-up and McCamey and Meacham will need to knock down shots.  If Frazier is indeed out, Brock and Meacham will both need to take on some ball handling responsibilities and Alex Legion will need big minutes.  With no Frazier, it could be a little more of a high scoring affair with him not controlling the offense and shutting it down on defense.  By higher scoring, I mean 60s.

8:00 pm (3) Purdue vs. (6) Penn State-

Here’s another case of the home teams winning the games in the regular season.  The underdog has the momentum in this case too.  The Nittany Lions are on the verge of solidifying their NCAA bid and have won three of their last four, while the Boilermakers have lost three of four.  Purdue has generally underachieved this season and they should be hungry to prove themselves in the postseason.  Penn State will look to keep the good balance with Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle on the perimeter and the nice inside-outside game of Jamelle Cornley.  Purdue is more talented than Penn State, but have proven they can struggle against anyone.  Robbie Hummel will be the key for the Boilermakers.  He needs to step up and be the leader they expected at the start of the season.  I know he is playing through injury, but now is the time they need him.

**Update: Sounds like Chester Frazier is out for the Big Ten Tourney and questionable for the Big Dance.

Day one of the Big Ten Tourney was pretty boring, to put it bluntly.  Minnesota led pretty much the whole way and ended any hopes Northwestern had for their first ever tournament  berth.  Then Michigan jumped out to an early lead and never looked back against Iowa, all but clinching their first tournament appearance in 11 years.  To end the day, Penn State beat Indiana in a game that was virtually unwatchable.  Today promises to be better and if the other conference tournaments have taught us anything, it’s to be ready for the upset.

11:00 am (1) Michigan State vs. (8) Minnesota-

Michigan State swept the series against Minnesota winning easily on the road and blowing the Gophers out 76-47 in the Breslin Center.  Both teams have quite a bit to play for as well.  The Spartans find themselves still alive for a one seed in the NCAA Tournament and with Oklahoma and Pittsburgh losing, they actually have a pretty good chance if they run the table.  Minnesota finds itself scoreboard watching already and might need a win to get in.  Westbrook and the big guys inside will need to lead Minnesota if they’re to have a chance, but Michigan State can rotate a lot of bodies in there with Suton, Roe, Green, and Gray, and the Sparties have the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Travis Walton to match up with Westbrook.  The Gophers pulled off the upset of the conference tourney last year against Indiana, and they’ll need an equally surprising result today.

1:30 (4) Wisconsin vs. (5) Ohio State-

The Badgers hosted the only meeting between these teams and won it by five.  Both teams are near locks for the tournament at this point and are both nine seeds in the latest Bracketology.  That doesn’t mean that we’ll see a relaxed game between two apathetic teams though.  The Badgers seem to make it to the last day of this tournament every year, and Bo Ryan will likely be pissed with anything less this year.  Ohio State hasn’t played its best basketball down the stretch and would like nothing more than to build a little momentum going into the Big Dance by winning today and getting a shot at Michigan State tomorrow.  The key for Wisconsin will be to contain Evan Turner.  The kid can score and is capable of putting the Buckeyes on his back for a win.  Ohio State will need to keep Wisconsin off the glass.  The Badgers are at their best when they hit the offensive boards.  So many easy putbacks and open threes are set up on second chance points for Wisconsin.

Michigan takes on Illinois at 5:30 and Penn State gets Purdue in the late game.  I’ll preview those a little later today.

The Big Ten Tournament starts at 11am today.  There are seven or eight teams that have a legitimate chance to win this thing, and any of today’s games could feature an upset. All times Central:

11:00 am (8) Minnesota vs. (9) Northwestern

The teams split games during the regular season, with each winning at home.  The most recent game was a 72-45 drubbing in favor of the Golden Gophers.  The key for Minnesota will be to use their size advantage inside, while making someone other than Koble and Moore beat them.  For the Wildcats, that means a lot will be riding on point guard Michael Thompson.  In wins for Northwestern he has been great, but if he doesn’t show up today, the Wildcats probably won’t win.  It’s hard to talk about Minnesota without talking about Lawrence Westbrook.  The star guard scored 17 against Northwestern last time they met.  Minnesota is on the bubble, while Northwestern needs to reach the finals to have a shot at the tournament. The winner will play Michigan State Friday.

1:30 pm (7) Michigan vs. (10) Iowa

Another split series in the 7-10 game as the Wolverines and Hawkeyes both won their home games against one another.  Michigan is coming off a giant win at Minnesota and can ensure themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years with a win.  Iowa’s season was marred by injury and disappointment, but the Hawkeyes have a star back in Cyrus Tate, while sophomore guard Jake Kelly has carried the team in his absence.  The Hawks will need to look to big men Jarryd Cole and Tate to make an impact on both ends.  For the Wolverines, they’ll need a better performance from their own sophomore Manny Harris, as the 1st Team All Big Ten player had one of his worst games of the season the last time the teams met.  Michigan has a chance to get in the tournament even if they lose, but things will be a lot calmer in Ann Arbor is they win.  The winner takes on Illinois Friday.

4:00 pm (6) Penn State vs. (11) Indiana

Penn State has experienced plummet in their seeding propsects in the last week or so.  Going into Saturday, the Nittany Lions had the opportunity to secure the two seed in this tournament, but with a loss to Iowa and the way the other results came they are now playing in the 6-11 game instead of waiting to play the winner of the 7-10 game.  This game would seem like a yawner at first glance, but the match-ups have been pretty close this year, including a 61-58 win for Penn State at home.  For Penn State, they just have to limit the turnovers, hit open shots, and do the due diligence on the glass to win.  Indiana, well, they need to stop Penn State from doing that stuff that clear favorites want to do.  In terms of the bubble, Penn State absolutely has to win.  Their awful out of conference resume has fooled some of the experts, but it won’t get past the committee.  They have good wins in the Big Ten, but the best team they beat outside the conference was Georgia Tech, who won about a half game in the ACC this year.  The winner gets Purdue.

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.