For the next few weeks leading up to the college football season, we’ll be previewing every Big Ten team, starting with my prediction to finish last, to my predicted champ.  This way if I don’t get to Ohio State before the season starts, you’ll have a good grasp on all the teams whose analysis isn’t “highest payroll, most talent, probably champs.”  Up first, Indiana.

Oh, what to say about Indiana?  The Hoosiers are an easy pick for last in the league because, well…they always are.  Indiana lost its best player when Kellen Lewis was kicked off the team before the spring.  Lewis would have been moved to wide receiver this year to make way for junior Ben Chappell, who showed flashes of decency last season. 

The defense could actually be okay this year, with a solid pass rush from ends Greg Middleton and Jammie Kirlew.  Middleton will draw a lot of double-teams and Kirlew should be good enough to take advantage of the one-on-one match-ups that result.  For whatever it’s worth, the Hoosiers have experience at the linebacker spot, forming a very un-Indiana-like front seven. 

The offensive line also has some experience, with Rodger Saffold anchoring the unit at tackle.  Losing Kellen Lewis and graduating Marcus Thigpen hurts IU’s offense a ton though.  Without those two, the Hoosiers lack playmakers.  Though the wide receivers could be decent, the Hoosiers running game won’t be enough to get the job done and they’ll finish last in the league again. 

Look for Indiana to lose to another MAC team this year (Western Michigan) and possibly get shut out in the Big Ten until their annual suck-fest against Purdue in the last game of the year.

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 Cubs Spring Training opener is today at 2:05 pm!  Samardzija is getting the start. [ChicagoCubs.com]
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• Pole Dancing in the Olympics?  I could get on board with that. [HHR]
• Assuming Milton Bradley will snap this season may be a self-fulfilling prophecy. [Another Cubs Blog]