Jake Fox is hitting .423 with 17 homers so far this year and will be brought up to play outfield and a little at the corner infield spots.  He’s a little bit like Micah, but any hot bat will be appreciated right now. 

Fox wasn’t the only change.  Neal Cotts was sent down in favor of lefty Jason Waddell; Bobby Scales was sent back down and will be replaced by shortstop Andres Blanco.

These guys aren’t going to light the world on fire, but if they provide a spark while the Cubs are going through some injury issues, then all the moves will be well worth it.  Fox certainly seems like the most promising guy coming up as he has been killing the ball in Iowa.  The best move though is probably getting rid of Cotts; see ya back never.

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.