Big Ten Tournament 2012: Northwestern Bound for Upset Run

The Northwestern Wildcats are going to make some waves in the Big Ten tournament.

While they finished up conference play just 8-10, they were playing solid basketball at the end of the season. The Wildcats were just 3-3 over their last six games, but look closer than the score, and it is pretty clear they were playing solid ball.

Their three losses were to conference heavyweights Indiana, Michigan and Ohio State. They lost to Indiana by just five on the road. They took Michigan to overtime and lost to Ohio State by just two. 

The Wildcats are improving, and they are a deep team. That will suit them well in the compact schedule of this conference tournament. 

Northwestern uses a heavy rotation with eight players. They have eight guys playing at least 18 minutes. This will allow them to not have to wear any one player down, and it will keep them fresh for their tournament run. 

That is not all they got going for them. The bracket set up in an advantageous way for them. You can view the full bracket here. 

Looking Ahead at Their Tournament Run

Northwestern plays Minnesota in the first game. While these two split in the regular season, the Golden Gophers have been coming apart at the seams. They have lost six of their last seven games. They are not going to be able to right the ship in time to hang with Northwestern.

Waiting in the wings for the Wildcats will be Michigan. As the No. 2 seed, the Wolverines have a first-round bye. That bye is going to hurt them more than it helps them. 

Northwestern will not be worn down, having only played one tournament game leading up to that. This is going to leave Michigan struggling to find their rhythm, while Northwestern will already be in their groove. 

And that is the only advantage Northwestern is going to need. These two teams played twice this season and while Michigan won both games, both contests went to overtime. 

That will set Northwestern up with a likely matchup against Ohio State: the same Ohio State they just lost to by only two points. 

At that point, Northwestern will be brimming with confidence and excited to continue their Cinderella run.