Big Ten Tournament 2012: Bold Predictions for Friday's 2nd-Round Matchups

After a rousing start to the Big Ten tournament, things will start heating up in the quarterfinals with four big matchups that will go a long way to determining seeding in the big dance. 

The big boys of the conference—Michigan State and Ohio State—will be in action. Both have a great chance to earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, but they need strong showings over the next three days. 

Here are bold predictions for the Big Ten quarterfinals...

Indiana's Offense Will Destroy Wisconsin's Defense

The Hoosiers earned their first Big Ten tournament victory in six years against Penn State on Thursday. That was just a warm-up act for what is to come on Friday, when they take on one of the best defensive teams in the country: Wisconsin.

The Badgers are one of the dullest teams in the country. They don't want to score points. They will run the shot clock down as far as possible, before getting a shot off. Defense is a hallmark of this team, and the thing that will take them as far as they can go. 

Unfortunately, it will not be a great day for them against Indiana on Friday. The high-powered Hoosier offense is going to spread the court against the Badgers en route to an impressive victory and a date with the Spartans in the semifinals. 

Minnesota's Run Will Continue vs. Michigan

After effectively sending Northwestern to the NIT on Thursday, the Golden Gophers will drop Michigan down a line or two after an upset win in their quarterfinal game. 

Neither team is going to overwhelm you on the offensive side of the ball. They don't have the shooters to put up a lot of points in a short amount of time, but they are both very efficient with their shot selection. 

Where the Gophers will separate themselves from the Wolverines in this game is in the paint. They have two dominant forwards in Rodney Williams and Trevor Mbakwe who create matchup problems for opposing teams. 

Ohio State's Late-Season Struggles Will Come Back Against Purdue

Before the final game of the regular season against Michigan State, the Buckeyes looked like they were in trouble. They lost three out of five games before defeating Northwestern and the Spartans, and there were some questions about this team's mindset late in the year. 

Purdue has already played a great game against Ohio State this season, a three-point loss on February 7. It was arguably the team's best offensive effort of the year, yet the defense didn't do enough to stop the Buckeyes late. 

With the Boilermakers fighting for their NCAA tournament lives, they will come out on fire and sink the Buckeyes to advance into the semifinals against Minnesota. 

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