Big Ten Tournament 2015: Preview, Predictions and Players to Watch

The No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers and No. 10 Maryland Terrapins have proved themselves to be the cream of the Big Ten crop during the regular season. Beginning on March 11, the conference's postseason tournament begins at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, with an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament up for grabs.

Obviously, most of the teams near the top of the conference standings don't need to win the tournament to reach the Big Dance, but the Big Ten has its share of bubble teams in need of a strong performance.

Click here to see the bracket, though none of the teams are filled in because the regular season doesn't officially end until Sunday.

The Race for the Third and Fourth Seed

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The Badgers have clinched the top seed in the tournament, and the Terrapins are locked into No. 2. With one game left, the No. 23 Ohio State Buckeyes, Michigan State Spartans, Purdue Boilermakers and Iowa Hawkeyes are all 11-6 in the conference.

Right now, the Spartans have the inside track and control their own destiny. A win on Saturday at the Indiana Hoosiers gets Michigan State the double bye and No. 3 seed. It could still get the double bye with a loss, but it would need a lot of help.

Tom Izzo's teams usually play well late in the season. The Spartans also beat the Hoosiers by 20 points when the teams met in January.

Thus I expect Michigan State to take care of business and lock up the third seed. 

The Iowa Hawkeyes seem to have the best chance to grab the fourth and final double bye. Iowa, Purdue and Ohio State all need help to grab the prize, but Iowa's conditions seem the most plausible.

The Hawkeyes need to win at home against the Northwestern Wildcats, the Spartans to beat the Hoosiers, the Boilermakers to best the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Badgers to stump the Buckeyes.

It sounds like a lot, but the argument could be made that each team the Hawkeyes need to win is the better squad in its matchup.

Call me crazy, but Michigan State and Iowa are my picks for the third and fourth seeds, respectively.

Players to Watch

D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State

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Russell may not win Big Ten Player of the Year, but he is clearly the conference's top pro prospect. The 6'5" guard is versatile and tough to contain one-on-one. The freshman certainly doesn't lack confidence; when asked by BTN.com's Tom Dienhart if he was the best freshman in the nation, Russell responded:

"Oh, yes, no doubt. No doubt. By far."

Heading into Sunday's season finale with the Badgers, Russell has strung together back-to-back 28-point games. The Bucks will lean on Russell hard against Wisconsin and for as long as they are alive in the Big 10 tournament.

Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin

The reason Russell may not win conference player of the year honors is because of Frank Kaminsky. The Badgers senior has improved his game in almost every category.

His scoring average is up to 18.4 points from 13.6 last season, and his rebounding has jumped from 6.3 to 8.2. Kaminsky is also knocking down 42 percent of this threes after connecting on just under 38 as a junior. That outside shooting makes the 7-footer a headache for opposing teams to match up against.

Kaminsky doesn't do it with athleticism, but as the unquestioned leader of the conference's top team, he certainly gets it done.

D.J. Newbill, Penn State

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The Penn State Nittany Lions aren't going to win the Big Ten tournament or make the NCAA bracket, but D.J. Newbill is still fun to watch. The 6'4" senior gets buckets. He's the Big Ten's leading scorer at 20.3 points per game and a legitimate pro prospect.

While the Nittany Lions may have a very short stay in the conference tournament, fans should take a gander at what might be Newbill's final game(s) as a Nittany Lion.

Tournament Prediction

It's hard to bet against Wisconsin. Heading into the regular-season finale, the team has lost just one conference game this season in which Kaminsky played. He missed the Jan. 11 loss to Rutgers but played in the 59-53 defeat at Maryland on Feb. 24.

On a neutral court in Chicago that figures to have far more Badgers fans than Terps supporters, the Badgers will take the rematch in an intense tournament final. 

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