Spartan Hoopla: Big Ten Tournament Will Kick Off the March Madness

Sunday March 7 saw the end of one of the most exciting Big Ten basketball seasons in over a decade.

This year the conference experienced its first multiple-log-jam for first place since 2002's four-way jumble between Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio State.

With Michigan State's 9-0 burst to begin league play, it looked like Tom Izzo's clan was going to run away with its second consecutive Big Ten crown, but how much fun would that have been?

A league-wide injury-bug made its presence felt and bit some of the Big Ten's biggest names. Four teams were plagued with an ailment to one of their vital contributors, which has added a little spice to the NCAA/Big Ten Tournament storyline.

A Kalin Lucas ankle injury and three-game slide made things a little difficult for the Spartans. State finished its conference slate at 14-4, tied with the Purdue Boilermakers and Ohio State Buckeyes for tops in the standings.

Ohio State has played like one of the best teams in the country, and could potentially play its way to a No. 1 overall seed in March Madness. The Buckeyes missed its National Player of the Year candidate Evan Turner for the early part of their season due to a back injury, but won 10 of its last 11 games to snag a piece of the Big Ten title pie.

Purdue was the favorite to win the league banner this year—and it did, along with two other teams.

The Boilers are suffering without Robbie Hummel, going 1-2 without its star forward. Their only loss without Mr. Everything was Feb. 28, in a 53-44 downing courtesy of Michigan State.

Wisconsin also lost one its key players, its 6'10" center Jon Leuer went out with a wrist injury. Leuer is back and the Badgers finished strong by winning its last five contests.

Both the Spartans and Buckeyes* have won four Big Ten regular season championships since 2000, and this was Purdue's first title since 1996. The Boilers won three straight (94-96), with its first title sparked by Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson.

(* OSU relinquished its 2000 and 2002 titles due to pesky NCAA rule violations).

So technically, the Spartans and Illini have claimed the most "clean" titles since 2000 with four.

Now that the history lesson is out of the way, it's time to get back on track with this year's Big Ten Tournament; here's the bracket.

No. 8 Michigan (7-11) vs. No. 9 Iowa (4-14)

Although Iowa lost both of its meetings with Michigan (80-78 OT, 60-46), Todd Lickliter's bunch should knock the Wolverines out in the Big Ten Tournament. 

The maize and blue haven't played with much conviction this season, and looked like a lame duck Sunday against Michigan State.

No. 7 Northwestern ( 7-11) vs. No. 10 Indiana (4-14)

This is a matchup of less-than-epic proportions.

Flip a coin, take a shot in the dark, a wild guess—doesn't really matter in this one.

Northwestern would be the logical choice, but it just lost 88-80 Saturday in overtime to the Hoosiers—which might have people leaning toward Tom Crean's boys.

No. 6 Minnesota (9-9) vs.  No. 11 Penn State (3-15)

After starting out 0-12 the Penn State Nittany Lions were left for dead—but don't count them out just yet.

Penn State could possibly be the most dangerous team in this year's tournament. After two consecutive close games with Purdue and Michigan State, and two close losses, believe the Lions are out to prove a little something.

The Lions are the best bad team in the conference, and nobody wants to face them during this time of year. You can take that one to the bank (that means Penn State will beat the Gophers.)

No. 5 Illinois (10-8) vs. No. 4 Wisconsin (13-5)

Illinois was competitive Sunday against the Badgers... for a little while at least. Demetri McCamey has carried the Illini all year, and a strong game from him and Mike Tisdale will be the key to beating Bo Ryan's Badgers.

It's not a longshot, but Illinois just might have what it takes to win—but don't bet on it.

Wisconsin should, and most likely will, win this one.

What about the top three?

No. 1 Ohio State (14-4) plays winner of Michigan-Iowa

No. 2 Purdue (14-4) plays winner of Northwestern-Indiana

No. 3 Michigan State (14-4) plays winner of Minnesota-Penn State

Look for the top four seeds to survive (as initially thought) and square off in the Big Ten's Final Four.

I'll save that topic for a later article.