2/27/07 - MSU @ Michigan Preview

After four straight home wins, the Michigan State Spartans make the short trip across state to take on rival Michigan. State has been revived thanks to an extended homestand, going 4 for 4 in their last four games at the Breslin Center. However, this is still the same Spartan team that is 1-5 on the road this year in the Big Ten with their only road victory coming at Penn State. On the other hand, the Wolverines have been very tough to beat at home in conference play. Michigan is 5-1 at home in Big Ten play with their only defeat coming at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes in a game where Michigan actually led by 11 at halftime. In Saturday's 62-51 victory over Minnesota, Tommy Amaker decided to shuffle up his starting lineup. Ekpe Udoh and Jaret Smith were added to the starting five replacing senior Courtney Sims and Ron Coleman. Udoh gives the Wolverines defense an added boost inside with his tremendous shot blocking ability, but Michigan will miss Sims' rebounding ability in tonight's matchup. This game will most likely come down to which team turns the ball over the least amount of times. MSU and Michigan are the top two teams in conference when it comes to giveaways. In the first half of Saturday night's 66-58 win over Indiana, the Spartans turned the ball over 14 times and found themselves down 10 at half. Their 2nd half comeback was made possible by limiting turnovers. MSU gave it away just 9 times in the 2nd half and ended up with an impressive victory. Michigan is a different team at home and State is a different team on the road. This game should be tight all the way through. Michigan needs this win bad, a loss and you can say good-bye to any chances at the NCAA Tournament.

2/26/07 - Weekend Recap

Ohio State 49 Wisconsin 48 Sunday's mega matchup between the Big Ten's top two teams turned out to be as close as everyone expected, and probably a lot uglier than most would have thought. But in the end, it was the Buckeyes clinching the Big Ten Regular Season Title for the second straight season with a 49-48 victory over Wisconsin. Defense, or bad offense (however you like to look at it), was the name of the game on Sunday. Ohio State shot 42% on the afternoon and held the Badgers to just 35.1% shooting in what had to be the ugliest #1 vs. #2 matchup ever! Speaking of ugly...the status of Wisconsin's Brian Butch is still unclear after suffering what the Badgers are calling a "right elbow injury". I'd call that an injury alright! Michigan State 66 Indiana 58 It was just three weeks ago when nearly everyone had written the Spartans off for good after losing their 4th straight game and scoring only 12 points in the 2nd half in a loss at Purdue. Now, MSU is 8-6 in conference and tied for 4th place in the league. What happened? Four straight games in the Breslin Center is all. Four games, four wins, back in fourth place. Illinois 68 Penn State 50 The Illini took care of business in their first must-win road game at Penn State on Saturday. Illinois has now won three straight games, despite all the controversy surrounding new details on Jamar Smith's car accident. Illinois now has a week off to prepare for their season finale at Iowa this Saturday. The Illini may already be in the dance, but a loss at Iowa would certainly put them back on the bubble. As for Penn State, they try to avoid losing their 14th in a row on Wednesday night when they host the Hawkeyes. Purdue 75 Northwestern 68 Purdue, another Big Ten bubble team, went on the road this weekend and got a much needed win at Evanston. The Boilers out rebounded Northwestern 39 to 19. David Teague scored 26 for Purdue and everyone's favorite Wildcat Tim Doyle scored 26 points on 9-12 shooting for the Wildcats. How that guy even gets a shot off against Big Ten opponents amazes me every time I watch a Northwestern game. He seriously reminds me of my dad trying to play basketball AFTER his shoulder surgery for bursitis. Michigan 62 Minnesota 51 Tommy Amaker shuffled up his starting lineup and the Wolverines responded with a must win at Minnesota. Michigan now has two more "must win" games remaining, home tilts against Michigan State and Ohio State. If the Wolverines can win both, they will most certainly be going to the NCAA Tournament. Rumors have been swirling around Minnesota that Detroit Pistons head coach Flip Saunders will be walking away from his contract with the Pistons at season's end to become the Gopher's next head man. Rumors that Saunders himself calls "ridiculous".

2/22/07 - Tournament Resumes

With March exactly one week away and the hint of Madness in the air, let's take a look again at the Big 10's "bubble" teams. The only question for the Big 10's top 2 (Ohio State and Wisconsin) is who will be awarded with a 1-seed. That question will be answered on Sunday when the two teams meet in Columbus with the winner probably getting a 1-seed and the loser being slotted as a 2-seed for the NCAA Tournament. Now let's take a look at the rest of the Big 10 field and each teams' Tournament Resume. (Note: RPI and SOS numbers taken from kenpom.com) Indiana Hoosiers 18-8 (8-5, 3rd) RPI: 22 SOS: 26 Quality Wins: Southern Illinois (RPI: 5), Wisconsin (RPI: 6) Bad Losses: at Iowa (RPI: 78) Remaining Opponents: at Michigan State, at Northwestern, Penn State Analysis: One more tough road test remains, but even with a loss at Michigan State this weekend, the Hoosiers have done enough to get into the Tournament. They should finish with nothing worse than a tie for 3rd in the Big Ten and have a very good non-conference win against SIU to hang their hat on. Unless Indiana slips up against Northwestern or Penn State, they should feel solid and be a 6 or 7 seed on Selection Sunday. Illinois Fighting Illini 20-9 (8-6, T-4th) RPI: 32 SOS: 19 Quality Wins: Indiana (22), Michigan State (25) Bad Losses: at Michigan (61), at Xavier (43) Remaining Opponents: at Penn State, at Iowa Analysis: The Illini need to win both of their remaining games to get themselves off the bubble and really feel solid. If Illinois can get to 10-6, they will be no worse than 4th place in conference and that should be enough to get them in, probably as a 10 or 11 seed. But 2 wins isn't going to be a walk in the park, just ask Purdue who lost by 19 at Iowa last night. If I had to make a prediction, I see Illinois losing at least one of these last two games on the road and heading to the NIT. Iowa Hawkeyes 16-12 (8-6, T-4th) RPI: 78 SOS: 48 Quality Wins: Indiana (22), Michigan State (25) Bad Losses: at Arizona State (226), at Drake (119), UNI (76) Remaining Opponents: at Penn State, Illinois Analysis: Iowa's very low RPI numbers and early bad losses have been keeping this team from being included in a lot of Bubble Talk. However, the Hawkeyes just keep winning and it seems implausible to me to keep a 4th place team this late in the season out of all Tournament discussions. If Iowa can win out and get to 10-6 in conference, they would lock up no worse than 4th place and possibly a tie for 3rd with Indiana. I don't see how the Selection Committee could take a Purdue or Illinois team over this Iowa team if the Hawkeyes have wins over both in the last 2 weeks of the season. Those wins have to weigh more than a couple of really bad losses in November and December. It should be very interesting to see what will happen to the Hawkeyes if they do win out. Michigan State Spartans 20-8 (7-6, 6th) RPI: 25 SOS: 21 Quality Wins: Wisconsin (6), Illinois (32), N-Texas (38) Bad Losses: at Iowa (78) Remaining Opponents: Indiana, at Michigan, at Wisconsin Analysis: After that huge win on Tuesday at home against Wisconsin, Michigan State has gotten themselves back into the Dance. The remaining schedule will not be easy, but if the Spartans can take two of their remaining three games and finish with a 9-7 they should see themselves with a 9 or 10 seed. Purdue Boilermakers 17-10 (6-7, T-7th) RPI: 47 SOS: 20 Quality Wins: Indiana (22), Michigan State (25), Virginia (46) Bad Losses: at Minnesota (165), at Indiana State (140) Remaining Opponents: at Northwestern, Minnesota, Northwestern Analysis: Purdue blew a big chance to solidify their tournament prospects last night by taking a 19-point licking at Iowa. The Boilers have the easiest remaining schedule in the Big Ten and they need to win all three to even be considered at this point. With a couple of losses to 100+ RPI teams, anything less than a 9-7 record in conference will not be enough. I think Purdue needs to run the table and add a win or two in the Big Ten Tournament to get into the Big Dance. Michigan Wolverines 18-10 (6-7, T-7th) RPI: 61 SOS: 45 Quality Wins: Indiana (22) Bad Losses: at NC State (118), Iowa (78) Remaining Opponents: at Minnesota, Michigan State, Ohio State Analysis: Michigan is looking at the same scenario as Purdue, only with a much tougher remaining schedule. The Wolverines have a couple of opportunities to get quality wins at the end of the season when they mean the most, but I wouldn't get your hopes up if you're a Big Blue fan. Michigan looks destined to another trip to the NIT. Prediction: Here is how I see everything shaking down. NCAA Locks: Ohio State, Wisconsin Should be in: Indiana, Michigan State Win out and they're in: Illinois OR Iowa To the NIT we go: Purdue, Michigan, Illinois/Iowa (If they drop one)

2/20/07 - Upset Alert!

Well that didn't take long. Michigan State spoiled Wisconsin's first game ever as the #1 ranked team in the AP Poll tonight with a 64-55 upset victory over the Badgers in East Lansing. The Spartans were led by Drew Neitzel, who scored 28 points on 17 shots. Neitzel also connected on 6 of his 11 three point attempts. But once again, the story of the game was Michigan State's defense. Wisconsin was held to just 36.5% shooting and a season low 55 points. The Badgers were led in scoring by Marcus Landry who came off the bench and poured in 18 points on just 10 shots. The Spartans have now won 3 in a row since that embarrassing 2nd half at Purdue and improve to 7-6 in Conference play. Michigan State may have just played themselves off the bubble and into the Big Dance with 3 games remaining (Indiana, at Michigan, and at Wisconsin).

2/19/07 - Weekend Notes

Ohio State coach Thad Matta shuffled up his starting lineup for Sunday's game at Minnesota, and one can't argue with the results. The Buckeyes knocked off Minnesota 85-67. OSU shot 49% for the game, took down 40 rebounds (15 offensive) and forced 15 Gopher turnovers. With Vanderbilt knocking off Florida on Saturday, the Big Ten is primed to have the #1 and #2 teams in the country when today's polls are released. Sunday's Ohio State-Wisconsin matchup could very well be #1 vs. #2. Michigan State continues it's climb back into NCAA Tournament talk with a very impressive 81-49 slaughter of Iowa. MSU shot 65.4% from the field and 53.8% (7-13) from the 3-point line in the 1st half on way to a 44-17 halftime lead. Spartan's Drew Neitzel scored 17 points on 11 shots in only 24 minutes. Iowa's only player in double figures was Adam Haluska with 11 points. Purdue's David Teague was named the Big Ten's Player of the Week. Teague scored a career high 32 points in Thursday's win over Indiana. Chief Illiniwek....HE GONE!! Illinois' controversial mascot will no longer perform at home events and the NCAA ban on Illinois hosting postseason events has been lifted. Just in time for the Illini to host an NIT game perhaps?

2/16/07 - Weekend Preview

Penn State at Wisconsin Still stinging from their near victory at home against Ohio State on Wednesday night, the Nittany Lions travel to the Kohl Center, where nobody not named Wisconsin has won all year. This matchup puts one of the Big 10's most efficient offenses up against the worst defense in the league. I'll let you figure out which is which. The Badgers should score early and often, and unlike OSU, keep Penn State from getting back into this game. Wisconsin 75 Penn State 58 Iowa at Michigan State The Hawkeyes needed every one of Adam Haluska's 16 of 18 free throws to defeat Northwestern last night 66-58 in Iowa City. Haluska ended with 29 points on 19 shots. Iowa now travels to East Lansing for a quick turnaround game vs Michigan State. Last season the Hawkeyes had a similar turnaround after winning a 3 OT game at home against Minnesota on Thursday night, Iowa went to the Breslin Center and were blown out by 30. This is a much different MSU however, and I expect this game to be much closer. But in the end, I think the Spartan defense will be too much as State continues to look solid on the homecourt. Michigan State 65 Iowa 59 Indiana at Michigan An undermanned Indiana team continues their road trip on Saturday at Michigan. Hoosier coach Kelvin Sampson says it is "highly doubtful" that Indiana guard Earl Calloway will play after leaving their game with Purdue last night due to a shoulder injury. That should be good news for the Wolverines. If Tuesday's game against MSU wasn't a must win, this game certainly is. A win on Saturday would keep Michigan's faint NCAA hopes alive for at least a few more days. It will be interesting to see how Indiana will respond to their injury problems with only one full day to prepare for this one. Michigan 66 Indiana 62 Ohio State at Minnesota Minnesota's offense has been considerably better the last 3 games since the return of center Spencer Tollackson, but the Gopher defense continues to struggle. Tollackson got himself into foul trouble against Wisconsin on Wednesday, and he should have his hands full again guarding OSU's Greg Oden inside. Let's hope Ohio State has finally learned their lesson on Wednesday night and puts an inferior team away for once. Ohio State 74 Minnesota 60 Northwestern at Illinois This is the Illini's first game since Jamar Smith crashed his car into a tree on Monday night, leaving teammate Brian Carlwell in critical condition with a severe concussion. Carlwell's condition is improving and he may be released from the hospital today or tomorrow. It will definitely be interesting to see how this incident all plays out and how it, if at all, affects the Illini on the court down the stretch. Illinois 58 Northwestern 51

2/15/07 - Wednesday's Recaps

Ohio State barely held on to defeat Penn State 64-62 last night in State College. The game was still in doubt when Mike Walker's 3-pointer at the buzzer clanked off the rim ending an amazing comeback attempt by the Nittany Lions who were trailing 40-18 at halftime. The Buckeye's are becoming a little to familiar with these late game scares on the road. OSU coach Thad Matta is just looking for some consistency. Penn State continues their gauntlet of Big Ten leaders on Saturday at Wisconsin. The Buckeyes travel to Minnesota on Sunday. Wisconsin continued to impress on the road last night taking care of Minnesota 75-62. Alando Tucker led all scorers with 29 points and pulled down 9 rebounds. The Gophers were led off the bench by Lawrence McKenzie with 21 points on 6 of 12 shooting. Spencer Tollackson added 13 points in just 19 minutes before fouling out of the game. Badger's Jason Chappel was given most of the credit for slowing down Tollackson in the 2nd half. Wisconsin hosts Penn State on Saturday and the Gophers welcome Ohio State on Sunday.

2/14/07 - Tuesday Recap

Michigan State held Michigan to just 44 points on 35% shooting and finished the Wolverines off with a 21-8 run to end the game. But it was all about the Spartan defense last night. MSU forced 20 Michigan turnovers and really put the clamps down after half holding UM to just 31% shooting in the 2nd half. Drew Neitzel was the game's high scorer with 21 points on 15 shots. State coach Tom Izzo summed up the victory, "It's big because it was the Michigan game; it's big because it stopped a four-game streak, and it's big because it keeps us above water." The Spartans next game is Saturday at home against Iowa. Snowed out: The Indiana-Purdue game scheduled for tonight has been postponed to Thursday night at 7PM. Northwestern at Iowa has also been postponed to Thursday night. The men will now play at 6PM, and the Hawkeye women will play after the men's game. This marks the 1st time Big Ten games have been postponed since the 1998-99 season.

2/13/07 - News & Notes

The Michigan in-state rivalry should intensify when the two teams meet at Michigan State tonight with both teams desperately needing a win to boost their NCAA Tournament resumes. The Spartans have lost 4 straight Big Ten contests, but begin a long 4-game home stand tonight. Indiana and Purdue play the rematch in their rivalry tomorrow night. History shows that the Hoosiers can expect a much closer game this time around after they won the first meeting 85-58 in January. The team that has won their first game in the series by 10+ points is only 6-7 in the second meeting. Minnesota Center Spencer Tollackson broke two bones in his hand last time the Gopher's faced Wisconsin and missed the next seven games. Minnesota is a much different team with him back in the lineup and could cause some problems for the Badgers tomorrow night in the Barn. X-rays on Iowa's Tyler Smith's right pinky were negative and the Freshman is expected to play tomorrow night when the Hawkeyes host Northwestern. Penn State has lost 9 straight games and it is not going to get any easier in the near future. The Nittany Lions host Ohio State tomorrow night, travel to Wisconsin on Saturday, and then take a trip to Columbus to battle the Buckeyes again next week. OUCH!

2/11/07 - Big 10 Bubble Watch

We all know that Wisconsin, Ohio State and Indiana are "locks" for the NCAA Tournament. But after those three, things get a bit more interesting. I can't imagine the Big 10 not getting at least 4 bids into the Big Dance and depending on how teams play down the stretch probably 5. Here's the Chronicle's look at the teams who still need to impress the Committee. Illinois The Illini are sitting at .500 with 4 games left to play, all very winnable. Two home games against Northwestern and Michigan before hitting the road for their last 2 regular season games at Penn State and then at Iowa. 10-6 should be enough to get Illinois off the bubble and into the dance, but with one of the weakest conference schedules (only played OSU and Wisconsin each once) anything less than 10-6 and the Illini might have to play their way in at the Big 10 Tournament. Michigan Another team that is at .500 and sitting on the bubble. Michigan is looking at probably the toughest remaining schedule of the Big 10 bubbles. 6 games remain for the Wolverines (@ MSU, Indiana, @ Illinois, @ Minny, MSU, and Ohio St.) IF, and this is a BIG if, Michigan can go 4-2 in this stretch you would have to extend them an invite. Unfortunately for Big Blue fans, I think 2-4 is probably more likely and another trip to the NIT. Iowa The Hawkeyes are still sitting in 4th place in the conference after a tough loss at Wisconsin. 5 games remain for Iowa (N'western, @ MSU, Purdue, @ Penn St, Illinois) and if they continue to improve all look to be winnable. However, with horrendous non-conference losses (@ Arizona State, @ Drake, and Northern Iowa at home) the Hawkeyes are going to have to get to 10-6 in conference to even be considered. I think that is a possibility if they hold home court against Purdue and Illinois, and don't suffer a hiccup at Penn State. Of course a deep run in the Big 10 Tournament again wouldn't hurt, but in the end I think Iowa will too be heading to the NIT. Purdue Oh, what could of been. With 5 minutes to play at Ohio State on Saturday, Purdue's NCAA chances were looking better than ever. Then the Buckeyes turned it on and the Boiler's were left in the dust and back on the bubble. 5-6 in conference with 5 games remaining (Indiana, @ Iowa, N'western-twice, and Minnesota). Obviously Purdue needs to take both from Northwestern and beat Minnesota at home. And if they can find a way to knock off Indiana or get a win at Iowa I think 9-7 will be enough to get an invite to the Dance. Nobody would have thought it going into this season, but how big would the win over Butler in non-conference look now? Michigan State MSU's collapse has to be considered the biggest surprise of the Big 10 season so far. After dropping 4 straight contests, the Spartans now have 4 straight at home to try and turn it around (Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana). If Izzo can use the home magic and put an impressive number wins together, Michigan State could get back into the NCAA picture. But this is not your daddy's Michigan State, and the Spartans have yet to beat anybody in the top 25 of anybody's power rankings. If you would have told me in January that Michigan State would be playing in the NIT at year's end, I probably would have said you were crazy. Now, I'd tell you that you're right.

2/11/07 - News & Notes

Iowa's coach Steve Alford says his team is "banged up" after their loss to Wisconsin on Saturday. Purdue guard Chris Kramer thinks his Boilermakers would have been a lock for the NCAAs if they could have held on to beat Ohio State. Michigan shot 74% in the 2nd half, scoring 49 points after halftime to come from behind and knock of Minnesota at home. Bruce Weber thinks his Illini team has yet to play their best basketball, and he better be right if Illinois wants to get off the bubble. Just over 4,000 people were in attendance to see Northwestern play themselves out of the Big 10 cellar and defeat Penn State.

2/9/07 - Saturday's Slate

Purdue at Ohio State Last time these two squared off in West Lafayette Buckeye's super frosh Greg Oden has his way inside with Purdue's Carl Landry. The Boilers will need a monster game from Landry to pull off the upset, and it wouldn't hurt their cause to see Oden get into some early foul trouble. The likeliness of that happening however...not so great. OSU continues to roll on their way to what I believe will be a #1 seed in the Big Dance come March. Ohio State 75 Purdue 61 Illinois at Indiana Illinois offense has been more than ugly on the road this season in Big 10 play. Sure they got their Offensive Efficiency over 100 last time out, but games against Northwestern don't really count in my book. I expect the Hoosiers defense to put the clamps down after their week off and get a much needed home victory. Indiana 66 Illinois 57 Iowa at Wisconsin The Hawkeyes just might be the hottest team in the conference right now as they take their 3 game winning streak into the weekend. However, as many in the Big 10 know, nothing stops a winning streak faster than a trip to Madison. For Iowa to pull off a shocker, they are going to need better shooting than they got from their stars in the matchup in Iowa City. The Badgers held Adam Haluska to just 3 of 18 shooting and Freshman Tyler Smith shot just 3 for 17 last time out. Iowa will get better shooting tomorrow and keep it close, but it still won't be enough to give the Badger's their first home loss of the season. Wisconsin 70 Iowa 62 Penn State at Northwestern Outside of player's families will there really be anyone else watching this game? The winner gets themselves into sole possession of 10th place! In all seriousness though, this should be quite an intriguing matchup. Penn State and Northwestern are by far the worst 2 defenses in the conference. Rebounds will be hard to come by in this one! For the sole reason that this game is being played in Welsch-Ryan Arena, I will pick the Wildcats. Northwestern 60 Penn State 57 Minnesota at Michigan Minnesota is coming off their best offensive performance of the year at home against Iowa on Wednesday. And they still lost by double digits! Having Spencer Tollackson back is a positive addition, but this Gopher team is still very bad. Michigan has lost 4 straight games, and if they make it 5 straight, the Wolverines had better fire Tommy Amaker Sunday! Michigan 67 Minnesota 60

2/8/07 - News & Notes

Iowa's Adam Haluska torched Minnesota last night, scoring 34 points on 10 of 14 shooting. Haluska shot 6-10 from the 3-point arch and also handed out 8 assists in the Hawkeye victory. Michigan State managed just 12 points in the 2nd half at Purdue. State star Drew Neitzel scored a season low 5 points as the Spartans NCAA hopes are starting to disappear. MSU has now lost 4 straight Big 10 games. Purdue's Carl Landry and David Teague scored 20 points each in the win. Alando Tucker scored a game-high 24 points in Wisconsin's victory at Penn State. Tucker is now just 1 point away from 2,000 in his career. Tucker will surely surpass that mark on Saturday when the Badgers host Iowa.

2/6/07 - This Week's Upcoming Games

Tuesday Michigan at Ohio State 6:00PM The Buckeyes return home after two impressive road wins over Purdue and Michigan State. Don't expect a letdown tonight against a Michigan team which has struggled very much on the road this season. Ohio State should dominate throughout this game and their remaining schedule is set up very nicely for a strong run to end the season and a possible 1-seed in the Big Dance. Ohio State 71 Michigan 55 Wednesday Illinois at Northwestern 6:00PM If you like Offensive basketball, stay away from Evanston on Wednesday night. The first team to reach 50 could very well win this game. I look for Illinois defense to continue to look very strong. Northwestern will surely try to slow up the game. I think the Wildcats can hang around, Illinois is not going to run away from anybody this year, but in the end the Illini defense should win this one. Illinois 54 Northwestern 49 Michigan State at Purdue 6:00PM This is the most intriguing matchup of the midweek games. Michigan State has dropped three straight and playing at Purdue has not been easy this season. This is a must win for the Spartans if they want to get themselves off the bubble. MSU still has a home date with Indiana and two matchups versus Wisconsin left on their schedule. A very winnable game for the Boilers, but the Spartans sneak away with this one. Michigan State 60 Purdue 58 Iowa at Minnesota 7:00PM Has anyone in the Big 10 played better than the Hawkeyes in their last 3 halves of basketball? After a very impressive come from behind win at Michigan, Iowa handed Indiana a loss at home over the weekend. The offense is starting to click, but the key will be their improved interior defense. Tollackson returns for the Gophers, he didn't play in their early matchup in Iowa City. But the Hawkeye D that held D.J. White to single digits on Saturday should be up for this challenge. Iowa 68 Minnesota 60 Wisconsin at Penn State 7:00PM Penn State has dropped seven straight conference games after winning their opener versus Northwestern. The Badgers have looked vulnerable on the road this conference season, but Wisconsin should make this one look easy and remain atop the Big 10 standings going into the weekend. Wisconsin 70 Penn State 58

2/1/07 - Projected Final Standings

With the Big 10 season at the halfway point for most teams, let's take a look at how the standings could look at season's end. Here is what we project the Big 10 to look like after all the games have been played. We see 5 teams from the conference getting into the Big Dance. 1. Ohio State 14-2 2. Wisconsin 13-3 3. Indiana 12-4 4. Michigan State 10-6 5. Illinois 9-7 5. Purdue 9-7 7. Iowa 8-8 8. Michigan 6-10 9. Minnesota 3-13 10. Northwestern 2-14 10. Penn State 2-14 NCAA (5) - Ohio State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, Illinois NIT (3) - Purdue, Iowa, Michigan Couch (3) - Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State