For some teams, it’s a final opportunity to make a push for a Big Dance berth. For others, it’s a tune-up before their first-round NCAA tournament game. For all teams in the conference, though, the Big Ten tournament is a time to measure themselves against their conference foes. It is a time when pride and seedings are on the line. A time when teams must put it all together for a four-day hoops melee that will determine — if not the best team in the league — which squad is the most resilient and inspired.
This year’s Big Ten tournament, which will begin Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, should feature intense competition from a league immersed in parity.
The logjam atop the conference will be forgotten as bubble teams like Minnesota and Northwestern attempt to knock off the league’s top squads to garner another look from the selection committee. For teams like Michigan, Purdue and Penn State, it’s time forget their non-tournament-worthy seasons and just plain win. Four victories in four days will get them into the tournament. Drop one game along the way and it’s the NIT — or worse — the living-room couch with a remote in hand.
The first-round games: Thursday, March 7
No. 7 Northwestern vs. No. 10 Michigan: 3:30 p.m. ESPN
Northwestern, led by former Princeton coach Bill Carmody, has been one of the Big Ten’s surprises this season. The Wildcats (16-12, 7-9 Big Ten), along with the rest of the league, have found it tough to win on the road in the Big Ten but have gone 5-3 at home in conference, only losing to league co-champs Illinois, Ohio State and Indiana on their home floor.
Tommy Amaker’s Michigan squad has looked solid at times throughout the season, but the Wolverines (10-17, 5-11) struggled down the stretch, losing their final six games. To the Wolverines’ credit, four of those six losses were on the road, and their home contests were against Indiana and Ohio State. Northwestern won’t pity the underachieving Michigan squad though, as a couple wins might be enough the get the Wildcats a tournament berth.
LaVell Blanchard and Bernard Robinson, Jr. lead a Wolverine squad that is short on talent. Blanchard, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, will need some help from big man Chris Young (5.6 rpg) and freshman guard Dommanic Ingerson, who is averaging eight points a game in only 15 minutes.
Michigan may find lanky forward Tavaras Hardy to be a problem inside. Hardy, who scored 24 points and grabbed nine board in the Wildcats’ final-game loss to Indiana, is a force on the offensive boards and is averaging 12.2 points per game. Junior guard Winston Blake, the team’s leading scorer, may run into problems if he is defended by the extremely athletic Robinson, who has held his own against some of the league’s top players this season.
To win, Michigan will have to discover the defensive intensity that has been lacking all season, while Northwestern will try to control the paint and keep the sweet-shooting Blanchard from heating up early. The winner plays No. 2 Ohio State Friday.
No. 6 Minnesota vs. No. 11 Penn State: 6:10 p.m. ESPN Regional
Minnesota, who was looking like a tournament team after winning four straight in the middle of the Big Ten season, saw their at-large hopes nearly evaporate when Illinois’ Frank Williams capped a 10-0 run with a last-second runner to beat the Gophers 67-66 last Sunday. Minnesota (16-11, 9-7) feels they should be in the tournament, but they will need at least one win in the Big Ten tourney to make the dance. Luckily, they play Penn State.
Finishing eleventh in a conference named the Big Ten can’t be that good for a team’s confidence. This has been a disappointing campaign for the Nittany Lions (7-20, 3-13), whose only impressive win of the season was a last-second victory over Wisconsin Jan. 1.
Racine native Sharif Chambliss will need to step it up if the Lions have any hopes of beating the Gophers. Chambliss, who shot nearly 43 percent from long range and 89 percent from the free-throw line this season, will need his backcourt mate Watkins to be in top form as well. The two combined for nearly 29 points per game, and guard play may be the only advantage the Lions have over Minnesota.
The Gophers will attempt to beat the Lions inside, with Big Ten freshman of the year Rick Rickert and senior captain Dusty Rychart taking most of the shots. The 6-foot-10 Rickert is as much of a threat to hit from beyond the arc as he is to use his array of post moves down low. Rychart is averaging 6.8 boards per game, while point guard Kevin Burleson finished second in the Big Ten in assists, with 4.8 per game.
Minnesota’s size and skill will likely be too much for the Lions, who have lost 14 of their last 17 games. Barring another last-second meltdown, the Gophers will probably get a chance to avenge their loss to Illinois, as the winner of this game draws the No. 3 Illini Friday.
No. 8 Purdue v. No. 9 Iowa: 1 p.m. ESPN 2
This is the premier matchup of the first round, as it pits two disappointing but explosive teams, both of which need to win the Big Ten tournament for a big-dance berth.
Purdue’s Gene Keady equaled his worst Big Ten finish in his 22 years at West Lafayette, as he saw his team stumble to a 5-11 conference record and end up in eighth place. Keady’s squad is led by point guard Willie Deane, the Big Ten’s leading scorer with 17.3 points per game. Deane and junior-college transfer Darmetreis Kilgore (10.2 ppg) head up the Boilers’ attack, which exploded for 92 points in their regular-season finale against Penn State.
The Hawkeyes (16-14, 5-11), who won last year’s Big Ten tournament, were picked by many to win the league this year, but their core of ultra-talented players has found it difficult to play together at times.
If the Hawkeyes hope to repeat, coach Steve Alford will need to convince rebound maniac Reggie Evans and seemingly 42-year-old guard Luke Recker to share the ball and get promising freshman point guard Pierre Pierce involved offensively. Both Recker (16.6 ppg) and Evans (16.1 ppg, 11.2 rpg) have put up big numbers this season, but their production has not translated into wins for Iowa.
Purdue will look for senior forward Rodney Smith to live up to his potential in his final games at Purdue. The 6-foot-6 Smith, who averaged 13.9 points per game last year and was expected to be the Boilers’ primary offensive option this season, has not been as assertive as Keady would like, scoring only 9.6 points per game. Smith may have to guard Evans down low, a matchup that favors the beefier and taller Evans. The slow-footed Recker may have difficulties keeping up with Kilgore, who will be his primary assignment, and the Pierce/Deane matchup will not disappoint, as both can get to the hole and shoot from distance.
The battle between these two evenly matched and desperate squads should be the game of the day. The outcome will depend on which team plays a disciplined, team-oriented game and gets production from its top players. The winner faces Wisconsin, the top seed in the tournament, Friday.
