After an emotional win last Wednesday over Illinois gave them their first outright Big Ten regular season title since 1947, the UW men’s basketball team faces the daunting task of being the No. 1 seed in this weekend’s Big Ten tournament in Chicago.
Since the birth of the postseason tournament six years ago, only one No. 1 seed, Michigan State in 2000, has won the tournament. As a No. 1 seed last year, Iowa ousted the Badgers in the first game of the tournament. In a Big Ten season with so much parity, this year’s tournament promises to be even more confusing to predict.
1. Illinois: Even though they finished one game back of the Badgers at 11-5 in the final standings, Illinois is the best team in the conference. The reason is simple, 6-foot-10 senior forward Brian Cook, the Big Ten Player of the Year, wears an orange and blue uniform.
Cook leads the Big Ten with 20.1 points per game, and his 7.1 rebounds per game were the third best in the conference. He’s the toughest player in the Big Ten to guard, and he’s capable of carrying his team through the tournament.
But beyond Cook, the Illini also feature a big, deep team, and their backcourt of Luther Head and freshman sensation Dee Brown is as good as any in the conference.
2. Michigan State: The Spartans are a team on a tear. After a 2-4-conference start, Tom Izzo’s squad finished with a 10-6 conference record, all but assuring them a spot in the NCAA tournament.
A strong showing in the Big Ten tournament would improve the Spartans’ seeding. Despite having only one player, sophomore guard Chris Hill at 14.2 points per game, among the Big Ten’s top 30 in scoring, MSU is a big, balanced team.
And with an Alando Tucker alley-oop dunk dancing in their heads, the Spartans will have extra motivation for a possible semifinal match-up with Wisconsin. However, Spartan fans beware, a No. 5 seed has never won a Big Ten tournament game.
3. Wisconsin: All season long, UW head coach Bo Ryan has gotten the most out of a small, inexperienced team with a shallow bench, led by lone senior Kirk Penney’s 16.4 points and six rebounds per game.
UW knows they might be forced to go deeper into its bench if they have to play three games in three days, which would be the case if they were playing in the championship game Sunday afternoon. But the cool hands of point guards Devin Harris and Boo Wade, a sophomore and a freshman respectively, who play far beyond their years, will give Wisconsin as good a chance as anybody to win the tournament.
4. Indiana: After a 15-3 (4-1 Big Ten) start, the Hoosiers were talking about a repeat run to the Final Four. But they folded faster than a lawn chair, finishing 8-8 in the conference, and head coach Mike Davis’ incessant whining didn’t do his team any favors.
Nonetheless, Indiana still has talent, led by senior forward Jeff Newton, a First-Team All-Big Ten selection by the media. Newton led the Big Ten with 8.6 rebounds per game and finished 11th in scoring with 14.9 points per game.
Senior Tom Coverdale and freshman Bracey Wright lead a backcourt that was sometimes forgettable and sometimes spectacular, but it’s clear that Indiana is a drop-off from the top teams in the conference. They should be motivated for the tournament, however, with an NCAA bid on the line.
5. Michigan: The Wolverines are in this tournament simply for pride, as self-imposed sanctions will keep them out of the NCAAs. Yet with a black cloud obscuring the maize and blue, head coach Tommy Amaker has done a remarkable job with his team, leading them to a 10-6 conference finish, tied for third place with Michigan State and Purdue. After a 0-6 start to the non-conference season, Michigan won about 10 more Big Ten games than anyone expected.
They’re led by Freshman of the Year Daniel Horton, who finished eighth in the conference with 15.7 points and fourth with 4.8 assists per game. Senior forward LaVell Blanchard, a First-Team All-Big Ten selection, contributed 16 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
6. Purdue: After cracking the national rankings midseason, the Boilermakers have had an up-and-down second half in the Big Ten. Willie Deane is one of the finest scorers in the country, and backcourt mate Kenneth Lowe holds his end of the scoring load.
Purdue is a strict shooting team, and its success depends on ball protection along with a good field-goal percentage.
Facing red-hot Michigan State in the first round will prove a difficult task for Gene Keady, as the Spartans size and pressure could be too much for the Boilermakers, unless they can get to the free throw line on a consistent basis.
7. Minnesota: One of the most underachieving teams in the Big Ten, the Gophers look for redemption in the tournament as means to sneak into the NCAA brackets. Minnesota should move past Northwestern in the first round, but draws Illinois in the second. Minnesota is deep, and leads the Big Ten in both steals and blocks. If they can create the turnovers they need, they might just shock the field and defeat the Illini. The Gophers ended the regular season losing four straight and haven’t shown themselves hungry enough to make the tournament run they need.
8. Ohio State: The Buckeyes face Iowa in a rematch of last season’s tournament final in the first round of the 2003 tournament. Ohio State split its two regular season games against the Hawkeyes, but look for senior guard Brent Darby to lead his team past Iowa. Darby is the type of player who can take the whole game on his shoulders, and the success of the Buckeyes will echo his performances in Chicago.
Ohio State also has a knack for offensive rebounds and second chance points, and should out-execute the Hawkeyes who have been prone to turnovers.
9. Iowa: The Hawkeyes shocked the conference last season by climbing all the way to the championship game from the 9th seed. Behind the sharp shooting and aged experience of Luke Recker, Iowa almost got the NCAA bid it took for granted at the start of last season.
This year, the Hawkeyes have one of the tallest teams in the conference and have had the benefit of the second highest rebounding margin in the conference. However, Steve Alford hasn’t found a way to shutdown Brent Darby who has scored 49 points combined in his two games against the Hawkeyes.
10. Northwestern: The Wildcats have the honor of being the team having to travel the least distance to get to the tournament, but don’t bank on the United Center being packed full of purple and white. Northwestern was blown out by Minnesota both times they faced each other in 2003, as the small sized Wildcats had not answer for Rick Rickert and company.
Bill Carmody guides a solid backcourt combo of Jitim Young and T.J. Parker, with a solid senior Aaron Jennings holding down the middle. Northwestern just doesn’t have the depth to get passed the Gophers.
11. Penn State: Penn State looks to be the supreme underdog of the tournament. Deemed by many as the worst team in a major conference, the Nittany Lions were able to pull off wins against Wisconsin and Indiana. After that, however, the Lions did not find another conference victory. Brandon Watkins and Shariff Chambliss are a fine backcourt tandem, but this is a very inexperienced team.
Penn State was able to defeat first-round opponent Indiana on the last day of the season, but it was hard enough for this team to put together a single win this season, let alone string a couple together.