Big Ten Tournament Day Four: And Then There Were Two

Day four of the 2015 Big Ten Tournament went as expected with top seeded Wisconsin beating Purdue and Michigan State taking out Maryland for their second consecutive championship game appearance.

It was the day before Selection Sunday, and all through the United Center, many creatures were stirring, but the result was pretty much what it was always going to be: Wisconsin meeting Michigan State for the Big Ten Tournament Championship.

This Old Engine Didn’t Make It On Time: Wisconsin 71, Purdue 51

It was truly a tale of two halves as the Boilermakers came out strong and had the Badgers reeling in the first half of action, even finding a way to end the half up by five at the break. But the difference between good teams and great teams is how they finish the game, and at this point, Wisconsin has that down to a science.

For the 30-3 Badgers, this Big Ten tournament is little more than a tune-up for the real show to come next week, but even on days where their star player Frank Kaminsky (12 points) dogs it for most of the game, role players like Bronson Koenig (19 points) and Sam Dekker (15 points) will step right up and fill in the gap as needed.

Izzo You Is or Izzo You Ain’t My Champion: Michigan State 62, Maryland 58

Don’t let Maryland’s loss to the Spartans change your mind on how good this Terrapin team is. The fact of it is that the Big Ten tournament belongs to Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, as the Spartans head into Sunday for the second straight year and the third time in the last four.

This has been quite the turnaround for Michigan State; they previously lost both in-season games to Maryland, but today was not about revenge, it was about putting the rest of Division I on notice going into next week.

Maryland started out strong against the Spartans, leading by as many as 16 points in the first half behind the commanding presence of Melo Trimble (22 points). But for as forceful as the Terps were, Michigan State turns the engines on in March, and today was no exception as Travis Trice made a statement for the second day in a row, leading all Spartans with 20 points.

For all of Trice’s strengths, Michigan State will absolutely need Denzel Valentine to be just as effective, and on a consistent basis if they hope to go on one of Izzo’s magical, improbable runs to the Final Four. It’s hard to say how far they can go, but rest assured it will remain entertaining.

Maryland, despite the loss here, could be one of the big surprises of the NCAA Tournament, and if Trimble and Dez Wells are in sync with one another, it’ll be hard to tell where the ceiling is for the Terps.

Final Predictions From the Ledge

The first thought about Wisconsin vs. Michigan State in Sunday’s championship game might be to dismiss it. Other than bragging rights, this game ultimately means little in the face of the tasks to come later in the week.

It’s that reality that forces one to wonder just how fast and how hard these teams will come after one another, particularly because their dance tickets are already punched. That reality goes even further in making this final game a toss up, but what the hell? Let’s throw out an uneducated guess anyway.

Michigan State 66, Wisconsin 63.

Next: Pac-12 Tournament: 5 Things To Say To Sound Smart Talking About The Semi-finals

More from Busting Brackets

Home/Big Ten