Big Ten Basketball Tournament: Michigan, Purdue and Michigan State fight for the crown
By Eddie Herz
Key Teams in the Big Ten Tournament
Favorite to Take Home the Crown – Michigan State
With Nick Ward set to return to Michigan State’s lineup, nothing stands in the Spartans’ way right now. MSU won four out of five games without their star forward, including two victories over Michigan. The Spartans are battle-tested and demonstrate the ability to overcome when facing adversity. No team in the conference holds more momentum than MSU right now, and with the opportunity to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Izzo’s group won’t let the opportunity slip.
Though nothing comes easy in the Big Ten this season, it’s worth noting the Spartans have an easier road to the Big Ten championship than most. Wisconsin or Maryland will stand in Sparty’s way of reaching the championship. The Spartans defeated Maryland with ease during the regular season while they also managed to dictate the pace at the Kohl Center before pulling away late and beating the Badgers. Doing so at one of the harshest environments in the country is no simple task. Defeating either at a neutral site is more likely than not.
Biggest Threat to the Favorite – Michigan
Michigan appeared to be the best team in the conference until the last few weeks of the regular season. Despite suffering a sweep to their rivals, the Wolverines have to like their odds of winning the Big Ten Tournament for the third consecutive season. As previously mentioned, John Beilein’s group is balanced and has the luxury of not needing to rely on the contributions from any individuals alone. If it comes down to another in-state, any Michigan fan with a positive outlook would tell you there is no way Sparty is defeating the Wolverines three times this season. Given how evenly matched the two powerhouses are, this is a fair point. The Wolverines will be hungry.
Dark Horse – Purdue
Tagging the Boilermakers as a dark horse may seem a little inappropriate considering Purdue is ranked No. 13 and earned the second overall seed in the BTT. But with the two Michigan programs stealing the national spotlight all season, the Boilermakers continue to garner an unsatisfactory amount of recognition. The Minnesota loss was a blip and didn’t take away from Purdue’s consistency. The Boilermakers play at a high level and can beat anyone when the stars align, which often do for Matt Painter’s team.
Most Likely to Disappoint – Wisconsin
Don’t get me wrong, Wisconsin is a good team, but not a great one. There are too many teams capable of playing better than the Badgers on any given day to expect Greg Gard’s group to succeed in the Big Ten Tournament. Whoever ends up winning the BTT has to do everything right. One of the critical areas Wisconsin hasn’t figured out is finding the bottom of the net from the free throw line.
It isn’t just Ethan Happ, everyone on the roster excluding Brad Davison and D’Mitrik Trice can’t be trusted from the stripe. The Badgers are shooting 64.4 percent as a team from the line, which ranks 334 amongst 353 D1 programs. Inability to cash in from the free throw line, as well as alarming susceptibility to scoring droughts, could plague Wisconsin this week. The Badgers average slightly less than 70 points per game and may struggle to keep up offensively with their side of the bracket.