Big Ten Basketball Tournament: Michigan, Purdue and Michigan State fight for the crown

Second Round

8. Ohio State vs. 9. Indiana

There is nothing like an evenly matched game featuring two programs in desperation mode. Both Ohio State and Indiana will be fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives on Thursday before the winner takes on Michigan State. Though the Buckeyes are in the midst of a three-game slump, OSU has a 55-52 road victory over the Hoosiers in its back pocket for reassurance.

We’ve learned from Indiana this season that you know what you are getting from the Hoosiers for about five games at a time before they completely switch gears. The streaky-Hoosiers head into the BTT with momentum resulting from a four-game winning streak. The surge includes staple wins over MSU and Wisconsin. When the Hoosiers are out of sync, things get ugly, reflected in the stretch where they lost 12 of 13 games. Indiana is on right now though. Langford and Morgan are playing in tune with each other, and I see that continuing on Thursday. I’ll take Indiana.

5. Maryland vs. 12. Rutgers

While Rutgers boasts the strong suit of dominating its opposition on the glass, Maryland does an even better job at dictating the rebounding department. Since playing to their strengths are less likely against the Terps, and Maryland scores the ball exceptionally better than Rutgers, Maryland should win this without very much trouble.

7. Minnesota vs. 10. Penn State

UPSET ALERT. Well, most people wouldn’t be amazed if the Nittany Lions assemble a victory over Minnesota. If you are merely glancing at the seeds and overall records though, you may have forgotten to put this game on notice. Despite scuffling a bit down the stretch, by no means are the Golden Gophers an easy out. After all, they defeated Purdue in their second-to-last regular season game. I think this one will go down to the wire regardless of the outcome. Stevens and company have been playing inspired since the beginning of February. The Gophers defeated PSU by one at home before the Nittany Lions’ resurgence. The results will be different this time around.

6. Iowa vs. 11. Illinois

Iowa looked out of sorts while Fran McCaffery was out serving his two-game suspension. The head coach’s absence partially attributes to the Hawkeyes’ recent downfall. Although, this excuse only extends so far, as McCaffery was on the bench for Iowa’s loss against Nebraska. Still, I think the Hawkeyes will pull themselves together and respond with a second-round win. Iowa defeated Illinois by 24 points in January. The advantage might be slimmer this time, but Iowa will still prevail.