One of the youngest and most popular postseason tournaments begins Thursday. The Big Ten hosts its fifth annual conference tournament. Unlike the previous four years, there are some significant changes.
For starters, there will be a new location for the Big Ten Tournament as Indianapolis will host the championship in the new Conseco Fieldhouse. Secondly, four teams shared the regular season title, so this year's tournament may be the most competitive yet.
To help analyze each team's chances, UW senior point guard Travon Davis offers his insight and expertise on the makeup of each Big Ten team.
Wisconsin proved to be the Cinderella story of the Big Ten this year. After losing four starters and its coach and suffering a number of different injuries in the preseason, Wisconsin was picked to finish last in the Big Ten.
But low expectations did not keep the Badgers down for long. After a mediocre start that left the team 7-7 overall and 0-1 in conference play, Wisconsin was able to make a complete turnaround, going 11-4 in its final 15 games.
Wisconsin went a startling 5-2 vs. ranked opponents, beating the likes of Indiana, Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan State and Marquette.
Since losing to Michigan Feb. 2, Wisconsin has gone 6-0 to close out the season on top of the Big Ten, claiming their first share of the Big Ten regular season title in 55 years behind the play of senior forward Charlie Wills and junior guard Kirk Penney.
Penney, who leads Wisconsin with 15 points per game, has posted eight games with 20 or more points and two games with 30 or more. Another key factor in Wisconsin's success is the play of freshman guard Devin Harris, who is second in scoring with 12.4 points a game.
\Dangerous, very dangerous,"" Davis said. ""If we come out and do the ordinary very well, we can accomplish something extraordinary.""
Not only did the Buckeyes get a share of the Big Ten regular season title, but they also recorded their fourth straight 20-win season.
During the middle of the season, Ohio State had a nine-game winning streak that ended with a loss to Minnesota, which gave them their first conference loss of the year. After starting the season 15-2, with their only losses coming early against Louisville and Pittsburgh, Ohio State then split its last 10, going 5-5.
Even with this slip-up, Ohio State is still one of the most dangerous and talented teams in the conference. Senior guard Brian Brown leads the team with 15.4 ppg, while junior guard Brent Darby, the second leading scorer is prone to explode, once rattling off three consecutive games with over 20 points. Brown also has had recent success, scoring 23, 18 and 24 points in games against Indiana, Purdue and Michigan respectively.
""They can be very potent on any given night,"" Davis said. ""They have a great backcourt, the guys down low work hard and they are just as capable of beating anyone as [Wisconsin is].""
Heading into the tournament, No. 3 seed Illinois has re-established some of its early season swagger with an eight-game winning streak, including a narrow escape against Minnesota 68-67 March 3, to finish out the regular season.
Led by junior guard Frank Williams, the Fighting Illini have a first-round bye after finishing tied for first in the Big Ten. They will face the winner of the Minnesota-Penn State game in the quarterfinals Friday.
Illinois stands as the only team to have made it to the semi-finals each year the Big Ten Tournament has been around. Illinois has won 20 games in a season for the 21st time in school history.
""They are coming on strong toward the end of the year and they have some real All-American-like players,"" Davis said. ""They are dangerous also.""
Indiana is coming off its first Big Ten regular season title since 1993.
Freshly anointed Big Ten Player of the Year sophomore Jared Jeffries will look to continue his solid all around play.
Jeffries heads into the tournament as the only Big Ten player ranked in the top 10 for rebounding, scoring, steals and blocked shots. The reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year will be helped out on defense by senior teammate Dane Fife, who was voted co-Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten.
The fourth-seeded Hoosiers will face off against fifth-seeded Michigan State Friday.
""[They have a] great coach [Mike Davis], I respect him to the utmost,"" Davis said ""[With] shooters outside and great inside play in Jeffries, they present a good challenge for whomever they go up against.""
Sophomore guard Marcus Taylor and the rest of the Spartans may be peaking at just the right time of year. Taylor poured in 66 points over the last two games of the regular season, vaulting over five other players to win the Big Ten scoring title.
Taylor became only the second player in Big Ten history to lead the conference in both scoring (17.7 ppg) and assists (5 assists per game).
The Spartans have struggled at times this year. However, Head Coach Tom Izzo has made it a habit of pulling the right strings at the right time. In the Big Ten Tournament's five years of existence, Michigan State has won it twice and compiled a 6-2 mark in tournament play.
For the month of March, Izzo-led squads are a staggering 31-10.
""A great point guard [Taylor], he's led them to where they are now, their role players play a good role, the big guy [Anagonye] down low works hard and they present a challenge to whomever they play,"" Davis said.
The young but talented Golden Gopher squad is led by Big Ten Freshman of the Year forward Rick Rickert and co-Defensive Player of the Year senior forward Travarus Bennett.
Rickert led all freshmen in points and blocked shots, averaging 14 ppg and 1.3 blocks per game. Bennett led the conference with 2.13 steals per game. Minnesota will face the Penn State Nittany Lions in the opening round Thursday.
If the Gophers advance, they will then face off against Illinois.
""[Minnesota's] energetic, [they] defend hard and play well in spurts,"" Davis said. ""Hopefully if we get over to them, they won't be playing on full cylinders.""
Despite losing their final three conference games, Northwestern finished the season with an overall winning record (16-12) and was only two wins away from being .500 in conference play.
During the regular season Northwestern posted three impressive wins in the Big Ten, one over then No. 15 in the country Iowa, one over Wisconsin and then a close two-point win over Minnesota.
One advantage for Northwestern is the consistency of its leading scorers.
Junior forward Winston Blake and sophomore forward Jitim Young have taken turns leading their team, each capable of putting up big numbers. Northwestern also has senior forward Tavaras Hardy.
This trio of talent has helped Northwestern tremendously and must continue to do so if it hopes to over come the teams struggling three-point shooting, which went a combined 4-42 against Minnesota and Illinois.
""Very dangerous, they have their offense to a T,"" Davis said. ""They've been together for a couple of years now, they have nothing to lose and I think they will come out playing hard.""
Purdue, which tied with Iowa and Michigan for eighth in the Big Ten, won the tiebreaker to get the No. 8 seed in this week's tournament.
Purdue had one of the toughest non-conference schedules out of every team in the Big Ten, with games against Cincinnati, Stanford, Butler and Arizona.
One problem that Purdue will have to overcome is its struggles on neutral courts. This year Purdue went 1-8 at away games as well as 1-5 on neutral courts, something that could come into play at Conseco.
However, Purdue has one of the Big Ten's leading scorer in junior guard Willie Deane, who averages 17.3 ppg and has had 10 20-plus point performances in the regular season.
Deane, along with junior guard Darmetreis Kilgore, the team's second leading scorer and senior center John Allison who ranks third in points, will all try to help Purdue overcome the problems they have faced on neutral courts and lead them to victory.
""[Purdue has] probably one of the best players in the league in Deane,"" Davis said. ""They've got a big fellow down low in Allison. I think they are capable of doing some damage in the tournament as well.""
The defending Big Ten Tournament champions come into this year's tournament as underdogs. Facing off against eighth-seeded Purdue, the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes will look to senior guard Luke Recker and senior forward Reggie Evans for leadership.
Evans and Recker will both have to play big if the Hawkeyes have any hope of a repeat.
[They have] a monster down low in Reggie [Evans],"" Davis said. ""Luke [Recker] can turn it on and be one of the most prolific scorers in the conference at times. They just haven't been clicking on all cylinders.""
The University of Michigan comes into the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 10 seeded team, they will face off against the Wildcats of Northwestern, which enter as the No. 7 seed.
In their only match up during the regular season Northwestern beat Michigan in Ann Arbor. Oft talked about junior forward LaVell Blanchard will have to live up to the hype if the Wolverines want to stand a chance.
Young and energetic, [they have] some weapons, when they get it clicking, they can do some damage,"" Davis said. ""They have nothing to lose, no pressure on them. All they have to do is play and that's when teams are most dangerous.""
Overall Penn State had a rough season, finishing last in the Big Ten with a record of 3-13 in conference, 7-20 overall.
To close out the season Penn State lost four straight games, including a four point loss to Minnesota, whom the Nittany Lions will have to face in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
The Lions have struggled all season, with their one bright spot coming Jan. 9 in a 51-49 win over Wisconsin.
Penn State has also been able to stay in games against Michigan State, Northwestern and Minnesota to the very end.
With three players averaging in double figures, including sophomore guard Sharif Chambliss leading the pack with 14.6 ppg, Penn State hopes to end scoring woes that have struck the team in recent losses.
If Penn State hopes to advance in the Big Ten Tournament, they will have to step up their shooting percentages and their performance to that which they showed in their three wins over Wisconsin, Purdue and Iowa.
""They beat us, so they have an edge in that column,"" Davis said. ""They have some good shooters in Chambliss. Anybody is capable of winning any game in the Big Ten, so watch out for them.\
