March Madness has finally returned.
The 64th annual NCAA men's basketball tournament officially gets under way today on its journey to the Final Four.
After a tumultuous conference season, the Big Ten is sending five teams to this year's Dance.
Along with Wisconsin, conference co-champions Illinois, Indiana and Ohio State will join the bubble-busters Michigan State to represent the black and blue Big Ten.
The conference has been well represented the past few years with the strong play of Michigan State and Illinois. In addition to the surprise play of Ohio State, Indiana and Wisconsin, the conference is hoping to see some representation on April 1 in the Final Four.
The Fighting Illini finished off the regular season with a stellar eight game winning streak to give them a share of the Big Ten Title. Led by junior Frank Williams, Illinois has entered the tourney on a roll on the strength of their defense. Allowing their opponents to shoot only 38 percent, the co-Big Ten Champs have overcome their bumpy beginning in conference play to receive a fourth seed in this year's Big Dance.
With the emergence of Brian Cook, the Illini now have four players scoring in double digits that their first-round opponents, San Diego State Aztecs must tend with. San Diego State has an older, very athletic group of players. Led by point guard Tony Bland, the Aztecs are a set of underachievers looking to pull off a miracle upset in Illinois country.
However, the fate of the heavily favored Illinois squad will be in the hands of Williams. Illinois' progress in the tourney will go as Williams goes.
The Buckeyes of Ohio State clearly have the top resume of the Big Ten by being co-Big Ten Champions, the Big Ten Tournament winners and the No. 4 seed in the West region of the national tourney. Unlike their recent Final Four appearance, this year's Ohio State team does not have one outstanding player. They epitomize the meaning of team by their trapping defense and pesky, streaky offense. Led by Brian Brown, Brent Darby and Boban Savovic, Jim O'Brien's mixing defense and unselfish offense has allowed the players to blossom as a team.
The No. 1 shooting team in the Big Ten this past year will face a fearless Davidson team. The Wildcats shared the Southern Conference crown and also received an automatic bid with their victory in their conference tourney. Most noted this year for their victory at North Carolina, Davidson should be a tough win for the Buckeyes who look forward to a Sweet Sixteen match up with number one seed Cincinnati. The Buckeyes have surprised a lot of people this year, but with their senior leadership and disciplined style they should have success.
The Hoosiers are also co-Champs of the Big Ten and looking to take revenge after their sour loss to Iowa in the Big Ten tournament. Indiana is led by their third team all-American forward and Big Ten player of the year, Jared Jeffries. Jeffries is noted as possibly one of the most versatile players in the nation, and wreaks havoc on opponents with his inside and outside game.
The most impressive part of his game might be how good he makes others on his team. He has allowed for the emergence of Tom Coverdale and Dane Fife and their three-point shooting. The team finished with a conference best 40 percent from behind the arc.
But more importantly, it is their defense that is their trademark. Head Coach Mike Davis' team is the Big Ten leader in blocks and hopes to reject quite a few of Utah's shots in their first round match. The Utes balanced well on the bubble this year and managed an invite into the South bracket. Rick Majerus is 8-0 in first round games at Utah but with a weak inside presence, Jeffries should eat up the Utah team. The in and out game is what is going to have to win it for the Hoosiers.
Possibly the most dangerous team in the tournament to shake up the brackets, the Spartans are thankfully accepting an at-large bid to the Dance. Michigan State is well aware of the proper dancing attire and knows all the right moves to take a run at the title, but talent might be what is lacking this year. However, what is not lacking is Head Coach Tom Izzo's style of basketball. With Izzo at the helm, you can always count on defense and rebounding, which are necessities to tournament victories.
Another key to the Spartans is the potential of sophomore guard Marcus Taylor. Just the second player in Big Ten history to lead the league in both scoring and assists, Taylor is capable of taking over any game, as he showed by leading the Michigan State to 10 victories in their last 13 conference games. The Spartans will look to use this momentum in taking out No. 7 North Carolina State, the team that eliminated Maryland in the ACC tournament. Their first round showdown will be just the first of many uphill battles for the Spartans if they look to continue in the tourney. The guidance of Tom Izzo will be huge.
