By Zac Jackson
FOX Sports Ohio
March 9, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS -- Previewing the Big Ten Tournament, which begins here Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse...
THE BRACKET
The tournament opens with three games Thursday: (8) Northwestern vs. (9) Minnesota, (7) Michigan State vs. (10) Iowa, and (6) Penn State vs. (11) Indiana. The quarterfinals are set for Friday, with the NW-Minn winner taking on (1) Ohio State; (4) Illinois vs. (5) Michigan; the MSU-Iowa winner vs. (2) Purdue; and the PSU-Ind winner vs. (3) Wisconsin.
The survivor of the Ohio State bracket will play the Ill-Mich winner in Saturday's first semifinal; the bottom of the bracket survivors will play in Saturday's nightcap.
Ohio State, which enters as the outright league champion and the No. 1 team in both major national polls, has the potential rest advantage in a crammed and fast-paced weekend. The Buckeyes play at noon Friday, and if they win they play at 1:40 p.m. Saturday. The Buckeyes would be the only team to approach a 24-hour rest period all weekend. Wisconsin, for example, could play at 9 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and again at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
THE LEAD DOG
Ohio State went 16-2 in conference play, 29-2 overall, and only played a handful of close games all season. Freshman Jared Sullinger was the league's best player for much of the year, fellow freshman Aaron Craft was almost as valuable as Sullinger in stretches and the Buckeyes have a veteran core that includes Jon Diebler, who went 17-of-20 from behind the 3-point line in the last two regular season games.
Yes, OSU is going to be a handful. Sullinger's presence in the paint affects every aspect of the game at both ends of the floor, and Diebler's shooting streak led to OSU crushing both Penn State and Wisconsin last week. William Buford also has a hot shooting hand, and though the Buckeyes' lack of depth could hurt them by the end of the weekend (and in the NCAA Tournament), they're unquestionably the best team from top to bottom -- and when they defend the 3-point line, they're darn near unbeatable.
HE'S THE MAN
Purdue's JaJuan Johnson was named Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in scoring at 20.2 points per game and leading the league in blocked shots for the third-straight season. Johnson added shooting range to his game for his senior season and showed it off as Purdue rebounded from the early loss of Robbie Hummel to finish 24-6.
Was Johnson really the league's best player? The coaches and media with votes thought so, and Sullinger took to Twitter to say he agreed. Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor also had a case, and no one in the Ohio State camp thought any individual award was a big deal. Asked about Johnson winning the defensive award Thursday, Ohio State coach Thad Matta said "there's nobody in the world who could convince me that David Lighty isn't the best defender in college basketball."
Matt Painter of Purdue beat Matta in the Coach of the Year voting. Is Ohio State-Purdue, Round III, on tap for Sunday's tournament title game? Stay tuned.
INTERESTING GEOGRAPHY
The Big Ten Tournament is always played in either Chicago or Indianapolis. The league title, at least in recent years, usually goes through Columbus, East Lansing or Madison. So why is Dayton, Ohio being mentioned in many storylines heading into the tournament's first two rounds?
Dayton is the site of the first-ever First Four next week as the last four at-large teams in the NCAA Tournament will square off in a pair of games to advance to the traditional first weekend of the tournament. Michigan State was in the Final Four last year -- and six times in the last 12 years -- but might need to head to Dayton this year to begin its tournament campaign.
The Spartans limp in at 17-13 following a tumultuous regular season full of injuries, dismissals and tough losses to quality programs. If Michigan State can't beat Iowa Thursday -- the teams split during the year -- it could be in danger of either heading to Dayton or missing the tournament altogether. Though Tom Izzo's tournament track record is as good as anybody's, the committee isn't supposed to incorporate history into its thinking.
Michigan is probably an NCAA Tournament bubble team as well, but the Wolverines have won six of their last eight and beat Michigan State twice during the regular season. Penn State probably needs to advance to the championship game this weekend to
