By Zac Jackson
FOX Sports Ohio
March 6, 2011
No. 1 Ohio State opens this week's Big Ten Tournament in a familiar spot -- as the top seed and getting set to play the first game on Friday, the first full day of the tournament.
The Big Ten released the bracket Sunday following Ohio State's blowout win over Wisconsin. The Buckeyes will begin their defense of their league tournament title Friday at noon against either Northwestern or Minnesota.
The tournament begins Thursday and continues through Sunday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Ohio State is the No. 1 seed for the fifth time in history after winning the outright conference title with a 16-2 Big Ten record. Purdue is the No. 2 seed with a 14-4 record, while Wisconsin is the No. 3 seed at 13-5. No. 4 Michigan (9-9) and No. 5 Illinois (9-9) also earned first-round byes.
