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Not too bad on my predictions for Day 1!
Check out my Day 1 preview here: Big Ten Tourney Day 1
The second day of action starts off with the #8 Michigan vs. #1 Ohio State. The two teams split the season series, each winning on their home court. Should setup for a great “rubber” match. What? Yea, I know…I forgot to mention the game Michigan won, Buckeye Player of The Year candidate Evan Turner didn’t play due to injury. Turner leads the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding per game. He’s also second in assists per game. So you can basically throw out the meeting in Ann Arbor when the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes. But, I don’t care. I watched the focus Michigan played with today…Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims looked like they were on a mission. Call me a homer again….but I’m picking my Wolverines to upset the Buckeyes in the early tip (noon EST).
Looking at the second match-up of the day of #4 Wisconsin vs. #5 Illinois I see a battle. These two teams just played over the weekend and Wisconsin ruined Senior day for Illinois. Wisconsin now has Jon Leuer back and looks like the team that upset Duke early in the season in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. I think the Badgers are a legitimate threat to the 3 teams that tied for the regular season title (Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan State) to win this tournament. With that said, Bo Ryan has his guys ready to play and moves on the the semi-finals (hopefully against my Wolverines!)
The third game is a match-up of #2 Purdue and #7 Northwestern. The Wildcats at 20-12 still find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA tournament. I think a win over a Hummel-less Purdue gets them back into the discussion, but they probably need 2 more wins to get real consideration and even then it might not be enough. Regardless, Purdue is still a good team without Robbie Hummel. Should be a battle, but I like the Boilers to move on to the semi-finals.
The final game of the day is a match-up of #3 Michigan State and #6 Minnesota. The Spartans will be without starting guard Chris Allen due to suspension. I think this will effect the Spartans rotation more than people realize. Their is a reason Tom Izzo still brings Draymond Green off the bench even though he is clearly “starter” caliber. It’s about chemistry and getting the right players on the floor at the right time. Minnesota has the talent to beat the Spartans and nearly did that in the twin cities earlier this season. Luckily, the Spartan’s still have Kalin Lucus and he will find a way to will his team to victory.
That’s it for day 2…we’ll see if I do as well here. Tough games to pick! I’ll be back tomorrow with a preview of day 3.
4 Days until Selection Sunday!
