Journey to the pre-Tourney tourney

Big Ten tournament: First round is Thursday, second Friday, third Saturday, and championship Sunday.

Illinois will be strongly favored in their match-up vs. Michigan or Iowa, but facing (potentially) Purdue in the semifinals won't be an easy task. The tournament is in Indianapolis, just an hour from Purdue's campus, and it's always difficult to beat a team three times in one season.

ESPN's Joe Lunardi currently has Illinois as a 5 seed in the NCAA tournament. Dropping the game vs. Purdue could put the Illini closer to the middle of the tourney pack as a 6 or 7 seed, but going deep into the Big Ten tournament could reward them with a 4 or 5 seed, especially if they make a statement by beating Michigan State in the championship game.

Illinois has lost three of their last five games, and it would be nice to see them gain some momentum with a successful Big Ten tournament. It would also be nice to see someone step up as a "go-to" guy, as they've been faltering late in games recently. If they don't take a step forward this week, I'm not sure they'll be making a whole lot of Illi-noise in the big tournament. But it should be fun either way; the conference tourneys provide a nice little appetizer to the madness that will ensue.

A Look Back

The Illini had a good day on Tuesday without even taking the court. As some bloggers predicted, Purdue stepped it up with a big win over Michigan State, giving the Illini a realistic chance of catching the Spartans in the Big Ten. Here are the updated Big Ten standings:

TEAM	CONF. W-L	OVERALL W-L
Michigan State	10-3	20-5
Illinois	9-4	21-5
Purdue	9-4	20-6
Ohio State	7-5	17-6
Minnesota	7-6	19-6
Penn State	7-6	18-8
Wisconsin	7-6	16-9
Michigan	6-7	16-10
Northwestern	4-8	13-10
Iowa	3-10	13-13
Indiana	1-11	6-18

Michigan State lost for the first time on the road, as they were pasted 72-54. It was a three-point game at halftime, but Purdue dominated the second half. It looks like it will be an exciting final three weeks in the Big Ten! And I won my free sports bet at centsports.com!


My other prediction was in the NBA. The Bucks did indeed topple the Pistons, but it wasn't their offense that did the trick--it was their D. Milwaukee registered a 92-86 upset victory, and is now two games behind Detroit for the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls are just 2.5 games behind the Bucks, which is absurd, because that means they're 2.5 games out of a playoff spot, and the Bulls deserve a playoff spot about as much as Alfonso Soriano deserves a Career Postseason Achievement award. I'm selfishly glad the Bulls have a shot at the playoffs, but seriously: why does the NBA allow so many teams into the playoffs? It's Bulloney.

A Look Ahead

It's a Big Night in the Big Ten, as first place (5) Michigan State takes on third place (21) Purdue in West Lafayette. MSU fears not being on the road, as they are one of two teams (UConn) to be undefeated away from home this season.
Illinois is jammed between these two teams in the standings, so they'll keep a close eye on this one. It might be the last best hope the Illini have to pull within one game of first, as a Purdue victory could mean that an Illini win against MSU on March 1 would launch them into a tie with the Spartans.

This should be a great battle, and I think MSU's road magic has to end sometime. Why not against a strong team who knows it has to have this one? Purdue by 5.

Also, the NBA is back after it's All-Star hiatus, and I'll give you an upset special: Milwaukee has lost their first three games against the Pistons this season, but will turn up the offense tonight and get a win. There will be no bailout for Detroit this evening (ha!).