The Big Ten Tournament starts tomorrow, and that's right, I filled out a bracket. No better way to get ready for the big dance than to practice by filling out a conference bracket a week early. Please note that I filled it out in pen, so you know that I'm confident. So let's break down these picks.
Game 1 - #8 Northwestern over #9 Minnesota - The last game Northwestern played they beat Minnesota by 11. The smart kids at Northwestern have literally been watching Minnesota tape for a week. You can't give smart kids that much time to study and expect to win.
Game 2 - #7 Michigan State over #10 Iowa - Izzo is not gonna miss this the NCAA Tournament this year without a fight, and Iowa sucks.
Game 3 - #6 Penn State over #11 Indiana - Penn State sneaky doesn't suck and Indiana is really bad at basketball.
Game 4 - #1 Ohio State over #8 Northwestern - The Buckeyes barely got out of Evanston with a win the only time these two played this year. Sadly for Northwestern that means there is no way Ohio State is going to take this game lightly.
Game 5 - #5 Illinois over #4 Michigan - The Illini won a close game in Champaign the only time these two played this year. This is a hard pick and should be a really good game. Illinois usually plays well in the Big Tournament and historically has the best record in it at 23-11. I'm going with history here.
Game 6 - #2 Purdue over #7 Michigan State - Michigan State really needs this game and it is hard to pick against Izzo this time of year, but Purdue and JaJuan Johnson are going to beat Sparty for the 3rd time this year.
Game 7 - #6 Penn State over #3 Wisconsin - Talor Battle is an under appreciated player, who has been kind of lost in the shuffle while playing for Penn State for the last four years. The guy is good and he has never played in an NCAA Tournament. Penn State needs this game to have a chance at the dance. Wisconsin is only 7-7 when they don't play at the Kohl Center. The senior Talor Battle and Penn State pull off the upset.
Game 8 - #1 Ohio State over #5 Illinois - For the second consecutive year Ohio State will start my St. Patrick's Saturday off on the wrong foot by beating the Illini.
Game 9 - #2 Purdue over #6 Penn State - Talor Battle is a good senior but JaJuan Johnson is a great senior. Purdue wins this one pretty easily.
Game 10 - Championship Game - #1 Ohio State over #2 Purdue - The best two teams in the Big Ten all year face off in this game. This should be a really good game with NCAA Tournament seeding on the line. But when it comes down to it, Purdue is the second best team in the Big Ten and Ohio State is the best team in the country. To paraphrase Stacey King, Ohio State is Too Big, Too Strong, Too Fast, Too Good.
At least when Buckeye fans are gloating about this we can all remind them about how their football program is falling apart before our eyes.
