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Update 3/13/10: This post was originally published on February 28th, 2010. The table below has been updated with all results leading up to Sunday’s title game between #1 Ohio State and #6 Minnesota.

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Prior to the season, the Big Ten was expected to be a Michigan State-Purdue battle for the top, and aside from Ohio State’s stellar play, it has been.

On Feb. 9, the Boilers demolished the Spartans in East Lansing, making the top of the conference a veritable log jam (pardon the cliché). But Feb. 28, while most of the naton focused on a classic gold medal hockey game, Purdue laid (perhaps an expected) egg in a disheartening, sloppy payback loss to “Sparty.”

Earlier in 2010, the Spartans were rolling along undefeated, with a huge conference lead through January, but an injury to a star player (Kalin Lucas) and three early February losses in a row opened the door for defending tourney champ Purdue, as well as the red-hot Buckeyes, Wisconsin, and the erstwhile surprising Illini of Illinois — to join them among the conference’s upper echelon.

Update: Now the question is how will the injury to Robbie Hummel affect the end of the regular season and the Big Ten Tournament?

The Big Ten’s top five teams may be good as any group in the nation, setting up what should be a thrilling 2010 Big Ten Tournament.

Here is the TV schedule and matchups for this year’s Big Ten Tournament, along with links for great deals on Big Ten Tournament tickets.

Big Ten Tournament Tickets and TV Schedule

• StubHub: Big Ten Tournament Tickets – All Session Pass
• StubHub: Individual Big Ten Tournament Tickets
• TicketMaster: Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Tickets – All Session Pass
• TicketMaster: Individual Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Tickets

2010 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Bracket and TV Schedule

Of course Purdue, the defending Big Ten Tournament champion, is now without star forward Robbie Hummel. But don’t forget, the Boilers can still play with anyone. They were undefeated and impressive non-conference, ranked as highly as fourth nationally then, before losing three of their first five Big Ten games.

Prior to Sunday’s setback inside Mackey Arena, the Boilers had rebounded quite nicely over six weeks, winning at Champaign, Bloomington, Columbus, and beating the Badgers in West Lafayette. They capped their run off with the aforementioned win at East Lansing. After beating Penn State Saturday afternoon in State College, Purdue finished tied with MSU and OSU for a share of the regular season conference crown.

The Boilermakers, winners of 10 straight between mid-January and February’s final evening, will happily play in front of partisan crowds with the conference tourney at Conseco Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, 65 miles from their campus. They would love to return a few weeks later for the Final Four across town at Lucas Oil Stadium.

We’ll find out next month whether or not Purdue can overcome adversity and add their name to the following table one more time. Here is the complete (though brief) history of the Big Ten Tournament: champions, runners-up, and Most Outstanding Players.

Big Ten Tournament History: Past Champions, Runners-Up, MOPs, and Sites

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* – Matt Painter photo credit: Darron Cummings / Associated Press via CourierPress.com

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You have surely seen it by now.

The shot heard ’round the Midwest.

The shot that proved, once more, why Evan Turner is best player in America.

But what exactly was going on right after the shot? Thad Matta clearly goes insane and is yelling at someone, ultimately having to be restrained. Watch it again, and we’ll quickly discuss the two hypotheses being bandied about for Matta’s explosion.

Video: Evan Turner Beats Michigan on Last Second 3

[Video h/t: TBL via Levy at TSB]

First, and the one that I thought initially, was that Matta must have been yelling at an official or at the score/timekeeper to count the shot. Here is a message board post that posits the same thought and says that official Ed Hightower initially waved off the shot.

The other hypothesis, as explained by our good friends @ThunderTreats, is that Matta was yelling at Michigan coach John Beilein. Apparently Beilein was the only Big Ten coach not to vote for Evan Turner for Big Ten Player of the Year.

I have to admit that upon multiple viewings, Matta certainly seems to be a little bit more emphatic and bombastic than if he we were arguing for the shot to count. He certainly looks like he could be talking some serious trash. And considering that it looks like it is Hightower who walks over to restrain him, it is doubtful Ed is the one Matta was yelling at.

Who knows, by the time this gets posted, we may know exactly what Matta was doing. But until then, it’s fun to discuss.

What do you think?

One this is for sure: if it comes out that Matta was talking smack to the Michigan bench, his cache in the state of Ohio is going to skyrocket. I’m not even sure winning a national title could bring him as much Columbus street cred as beating Michigan and then talking trash to them about it afterwards.

If that was the case, well played Matta. You certainly know your base.

Championship Week is underway and there is no bigger conference to watch then the Big Ten. With the NCAA tournament only days away, several teams including the Illinois Fighting Illini need strong performances.

For most sporting fans NCAA Basketball Betting is at the forefront of every discussion. Here is a preview of Friday’s matchup between the Wisconsin Badgers and Illinois Fighting Illini.

Wisconsin Badgers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini

Friday March 12, 2:25PM (ET)

Every time the Wisconsin Badgers and Illinois Fighting Illini tip off against each other, you are guaranteed to see an outstanding game. Big Ten rivals, the Badgers finished the season one place ahead of Illinois in conference standings. At the conclusion of the season, the Wisconsin Badgers held a 13-5 conference record and a 23-7 overall record.

The Illinois Fighting Illini finished 12-8 in the Big Ten and 18-13 nationally. Although Wisconsin is ranked 13^th in the AP and 18^th by ESPN/USA Today, the Illinois Fighting Illini managed to split the season series with the Badgers. In their first meeting, the Illini took the game 63-56, while in round two, which was only last week, the Badgers won convincingly 72-57.

What the Wisconsin Badgers need to do to win

Betting Services Odds: NO LINE YET

Focus on a balanced attack: The nights this season that the Wisconsin Badgers found themselves in trouble, often coincided with nights they relied on one or two player to do too much. With five players on their team averaging 9 points or more per game, the Wisconsin Badgers feature a deep offensive attack. Trevon Hughes, Jon Leuer, Jason Bohannon, and Jordan Taylor lead the Badgers scoring drive. If these four players each top 10 points, and Wisconsin receives solid support from the bench, they will be a very difficult team to beat.

What the Illinois Fighting Illini need to do to win

Odds on March Madness: NO LINE YET

Forget their last three games: There is no worse way to end your season then with a loss. Unfortunately for the Illinois Fighting Illini, they ended their season with three consecutive losses to Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana. Don’t count out the Illini just yet. Illinois’ NCAA tournament hopes likely are riding on this game and the team will come out with extreme motivation to win.

A leader must emerge: After losing veteran leader Chester Frazier to graduation this year, the Fighting Illini are in desperate need of a leader. To salvage their NCAA Tournament hopes, this young team will need leadership in this big game. Even if the leadership arrives from a young gun such as DJ Richardson or Brandon Paul, the team is in desperate need of someone to step up, put the rest of the team on his shoulders, and go. Without distinct leadership during this game, the Illinois Fighting Illini will struggle. With only two seniors on the roster, neither of whom play a prominent role in the success of the Fighting Illini, Illinois appears to be in deep against a more experience Wisconsin Badgers team.

The 2010 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament preview post is live.

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We are now firmly in the heart of the conference schedule as the 2008-2009 college basketball season sprints towards the glory of March Madness. Earlier today, we offered up a quick preview of the 2009 NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament, and now we will get a little more granular and preview the 2009 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament.

I have to admit that doing this preview is a little bittersweet for me as an IU fan. This season’s Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament will most likely mark the first (and hopefully only) time that Indiana comes in as the #11 seed. As IU fans, we all understand that It is the price we have to pay for the era of the lying-cheating-bastard-who-shall-not-be-named, but it does not make it any easier to handle.

Still, there will be a twinge of excitement come March 12th when the Hoosiers tip off against whoever the #5 seed winds up being in this topsy-turvy season of Big Ten basketball. Maybe Devan Dumes and Matt Roth can get hot from the outside and the Hoosiers can pull off an upset. Not likely, I know. Still, the Hoosiers will have a definite home-court advantage playing in front of their fans in Indianapolis, and after last season’s heartbreaking loss to Minnesota on a wild last-second shot, the Big Ten Tournament owes us one.

Anyway, enough pipe-dreaming from me. Onto the particulars of the 2009 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament:

• Dates: March 12-15
• Location: Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana
• TV: Big Ten Network, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS Sports (see below)
• StubHub Tickets: Buy Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Tickets
• StubHub Tickets:2009 NCAA Tournament Tickets

And let’s take a quick trip down memory lane and count down the past Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champions: 1998 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:

• #4 seed Michigan defeated #3 seed Purdue 76-67
• Chicago, IL

1999 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:

• #1 seed Michigan State defeated #11 seed Illinois 67-50
• Chicago, IL

2000 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:

• #2 seed Michigan State defeated #4 seed Illinois 76-61
• Chicago, IL

2001 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:

• #6 seed Iowa defeated #4 seed Indiana 63-61
• Chicago, IL

2002 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:

• #2 seed Ohio State defeated #9 seed Iowa 81-64
• Indianapolis, IN

2003 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:

• #2 seed Illinois defeated #8 seed Ohio State 72-59
• Chicago, IL

2004 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:

• #2 seed Wisconsin defeated #1 seed Illinois 70-53
• Indianapolis, IN

2005 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:

• #1 seed Illinois defeated #3 seed Wisconsin 54-43
• Chicago, IL

2006 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:

• #2 seed Iowa defeated #1 seed Ohio State 67-60
• Indianapolis, IN

2007 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:

• #1 seed Ohio State defeated #2 seed Wisconsin 66-49
• Chicago, IL

2008 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:

• #1 seed Wisconsin defeated #10 seed Illinois 61-48
• Indianapolis, IN

2009 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:

• #3 seed Purdue defeated #5 seed Ohio State 65-61
• Indianapolis, IN

Who will this year’s Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament? At this point, it looks like a major toss-up. Michigan State, Michigan, Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State, Minnesota, and Penn State have looked capable of winning it at different points this season. And if history is any indicator, a dark horse may emerge once the balls get rolled out on March 12. Four times in the brief ten-year history of the Big Ten Tournament, a team seeded #8 or lower has played in the championship game. The lowest seeded team to ever win the Big Ten tournament, however, is #6 seed Iowa in 2001. So the smart money would go on one of the teams listed above.

Either way, I’m sure it will be an exciting weekend — and the only chance for Indiana to crack this year’s field of 64. No, it isn’t likely. But you better believe Hoosier Nation will be out in droves on March 12th hoping their undermanned Hoosiers can pull off an unlikely first round upset.