I’ll be releasing my own projections starting next week, but for now I thought it would be worthwhile to look at how Big Ten teams are shaping up with as many as nine of them in some of these mock brackets.

For the purposes of this exercise, I have narrowed down the projections to Andy Glockner of SI.com, Shawn Siegel of College Hoops Net, and Dave Ommen of Bracketville.  The latter two names both rank atop the bracket project matrix which has tracked success over the last few years, and Glockner is a great follow on Twitter and does a tremendous job of sharing his thought process as he brackets the teams each Sunday night.

One other thing to keep in mind is that while the committee uses RPI in the selection and seeding process, it can be a bit misleading at this point of the season.  You’ll currently find a number of teams from outside of the six major conferences with high RPI’s, fueled largely by their strength of schedule numbers.  Once they start playing teams in their own leagues, and once major conference teams start challenging themselves in conference play as well, things should start to shift.

In order of average seed, here are the nine Big Ten teams in the discussion:

Ohio State (Glockner/Ommen: 1, Siegel: 2)

Kentucky and Syracuse were unanimous top seeds, while Ohio State and North Carolina showed up on two of the three projections.

Siegel opted for Baylor over the Buckeyes, which is an argument you can certainly make.  The Bears have more wins against the RPI Top 100 and have a number of good wins against teams like Mississippi State, San Diego State, Saint Mary’s, and at BYU.  However, the Buckeyes have knocked off Duke and Florida, so their “best” wins are better.

Still, they have two losses, although neither can be considered “bad” since one game at Kansas without Jared Sullinger and the other came in a close game on the road against Indiana, who is 13th in the RPI.

Barring a collapse, it’s hard seeing the Buckeyes getting anything lower than a two seed come March.

Indiana (Glockner/Siegel/Ommen: 3)

With wins over Kentucky and Ohio State, you could argue that no team has two better wins than the Hoosiers.  If you want to nitpick though, seven of their 13 wins have come against teams outside of the RPI Top 200, so strength of schedule is one factor keeping them from getting a higher seed.

Their SoS should climb as they move through Big Ten play, and with UConn losing to Seton Hall, the opportunity to move up is certainly there.  Indiana’s lone loss came at Michigan State, so there’s no shame in that.

Michigan State (Glockner/Siegel/Ommen: 3)

These projections came out prior to Sparty’s road win over Wisconsin, so Tom Izzo’s squad has a good chance to improve their seed when the next set of projections come out.  Both of their losses came against teams in the RPI Top 15, one of which was on a aircraft carrier so who knows how much stock you can put in that.

MSU has now won 14 straight games and is playing as well as anyone in the nation’s top conference.  The only knock on them is that just two of their wins (Indiana, at Gonzaga) are against the RPI Top 50.  If they keep playing the way they are, a two-seed is definitely realistic.

Wisconsin (Glockner/Siegel: 5, Ommen: 6)

The Badgers are an interesting case.  They rank 60th in the RPI and are just 1-3 against the Top 50 and 5-4 against the Top 150.  Outside of an 11-point home win over UNLV, there really isn’t much else on their profile in terms of a marquee win.  Their next two games are on the road against Michigan and Purdue, so a split there would help stop their seeding freefall.

Michigan (Siegel: 4, Glockner/Ommen: 6)

The Wolverines are one of the teams I can’t quite figure out yet.  Their two best wins are against Memphis in Maui and at home against Minnesota, and at this point neither of those teams is safely in the field.  They currently sit at 31st in the RPI with seven of their 12 victories against teams outside of the Top 150.

Thursday’s game at Indiana is a chance to prove themselves, as is Sunday’s home date with Wisconsin.  At this point, I lean more toward Glockner and Ommen’s seed for Michigan.

Purdue (Siegel/Ommen: 7, Glockner: 10)

Purdue’s road win at Iowa looked better after the Hawkeyes knocked off Wisconsin, and I think their win over Miami (FL) will look better by the end of the year.  For now, the loss to Butler hurts, but that may change as well.

The Boilers also have wins over Iona, Temple, and Illinois, all of which are in the Top 32 of the RPI.  That said, they are 4-3 against the Top 100 with six of their 12 wins over sub-150 teams.  For seeding purposes, their losses to Alabama and Xavier may become important, because right now those teams are right around the same seed range.

Illinois (Siegel/Ommen: 8, Glockner: 9)

Since winning their first 10 games, the Illini have dropped three of five with their two wins over that span coming by four over Cornell and in double overtime against Minnesota.  A home win against Gonzaga is nice, but otherwise there isn’t much meat on their resume.  They are 3-3 against the RPI Top 100, but they also don’t really have a bad loss.  T

he schedule doesn’t do them any favors with just one game against Iowa and Penn State in Big Ten play.  A few more losses could send Illinois careening toward the bubble.

Minnesota (Glockner: 11, Siegel/Ommen: 12)

The Gophers have performed better than most people expected following the loss of Trevor Mbakwe, but they are off to a 0-2 start in Big Ten play.  They are just 1-3 against the RPI Top 50, but they are 5-0 against teams ranked 51-100 (Bucknell, Fairfield, Indiana State, North Dakota State, and South Dakota State).

I’m not sure how realistic it is for many of those teams to remain in that range, which means the Gophers need to start picking up some quality wins to remain in the field.

Northwestern (Siegel/Ommen: 13, Glockner: First Four Out)

The good news is that the wins against LSU and Seton Hall look better now than they did earlier this year.  The bad news is they have been crushed by a combined 61 points in games against Baylor and Ohio State.  Eight of their 11 wins have come against teams outside of the RPI Top 150, which leaves them just 3-3 against everybody else.

Their next six games are critical with home games against Illinois, Michigan State, and Purdue and road trips to Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

 **********

Follow me on Twitter (@andybottoms) for more thoughts on college hoops, and check out the latest edition of the Bottoms Line podcast.

Anyway, here are some things we learned this week:

1. Minneapolis is the Mecca of bad football.

Major football teams that make their home in Minneapolis are a combined 1-8, and things were especially bad this weekend. The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, who already have home losses to New Mexico State and North Dakota State on their resume, lost 58-0 in Ann Arbor on Saturday. Sunday, the Vikings dropped to 0-4 after losing to the similarly hapless Chiefs.

Wisconsin is lovely in the autumn.

2. States that have shores on Lakes Michigan and Superior are having a great fall.

Maybe Minnesota’s problem is that it borders only Lake Superior and not Lake Michigan. Things are much better in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Michigan is home to the Lions, who made yet another second-half comeback Sunday to remain undefeated; the Wolverines, who shut out the aforementioned Gophers 58-0 and have risen to #12 in the AP poll and #11 in the USA Today poll; and the Tigers, who are headed back to Detroit tied 1-1 with the Yankees in the American League Division Series.

Meanwhile in America’s Dairy, the Packers are a perfect 4-0, the Brewers are one game away from advancing to the National League Championship Series, and . . .

3. Wisconsin is a national championship contender

The Badgers, after a 48-17 creaming of Nebraska, are #4 according to the AP and #5 according to the coaches. Wisconsin’s toughest remaining game is either October 22 at Michigan State or November 19 at Illinois. Wisconsin should be favored in both. The Badgers have a clearer path to an undefeated season than any team other than Boise State. Don’t be surprised to see Wisconsin in New Orleans on January 9.

4. So is Clemson.

Yes, really. Clemson, currently #8 in both polls, may have a better trio of quality wins than anyone in the country. The Tigers are coming off of consecutive victories over defending national champion Auburn, preseason top-5 Florida State (albeit without starting QB EJ Manuel), and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg (by a score of 23-3). Clemson still has Georgia Tech in Atlanta, South Carolina in Columbia, and (possibly but probably) the ACC Championship Game, but the Tigers are more than capable of winning all three.

5. Brady Hoke made all my football dreams come true.

I’ve long been an advocate of 2-quarterback formations. Having 2 good quarterbacks should never be reason for controversy. Just play them both at the same time. (I’m not really an Xs-and-Os guy.)

Saturday, on the second play of Michigan’s public shaming of Minnesota, coach Brady Hoke put back-up QB Devin Gardner under center and lined up Denard Robinson as a third halfback. The Wolverines used the 2-QB set 4 times against the Gophers. I can only hope that they’ll return to this formation next week at Northwestern.

6. Alex Smith might be an NFL quarterback after all.

Smith went for a respectable 21-for-33 for 291 yards, 2 touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the 49ers’ road win over the Eagles on Sunday. I was going to make an “Alex Smith has gotten more chances than anyone not named ________” joke, but I couldn’t think of anyone in sports, entertainment, or any other walk of life who has gotten more chances, without doing anything to earn them, than Alex Smith.

At any rate, Smith is the starting quarterback on a team that is 3-1 (and was very nearly 4-0) and already has a 2-game lead in its division. He’s also 8th in the NFL in quarterback passer rating. (I know it’s a flawed stat, but still.)

7. Chris Johnson might still be an NFL running back.

In his first 3 games this season, Johnson rushed for a total of 98 yards on 48 carries. That’s barely 2 yards per attempt. Sunday against the Browns, he ran for 101 yards on 23 carries. Granted, it was one game, against the Browns. But for Titans fans and fantasy owners who had been waiting for C.J. To have a breakout game, “Johnson (101)” was a welcome sight.

8. Devin Hester is the most accomplished punt returner in NFL history.

Hester took a punt 69 yards into the end zone during the Bears’ victory Sunday over the Panthers, setting an NFL record with 11 career punt returns for touchdowns. You know who didn’t send Hester a congratulatory text? Hester’s old friend Nevin Shapiro.

9. Three NFL teams started Purdue quarterbacks this week.

Purdue football fans haven’t had much to feel good about lately. But on a weekend when the Boilers lost 38-10 to Notre Dame, 3 former Purdue quarterbacks started for pro teams (Brees, Orton, and Painter). Sure 2 of the 3 lost, but Curtis Painter (281 yards and no picks) played better than expected, and Purdue fans need something take pride in right now. Boiler up.

10. The MLB Playoffs have lived up to their opening act.

I feared that there was no way baseball’s Playoffs could be as exciting as the final night of the regular season, but so far the postseason hasn’t disappointed. Three of the 4 series were tied after 2 games, and there have been plenty of close games, lead changes, and gutty performances.

Last night the Rangers scored 4 runs in the 7th to edge out the Raymonds, and Justin Verlander pitched an 8-inning, 11-strikeout win against the Yankees. Sunday night, the Cardinals came back from down 4 to prove that Cliff Lee isn’t invincible in October. Perhaps last Wednesday was just an hors d’oeuvre.

11. Angel McCoughtry is the best professional athlete you’ve never heard of.

If you live in Minnesota and you’re depressed about the Vikings, Gophers, Twins, etc., you might want to follow the Lynx, who have a 1-0 lead in the WNBA Finals. If you do watch the remaining Finals games between the Lynx and the Atlanta Dream, pay attention to the Dream’s Angel McCoughtry, the best professional athlete you’ve never heard of.

Even people who ignore the WNBA have heard of Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, and Maya Moore (of the Lynx). Casual fans know Cappie Pondexter and Tamika Catchings (this year’s MVP). But few know about McCoughtry who is as good as any of them. The 6-1 forward has carried the Dream through the Playoffs—along the way eliminating my Indiana Fever with a barrage of jump shots that would have won her a HORSE tournament—and Sunday night scored 33 in a losing effort. McCoughtry already holds WNBA records for points in a Conference Finals game (42) and in a Finals game (35). Don’t be surprised if she saves the Dream from elimination and leads them to a title.

12. Kobe Bryant is getting ready to return to his childhood home.

Bryant and Italian club Virtus Bologna are working on a deal to bring Bryant to the country where he spent much of his childhood. Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, Kobe’s dad, signed with an Italian basketball team when Kobe was 6. Joe retired and moved the family back to the states when Kobe was 13. Bryant has said it would be a “dream” to play in Italy, but I’m guessing that he’d have no trouble letting go of that dream if the NBA lockout were to end today (and it almost certainly won’t).

13. Disney is really counting on people taking Real Steel seriously.

For each hour of sports you watched this weekend, you saw no fewer than 7 ads for Disney’s forthcoming movie Real Steel. Apparently, Disney believes that people will flock to theaters next week to see the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie. Disney is probably right. As a species we can’t resist special effects.

In fairness, Real Steel wasn’t inspired by Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots but by a pretty good 1956 Richard Matheson short story (“Steel”) that was the basis for a pretty good Twilight Zone episode. Neither the story nor the Twilight Zone episode were about a kid building a fighting robot with his estranged father. Rather, both were about an aging former boxer who refused to give up on his battered, out-of-date boxing robot. In a desperate effort to win money to repair his bot, the old fighter takes the robot’s place in the ring. (It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds.)

This post and all of our weekly Ohio State previews are made possible by Steamatic by Carrara Companies, which proudly provides restoration, cleaning, and construction services to all of Central and Northeast Ohio including Columbus, Cleveland, Akron and the surrounding areas.

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The Ohio State University is 42-7-0 all-time versus the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Ohio State was 11-0 at the Metrodome, but Saturday will be their first road test at the new outdoor TCF Bank Stadium.

After Ohio State’s recent loss in Madison, Coach Tressel is still 6-1 in the last seven Big Ten road night games. Not that this will compare to Madison, but Minnesota is back on campus and the atmosphere is much nicer away from the Metrodome.

I expect a lot of scarlet and gray to make the trip to see what the stadium has to offer. The band is traveling with the team as well.

Ohio State-Minnesota Game Info

• Ohio State-Minnesota location: TCF Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, MN
• Ohio State-Minnesota Kickoff  Time: Saturday October 30th, 2010 – 8:00pm EST
• Ohio State-Minnesota TV: ABC regional – Coverage Map
• Ohio State-Minnesota Announcers: TBD
• Ohio State-Minnesota Line: Ohio State -28, Over/under 54.5 (via Betus.com)

Ohio State-Minnesota Game Preview

Minnesota (1-7, 0-4 in the Big Ten):

• Last Week: 33-21 loss to Penn State
• Coach: Jeff Horton (20-48 career, 0-1 interim at Minnesota, 2^nd game)

The Gophers made a much-needed change at head coach two weeks ago with offensive coordinator Jeff Horton taking over for the rest of the season. The usual is being heard out of Minneapolis with players claiming they are having more fun, feel more relaxed, rejuvenation, nothing to lose, etc. The pressure with a head coach’s job on the line can obviously trickle down into the attitude of the players and easily could have affected the team’s start on the field this year.

Of course we have to gush about fifth year senior quarterback Adam Weber here at MSF since he has 10,000 career passing yards, 69 touchdowns, and is a great leader. There I said it.

He is solid but he isn’t the game changing athlete that will take over this game. Weber will need help from his skill players and of course the defense. Coach Tressel said the defense is the only difference he sees since the Brewster firing was more blitzes to account for. But he also said it was similar to what Minnesota brought last year in Columbus and they handled them 38-7 last year.

#11 OHIO STATE (7-1, 3-1 in the Big Ten):

• Jim Tressel (236-79-2 career, 101-22 at Ohio State, 10^th year)
• Last Week: 49-0 win over Purdue

I was going to joke about the Buckeyes having two bye weeks before they play at Iowa November 13^th. And Senator Tressel is always good with the media by preaching to his players about focus, improvement each week, and not what is ahead but what is right now. Although I thought these quotes from Bucknuts.com was more telling:

“When we get to that bye week, we’ll cherish that moment. You want to play football every week. But sometimes you also need to get your rest. A lot of guys are waiting for that.”

The Buckeyes have gone on the road twice and neither game was one they care to remember. They struggled to a 24-13 win at Illinois and dropped a 31-18 decision at Wisconsin on Oct. 16.

“We have the off week next week, but our mind-set right now is to take care of Minnesota,” Pryor said.

Seems contradictory. The injury bug has taken a big bite out of the Bucks this year. But that is the case with a lot of teams on this last weekend in October. A bye week this late in the season is not normal for Ohio State’s football program either. Junior LB Ettiene Sabino is traveling with the team but latest reports say he will keep his redshirt going this year unless more injuries occur.

We saw more i-formation and less spread from the Buckeyes offense against Purdue last week. If Pryor can’t scramble out of trouble and improv in the spread formations, we will keep seeing this. Boom Herron is the main back now and has 7 of his 11 rushing touchdowns in Big Ten play this year since the Pryor leg injury. That’s already the most touchdowns in the junior running back’s career in a season. Minnesota should expect a heavy dose of Boom with FB Zach Boren clearing out his path. OT JB Shugarts will start but is limited in the amount of plays with a foot injury.

And now Kirk Herbstreit running the triple option against Minnesota in 1991:

http://youtu.be/0LP7FSm0t4o

OVERALL/PREDICTION:

Ohio State 35, Minnesota 16. Ohio State has looked weak on the road this year and while dinged up with injuries they are looking forward to their bye week. Also Minnesota did keep their home game against USC this year respectable (32-21). I wouldn’t expect Ohio State to finish above the 28 point spread. Then again, you would make good money fading my ATS picks.

KVB is 6-1 straight up and 2-5 against the spread on Ohio State this year.

Royce White, a highly recruited basketball player from Minnetonka who chose to stay home and play for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, has announced via YouTube that he is quitting the Minnesota basketball team.

White has been suspended for the entire start of the 2009 season after having an altercation with a mall security guard, and then his name later came up in a dorm theft investigation.

White maintains his innocence but says in the video that he is quitting to keep his family, Tubby Smith, and his Golden Gopher teammates from having to deal with the distractions.

To which I, and many others who have watched the video, are responding, huh?

Here it is. Watch for yourself. He doesn’t start talking until a few minutes into it.

It sounds to be like he is just a very confused kid who is frustrated at how his college career has started. And with outlets like YouTube and Twitter now available for immature and frustrated young athletes to broadcast their frustration, I imagine that we’ll see more and more things like this in the future.

According to an SI.com article on Royce White’s YouTube announcement that he is quitting, White has informed no one at the university of his supposed plans.

Something tells me that older, wiser mentors will be able to talk some sense into him and help him realize that quitting the basketball team is probably the worst thing he can do right now.

Whether White’s legal troubles are justified or not (and I don’t know his story well enough to judge one way or the other), he’s a college freshman who is obviously in need of some direction or perhaps just a little time, perspective, and maturity to deal what I’m sure has been a pretty difficult first semester on campus.

Hopefully justice is served, whatever it may be, and then White can can learn from this whole situation. Assuming that is the case, then perhaps he can actually suit up someday for Tubby and the Gophers like he was supposed to do all along.

And I guess if his basketball career never pans out as expected, White could always go into movie production or theater. He certainly seems to have a flair for the dramatic.

Freshman Royce White and senior Devron Bostick have been suspended indefinitely from the Gophers men’s basketball team for a violation of team rules, coach Tubby Smith said Tuesday morning. Smith provided no additional details about the disciplinary action.

The Gophers’ exhibition slate begins Thursday night as Tubby Smith and the team looks to build on last season’s 22-11 record and appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Most prognosticators have the Gophers rated as the 6th best team in the Big Ten.

Bostick averaged just over four points per game last season as a junior. Royce White was a four-star recruit who was rated as the #10 PF in the class of 2009.

With three matchups between ranked teams this week, we know for certain that at least three ranked teams will lose. But again, that doesn’t mean the other ranked teams are safe, and more than one should be on upset alert this week.

No. 15 Penn State should have no problem rebounding from last week’s upset loss to Iowa, but the Nittany Lions are on the road against a talented, though underachieving Illinois team.

The three remaining unbeaten non-BCS schools should have no problem this weekend against lesser opponents, but the games still merit monitoring.

Fifth-ranked Boise State isn’t doing itself any favors in terms of strength of schedule by playing host to UC-Davis. But, hey, No. 1 Florida played Charleston Southern, right? And North Carolina has two I-AA teams on the schedule in The Citadel and Georgia Southern.

No. 12 Houston, which has knocked off a pair of Big XII teams, including last week’s one-point thriller over Texas Tech, steps back into Conference USA play with a cross-state road trip to El Paso to face UTEP.

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No. 11 TCU plays host to a Conference USA foe in Forth Worth when it welcomes in SMU from Dallas.

Again, all three unbeatens should have no problem, but if this season has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is guaranteed.

With that being said, here are this week’s three marquee games:

#7 USC at #24 California

• USC-California Date: Saturday, October 3rd
• USC-California Kickoff Time: 8:00 ET
• USC-California TV: ABC (regional)
• USC-California Spread: USC -5.5

Cal was riding high less than two weeks ago. The Bears were ranked sixth in the country, had just picked up a road victory in Minnesota, and Jahvid Best was a top-notch Heisman candidate.

Oh how things quickly change.

The Bears got a punch in the mouth and a heavy dose of reality last week in Oregon. The Ducks dished out a 42-3 beatdown inside Autzen Stadium, and Best was limited to 55 yards on 16 carries. This was an Oregon defense that had allowed 79 points in its previous three games.

Whether Cal was looking past the Ducks to USC is uncertain, but now the Bears must face a USC defense that held Cal to three points last year. Many of those players are gone, but the Trojans are still talented on that side of the ball. USC is allowing just nine points per game, and rebounded from its 16-13 upset loss in Washington to knock around Washington State, 27-6.

It will be understandable if USC is distracted in this game with running back Stafon Johnson in the hospital with a crushed throat following a weightlifting accident.

Still the key in this game will be whether Cal can get Jahvid Best going or not. If Best has a good game, the Bears send USC south with a loss. If not, the USC defense will feast on Cal quarterback Kevin Riley.

USC-Cal free pick: USC 27 – Cal 16 | USC -5.5

#4 LSU at #18 Georgia

• LSU-Georgia Date: Saturday, October 3rd
• LSU-Georgia Kickoff Time: 3:30 ET
• LSU-Georgia TV: CBS
• LSU-Georgia Spread: Georgia -2.5

The Tigers barely escaped an upset bid from Mississippi State last week, needing a goal line stand to preserve a 30-26 victory. LSU has been largely unimpressive in its 4-0 start, and are ranked where they are based on the preseason polls.

Still, LSU has done enough to win, although 31 rushing yards on 30 attempts last week against the country’s No. 88 rush defense is an eye-popping stat. It’s hard to figure out how LSU is unbeaten, but one thing the Tigers don’t do is beat themselves, and that starts with quarterback Jordan Jefferson, who has seven touchdown passes to just one interception. Brandon LaFell has been his favorite target, catching five scoring tosses.

LSU is dead-last in the SEC in total offense, something upon which the Georgia defense hopes to capitalize.

Georgia lost its opener on the road to Oklahoma State, but has since rattled off wins over South Carolina, Arkansas, and Arizona State.

Georgia coach Mark Richt is 20-5 against SEC West opponents and 9-1 over the last four years. As long as Richard Samuel continues to run the ball well, he has 281 yards on 62 carries with two scores this season, the Bulldogs should be able to wear down a good LSU defense.

If Georgia can force Jefferson into a couple of mistakes, they could be partying in Athens Saturday night.

LSU-Georgia free pick: Georgia 23 – LSU 17 | Georgia -2.5

#8 Oklahoma at #17 Miami (FL)

• LSU-Georgia Date: Saturday, October 3rd
• LSU-Georgia Kickoff Time: 8:300 ET
• LSU-Georgia TV: ABC (regional)
• LSU-Georgia Spread: Oklahoma -7.5

Just like Jahvid Best, remember how Miami quarterback Jacory Harris was being touted as a Heisman candidate? Well, one lackluster performance in a road beatdown on national television will nip that talk in the bud quickly.

Following impressive outings against Florida State and Georgia Tech, Harris looked uncomfortable in his team’s 31-7 loss at Virginia Tech. The Hokies confused the sophomore quarterback, who completed just 9 of 25 pass attempts, and Miami was just 1-for-11 on third-down conversions.

Oklahoma quarterback, and reigning Heisman winner, Sam Bradford may return to the Sooners’ lineup on Saturday night. He has not played since being knocked out of the season-opening loss to BYU with a shoulder injury. If Bradford can’t go, Landry Jones has done well in his stead.

The freshman quarterback has completed 43 of 69 passes for 622 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions in his first two starts. He even set a school record with six TD passes in a 45-0 win over Tulsa.

The Sooners have had two weeks off to prepare for their first real road game, and Land Shark Stadium will be no easy place for Jones or Bradford to play.

The difference could be the OU defense, which has not allowed a point since the 14-13 loss to BYU in Dallas.

Oklahoma-Miami free pick: Oklahoma 31 – Miami 20 | Oklahoma -7.5

One other game of interest is the Wisconsin-Minnesota game, which begins Saturday at 11:00 CT.

College football’s oldest rivalry renews itself Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis. On the line is the best rivalry trophy in the country: Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

The Badgers have a five-game win streak in the rivalry, which dates back to 1890, when the Gophers won a 63-0 contest. While the Gophers own a 59-51-8 overall advantage in the 118-game rivalry, since the introduction of the Axe in 1948, Wisconsin owns a 34-24-3 edge.

Minnesota’s last win came in 2003 when Rhys Floyd kicked a last-second, game-winning field goal. The game has been won on last-minute blocked kicks, big plays and defensive stands, and is one of the most heated rivalries in the country. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt intervened to cancel the game because of deaths and other injuries on the field in the first 15 meetings.

This year’s game has extra intrigue because both teams are actually good.

The Badgers are 4-0, but will be leaving the friendly confines of Camp Randall Stadium for the first time this season. The Gophers are 3-1 on the year and coach Tim Brewster is still searching for his first victory against Wisconsin in now his third season as head coach.

The Gophers must shore up a run defense that allowed Cal tailback Jahvid Best to rush for five touchdowns. Wisconsin comes in with a solid offensive line capable of plowing holes for a pair of good backs in John Clay and Zach Brown.

Minnesota-Wisconsin free pick: Wisconsin 38 – Minnesota 34 | Wisconsin +2.5

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* – Bob Stoops and Sam Bradford photo credit: ESPN.com

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

——————–

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.