Big Ten Conference Notebook
by John Sahly
It’s less than one week until Selection Sunday, and a weird Sunday in college basketball came to an end with a few top teams losing, none more noticeable than No. 1 Illinois.
Illini finally lose
After a remarkable run, the nation’s No. 1 team finally went down at the hands of Ohio State. Matt Sylvester’s three-pointer with 5.1 seconds left put the Buckeyes up for good at 65-64. Sylvester scored a career high 25 points, and Ohio State did not turn the ball over once in the second half. Ohio State coach Thad Matta has now ended two runs at perfection in the last two seasons, as his Xavier team did it to Saint Joseph’s in the Atlantic-10 Tournament last season.
Illinois still won the Big Ten conference outright, and will be the No. 1 seed in this week’s conference tournament.
Indiana trying for Cinderella-status
10 wins traditionally is good enough to make the NCAA Tournament. Indiana is testing the limits of that theory. Right now Indiana sits at 15-12, 10-6 in the Big 10. They have a firm hold on the bubble. A first round loss in the conference tournament would severely hurt their chances.
Tournament seeds set
With the conference tournament seeds set, let’s take a look at the matchups.
First Day:
No. 8 Northwestern (14-15, 6-10) vs. No. 9 Michigan (13-17, 4-12)
No. 7 Iowa (19-10, 7-9) vs. No. 10 Purdue (7-20, 3-13)
No. 6 Ohio State (19-11, 8-8) vs. No. 11 Penn State (7-22, 1-15)
Second Day:
No. 1 Illinois (29-1, 15-1) vs. Northwestern/Michigan winner
No. 4 Indiana (15-12, 10-6) vs. No. 5 Minnesota (20-9, 10-6)
No. 2 Michigan State (22-5, 13-3) vs. Iowa/Purdue winner
No. 3 Wisconsin (20-7, 11-5) vs. Ohio State/Penn State winner
Big Ten Player of the Week
Matt Sylvester, Forward, Ohio State
Game-winning, streak-ending shot, need I say more? Sylvester’s 25 big points off the bench were simply remarkable. His confidence in telling coach Thad Matta he would make the shot was Jimmy Chitwood-esque.
Big Ten Newcomer of the Week
Robert Vaden, G, Indiana
This glue guy has been quietly solid all year long playing in the background of Bracey Wright and fellow freshman D.J. White. But Vaden has developed into a legitimate Big 10 player, and two double-digit performances when the Hoosiers needed them earns him the award this week.
