Badgers try to claw their way past Spartans in Big Ten Tournament
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
03/09/2007 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in less than a week, the Michigan State Spartans and third-ranked Wisconsin Badgers will collide, only tonight's meeting takes place in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament from the United Center in Chicago.
The Spartans, who were defeated at Wisconsin (52-50) in their regular season finale last Saturday, went an even 8-8 in league play this year en route to earning the seventh seed in this event. Despite landing its lowest seed ever for the Big Ten Tournament, MSU was able to overcome 10th-seeded Northwestern, 62-57, in the opening round on Thursday. The win improved the Spartans to 11-7 all-time in this event, as they are in search of their first title since winning two straight in 1999 and 2000.
As for Wisconsin, it has enjoyed one of its most successful seasons ever, setting school records for most overall (27) and conference (13) victories. The team also posted a 17-game winning streak at one point during the regular season and that even set a new program record. The Badgers finished behind Ohio State in the league standings at 13-3 and therefore earned the second seed in this event for just the second time in school history. The other time UW was seeded second was in 2004, when it won its only Big Ten Tournament crown. The Badgers are 9-8 all-time in this event, and they have either advanced to the finals or lost in the first round in their last six appearances.
In terms of the all-time series, MSU owns a 66-55 lead over Wisconsin, with the teams splitting a pair of meetings during the regular season.
The winner of this game will move on to meet either Illinois or Indiana in the semifinals on Saturday.
The Spartans shot a solid 57.9 percent from the field, including a 7-of-13 effort from long range, as they held off Northwestern for a five-point win on Thursday. The team also won the battle on the boards, 28-21, and that helped to compensate for its 16 turnovers. Drew Neitzel led the way with 20 points and six assists, while Raymar Morgan added 15 points and five boards. Neitzel, a first-team all-league performer, leads MSU on the season with 18.3 ppg, and he is also dishing out 4.1 apg and shooting 42.1 percent from long distance. Morgan contributes 11.3 ppg and 5.2 rpg for the Spartans, who lead the conference in scoring defense (56.3 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.380). The team has also fared well on the boards, outrebounding its opponents by 8.1 rpg.
Wisconsin has also had a great deal of success at the defensive end of the court this season, as it is holding its foes to a mere 57.5 ppg and 40.7 percent shooting from the floor. At the other end, the Badgers are turning in 71.3 ppg behind the duo of Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor. Tucker, who was the recently named the Big Ten Player of the Year, ranks second in the conference in scoring with an average of 20.1 ppg. He has had 17 20-point performances this season and he is also pulling down 5.4 rpg. As for Taylor, he was a Second Team All-conference selection after averaging 12.5 ppg during the regular season. He is the team's biggest threat from beyond the arc, where he is making good on 40.7 percent of his attempts.
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The length of th
Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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