2010 Big Ten Tournament preview

When: March 11-14
Where: Conseco Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, IN
Championship Game: March 14 - CBS
Defending Champs: Purdue
The Format: 11 teams, 4 rounds

(AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

First Round (Mar. 11)
Game 1 - #8 Michigan vs. #9 Iowa - 2:30pm ET
Game 2 - #7 Northwestern vs. #10 Indiana - 5:00pm ET
Game 3 - #6 Minnesota vs. #11 Penn State - 7:30pm ET

Second Round (Mar. 12)
Game 4 - #1 Ohio State vs. Game 1 winner - 12:00pm ET
Game 5 - #4 Wisconsin vs. #5 Illinois - 3:00pm ET
Game 6 - #2 Purdue vs. Game 2 winner - 6:30pm ET
Game 7 - #3 Michigan State vs. Game 3 winner - 9:00pm ET

Third Round (Mar. 13)
Game 8 - Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner - 1:40pm ET
Game 9 - Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner - 4:30pm ET

Championship Round (Mar. 14)
Game 10 - Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner - 3:30pm ET

Bubble Teams Needing a Win: Illinois

Illinois - RPI (74) - SOS (41) - KenPom (56)

The Verdict: Despite the fact that bracketologists are still giving Illinois the benefit of the doubt, another loss to Wisconsin could be devastating to their hopes. Bruce Weber's team likely needs a win over the Badgers to avoid falling on the wrong side of the bubble come Sunday.

Player to Watch: Evan Turner-Ohio State
Expecting somebody else? Not here. Turner is the only player in the conference capable of putting his team on his back and leading them to a Big Ten title. Go ahead and pencil him in for 20-10-5. You won't be disappointed.

Prediction: Michigan State
Even though Tom Izzo's team has not made it past the semis since 2000, don't be fooled into thinking MSU will fall apart in yet another Big Ten Tournament. Aside from losing a couple of role players, this Michigan State squad is every bit as dangerous as they were a year ago. Kalin Lucas is fully healthy, Delvon Roe has another year under his belt and Raymar Morgan is playing with a newfound level of intensity. But the one guy who holds it all together, and the driving force for this pick, is sixth man Draymond Green. Most of the time, Green's best contributions are things that cannot be measured with statistics. Whether he's tipping an errant pass to a teammate, diving on the floor for a loose ball or putting his body on the line in order to draw a charge, you can make a strong case that Green is indeed Michigan State's most valuable player when he's on the floor. I'm thinking MSU's Big Ten cold streak will come to an end this weekend.

Other Previews:
ACC Tournament
Atlantic 10 Tournament
Big East Tournament
Big 12 Tournament
Pac-10 Tournament
SEC Tournament