The Big Ten Tournament has never gone true to form. \nNo. 11 seed Illinois made a run to the championship game in 1999, the No. 1 seed has won only once in four seasons and last season sixth-seeded Iowa won four games in four days to earn the crown. \nBut, if there is any stability in the bracket, it comes in the first day of competition. Higher seeded teams are 8-4 in first-round games, and of the 16 teams that have earned semifinal berths in the tournament's four years, six of those teams have been seeded No. 6 or lower. \nThis afternoon, the first-round madness begins at Conesco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Three games are scheduled, beginning at 2 p.m., when No. 8 seed Purdue meets No. 9 seed Iowa. At 4:30 p.m., No. 7 seed Northwestern battles No. 10 seed Michigan, and at 7:10 p.m., No. 6 seed Minnesota clashes with No. 11 seed Penn State. \n"Anybody can win it," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "All 11 schools have a shot at doing it. It's going to be fun, interesting and challenging."
Game No. 1, 2:30 p.m., ESPN2\nNo. 8 Purdue (13-17, 5-11) vs. No. 9 Iowa (16-14, 5-11)\nKeady tossed around retiring and his team's dismal statistics most of this season. He was frustrated, and with good reason -- Purdue sputtered to five Big Ten wins and was knocked out of post-season contention early in league play.\nBut with a regular-season-ending win against Penn State Saturday, Purdue moved into a tie with Iowa and Michigan and earned the No. 8 seed via the tiebreaker. \nThe Boilermakers have struggled all season, frustrating Keady with poor defense that allowed opponents to shoot 49 percent from the field, second-to-last in the Big Ten. \nThursday, they get a chance to rectify that against Iowa, a team that suffered similar disappointment all season. \n"It's going to be a game of a couple teams who didn't come close to what they wanted to do this season," Keady said. \nIowa sits in the same situation this season that it sat in last season, being forced to win four games in four days to make the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes have lost six of their last seven and have watched coach Steve Alford bench starters Reggie Evans and Luke Recker at times this season. But, Alford sees the glimmer of light this weekend offers. \n"We're staring to play pretty decent basketball," he said. "We're staring to do some good things."\nPurdue and Iowa met only once this season, with Purdue winning 73-68 in West Lafayette behind 20 points from Willie Deane.
Game No. 2, 4:30 p.m., ESPN\nNo. 7 Northwestern (16-12, 7-9) vs. No. 10 Michigan (10-17, 5-11)\nWisconsin's Bo Ryan is the Big Ten Coach of the Year, but Northwestern's Bill Carmody has joined him as the talk of the conference. \nCarmody guided the Wildcats to just their third winning season since 1982-1983 and the second-most wins in school history. The No. 7 seed is also the Wildcats' highest in school history. \nNorthwestern has lost three consecutive games, but won its only matchup with Michigan this season behind 19 points from Tavaras Hardy. Carmody said he isn't sure if forward Vedran Vukusic will play, but guard Jitim Young, who twisted an ankle against No. 23 IU Saturday, should be good to go. \n"I don't know if the teams at the bottom have the chance of the teams at the top, but certainly more than last year," Carmody said. "I don't think people would be surprised if people beat some teams that are higher (seeds)."\nMichigan finished its season with losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State, watching both teams clinch a share of the Big Ten title on its behalf. The Wolverines and first-year coach Tommy Amaker have lost six straight games and haven't come closer than nine points in their last five losses. \n"(Northwestern) is a very tough team to prepare for, but this gives us a chance to go up against a team we feel we match up well against," Amaker said.
Game No. 3, 7:10 p.m., ESPN \nNo. 6 Minnesota (16-11, 9-7) vs. No. 11 Penn State (7-20, 3-13)\nWith a last-minute collapse against No. 10 Illinois Sunday, Minnesota might have played itself out of an NCAA Tournament berth. The Golden Gophers and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Rick Rickert can play themselves back in in the tournament beginning today against Penn State. \nMinnesota was in the midst of a Big Ten title run before losing four of its last six, including two games in Minneapolis. \n"The Big Ten Tournament, for us, looms larger than any other team," Gopher coach Dan Monson said. "As disappointed as our guys are right now, they have to be excited for this tournament."\nThe Gophers beat Penn State twice this season, but edged out a four-point win in State College Feb. 23, giving the Nittany Lions some confidence, something they've had little of this season. \nPenn State upset top-seeded Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament last season, then advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament. But this season, the Nittany Lions have won back-to-back games only once and suffered losses to Yale and James Madison, despite consistent scoring from guard Sharif Chambliss. \n"It's difficult, but it can't be more difficult than it has been during the course of the year," Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said of a possible tournament run. "This team has an awful lot of potential"
