With three games already in the books, including one significant upset, the evening of basketball in the 2011 Big Ten Tournament will conclude with the Wisconsin Badgers taking on the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State still harbors some NCAA Tournament aspirations, but they most likely need a victory over the Badgers tonight in order to have a shot at making that happen.
At Black Shoe Diaries, they know what the Nittany Lions have to do tonight to get past the Badgers.
Penn State will likely bring intensity and emotion into its performance tonight with an at-large berth on the line. As we learned against Ohio State, though, those things won't always do the trick. The Lions need to make sure they play smart and focused, from the top and point guard Tim Frazier down to the reserves. Otherwise, it might be a long winter.
The folks at Bucky's 5th Quarter have high hopes as well.
So the Big Ten Tournament is already halfway over and the Badgers haven't played yet. That means they have any easier shot to win it, right?
Not really, but it does mean that Wisconsin could play in three of the remaining four games this weekend. Every Big Ten team besides Wisconsin has played a game in this year's Big Ten Tournamen and three of them have played twice already.
That's the perk of being the three seed. Although some believe it's an advantage to have a game under your belt like Penn State does. We already know the Nittany Lions are dangerous as they beat the Badgers Jan. 29 in Happy Valley.
This one will get underway in about 20 minutes or so here, and your television coverage will be provided by the Big Ten Network.