Tag: Big Ten Tournament

Ohio State basketball’s complete history in the Big Ten Tournament

It’s time for postseason conference tournament play. Here’s a complete look at Ohio State basketball’s complete Big Ten Tournament history.

As Ohio State basketball fans, we didn’t always get to look forward to a conference tournament. That’s because the Big Ten basketball tournament hasn’t always been around. In fact, when it comes to league tournaments, it’s one of the newer ones.

The first edition of all the hoopla took place in 1998, and to say it’s been a big hit would be an understatement. The NCAA Tournament used to name the automatic qualifier for the Big Dance based on the regular-season Big Ten champion, but now that bid goes to the winner of all the magic that’s taken place between venues in Indianapolis and Chicago on a rotating basis.

This year, the game has been moved from the Windy City to Indy because of COVID-19, and OSU has a good shot to do some damage.

Prior to all of that though, we thought it’d be fun to take a walk down memory lane and look at the complete history of Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament. Not many programs have had the success the Buckeyes have, so it should be a fun one.

 

Ohio State locked in as No. 5 seed in Big Ten Tournament

With the loss to Illinois on Saturday, the Ohio State basketball team is locked in as the No. 5 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.

With the loss to Illinois Saturday, the Ohio State basketball team is locked in as the No. 5 seed in this week’s Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes had been in line for a double-bye in the tournament as a top-four seed, but four losses in a row resulted in them moving out of that position.

As a result, instead of playing its first game of the tournament on Friday, OSU will now have a game on Thursday at 2 p.m. EST against the winner of the game played a day earlier between No. 12 Minnesota and No. 13 Northwestern.

If the Buckeyes win that game, they will face No. 4 seed Purdue on Saturday for a right to play in the semifinal. The Big Ten Tournament final is set for Sunday at 3:30 p.m on CBS.

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Yes, it was a disappointing end to the regular season for Ohio State, but now the March postseason begins and they don’t call it Mayem and Madness for no reason. It’s a new season really, and a new opportunity.

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Michigan State Basketball given ninth best odds to win Big Ten Tournament

Michigan State has been given the ninth best odds to win the 2021 Big Ten Tournament.

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Michigan State Basketball had some life breathed back into them after last night’s win over No. 5 Illinois, but they still have a tough journey ahead of them if they want to re-stake their claim as the top team in the conference. On Wednesday, the first odds came out for the Big Ten Tournament and the Spartans were given the ninth best odds to win it all.

Betting Line (Courtesy of BetMGM): 33/1, +5000

The complete odds are:

  • Michigan 9/4
  • Ohio State 3/1
  • Illinois 4/1
  • Iowa 4/1
  • Wisconsin 6/1
  • Purdue 12/1
  • Indiana 28/1
  • Minnesota 28/1
  • Michigan State 33/1
  • Maryland 100/1
  • Penn State 100/1
  • Northwestern 150/1
  • Nebraska 300/1

Betting Line (Courtesy of BetMGM): TBD

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Three things that need to happen for Michigan State to reach NCAA Tournament

The Spartans aren’t dead yet — but what needs to happen for them to somehow make the NCAA Tournament?

The Spartans aren’t dead quite yet.

Saturday’s impressive comeback victory over Indiana gave Spartans fans a reason to smile — which hasn’t been the case often this season — but what does it mean in the grand scheme of things? Are the Spartans back in the mix for the NCAA Tournament?

The short answer to that second question is no but it does keep the Spartans’ NCAA Tournament dreams alive for at least another week with still more work to be done down the stretch.

With two weeks left in the regular season, I’ve taken a look at the upcoming schedule and determined three key factors that need to occur for the Spartans to have a reason to watch the Selection Show on March 14. Let’s take a look at what Michigan State needs to do to reach the NCAA Tournament this season.

Big Ten moves conference tournament to Indianapolis

On Tuesday, the Big Ten announced that the men’s conference basketball tournament will take place in Indianapolis instead of Chicago.

It looks like Ohio State basketball’s postseason life will take place all in one city. That’s because the Big Ten announced that the conference tournament will be moved from its original location in Chicago to Indianapolis. That comes after a decision has already been made by the NCAA to hold March Madness all within Indianapolis as well.

For conference officials, it came down to safety, priority, and logistics surrounding trying to have postseason basketball in the midst of a global pandemic.

From the Big Ten release:

“The Big Ten Conference Administrators Council, which includes the Directors of Athletics and Senior Women Administrators from all 14 member institutions, approved measures to relocate the 2021 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament from the United Center in Chicago to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The decision to relocate the tournament was made in collaboration with the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors and the conference office.”

“The decision to relocate the tournament to Indianapolis was based on multiple factors. First and foremost was the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, officials and conference constituents. Hosting both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in the same city allows for cohesive testing and medical protocols for both events, as well as centralized accommodations surrounding the competition venues.”

“The Big Ten Conference is grateful to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the city of Chicago and our partners at the United Center and the Chicago Sports Commission for their flexibility and to Indiana Sports Corp, Lucas Oil Stadium and the city of Indianapolis for being able to assist our basketball teams during these unprecedented times.”

“The United Center and the city of Chicago have played a vital role in the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament over the past two decades and the conference looks forward to the tournament returning to the United Center in 2023.”

“The 2021 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will be held March 10-14 in Indianapolis and will precede the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, which was moved to Indianapolis and surrounding communities in the state of Indiana in January.”

With Ohio State a sure bet to make the NCAA Tournament as a high seed less than a week after the Big Ten Tournament, you have to believe the Buckeyes will make a home of Circle City for as long as it can make March Madness last.

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Michael Graham Returning Home as Notre Dame Visits Minnesota

When Notre Dame travels to face top-ranked Minnesota this weekend, it will be a homecoming of sorts for nine native Irish players.

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When Notre Dame travels to face top-ranked Minnesota this weekend, it will be a homecoming of sorts for nine native Irish players. Among them is Michael Graham, one of four Notre Dame players from Eden Prairie. Graham, who is in a four-way tie for second on the Irish in scoring, is the subject of a new piece for the Brainerd Dispatch. Gophers fans know him well as the player who ended their team’s season during the 2019 Big Ten Tournament:

Still, Graham’s high school days are remembered fondly in his home state. Naturally, that would include Lee Smith, his high school coach:

“Michael was a four-year standout for us. There are very few kids that we bring up from our (youth hockey) association as ninth-graders, but Michael had such incredible speed and hand skills, and he’s a good person and good player, we figured we had to bring him up. And we were very fortunate he decided to stay his senior year.”

As a senior, Graham began the season with the Fargo Force in USHL. Though he strongly was encouraged to stay there the entire season, he decided to returned to an Eden Prairie roster that had lots of future Division I talent, including current Irish teammate Nick Leivermann. The team came within one victory of becoming state champions.

But Graham is not coming back to his home state for nostalgia. He’s here to try and knock off the Gophers, something only No. 12 Wisconsin has done this season. However, the Badgers did that last week, albeit in Madison. A win and a tie at minimum would be a real shot in the arm for an Irish team struggling to stay at .500.

Notre Dame Has Schedule for After Winter Break

Notre Dame began its season not knowing its schedule for when 2021 rolled around.

Notre Dame began its season not knowing its schedule for when 2021 rolled around. Through nine games, the Irish are 4-5-1 overall and 3-4-1 in Big Ten games, giving them 12 points and a third-place standing in the conference. They’ll take that record into the next part of the schedule, which was released Dec. 18.

Notre Dame will hit the ice again with a weekend home series Jan. 9 and 10 against Arizona State, every Big Ten team’s loan nonconference opponent this season. The Sun Devils’ entire season is taking place on the road against Big Ten programs. The Irish will take on every conference team during subsequent weekends until March 5 and 6 against Penn State.

After the regular season, the Big Ten Tournament will be held March 18 to 20. It’s back to the old-single elimination format from the tournament’s early days, and every team will qualify. The Irish are only four points behind Michigan State, so the second seed remains in reach. That’s about the best they can hope for as top-ranked and undefeated Minnesota has a firm grasp on the conference.

Partial 2020-21 Notre Dame Hockey Schedule Released

Lost in the hoopla of Saturday’s football game is that there will be a 2020-21 season for Notre Dame hockey.

Lost in the hoopla of Saturday’s football game is that there will be a 2020-21 season for Notre Dame hockey. On Thursday, the Big Ten announced its schedule running up to its pre-winter break. The Irish will begin their season next weekend with two home games against Wisconsin. Starting with Thanksgiving weekend, they will play two-game series on four consecutive weekends against Michigan, Arizona State, Ohio State and Michigan State in that order.

The rest of the schedule will be announced at a late date. All Big Ten teams will play 24 conference games, plus four additional homes games against the Sun Devils. Every team will qualify for the conference tournament, which will revert to single-elimination, one-weekend format it had during the Big Ten’s initial four years in hockey.

We’re very fortunate to see college hockey come back when it, like many other sports, was uncertain about its immediate future. Anything that makes it feel like normal times, we’re all for. It gives us peace of mind in this tumultuous moment.

Former Notre Dame Goaltender Cale Morris Signs With Rockford IceHogs

The Chicago Blackhawks really seem to like Notre Dame products.

The Chicago Blackhawks really seem to like Notre Dame products. Over the past couple of months, we’ve seen them sign Cam Morrison and draft Landon Slaggert. Now, former Irish goaltender Cale Morris is joining the organization. More specifically, he has signed his first professional contract with the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.

Morris was Notre Dame’s starting goaltender for three of his four seasons. He played 105 games and earned a 58-35-10 record with a 2.17 GAA, a .932 save percentage and 11 shutouts. He was between the pipes when the Irish made the national title game in 2018. Two years in a row, he was the Most Outstanding Player in the Big Ten tournament.

During the 2019-20 season, Morris earned his third consecutive Academic All-Big Ten selection. He was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, a Senior Class Finalist and a unanimous selection to the First Team Preseason All-Big Ten. He was one of the conference Three Stars of the Week three times and an NCAA Star of the Week once.

Watch: Notre Dame’s Top 10 Hockey Game-Winning Goals

Notre Dame’s hockey team didn’t have the chance for its season to be cut short because it was knocked out of the Big Ten tournament.

Notre Dame’s hockey team didn’t have the chance for its season to be cut short because it was knocked out of the Big Ten tournament before the coronavirus hit. But we all could use a little goodness in our lives right now, so the athletic department’s YouTube channel has been releasing a bunch of top 10 countdowns to help provide that goodness. As of this writing, the most recent list ranks game-winning goals in the NCAA tournament for the Irish. Relive the thrills here: