basketball

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

On Lunardi's most recent bracket we are still a 3 seed, currently sitting in the East region with Syracuse on the top line and Duke as the 2. Vanderbilt is the 6 in our pod, which I hope changes between now and the tournament, since they will have a huge advantage in the Nashville location he assigns us to.

Assuming we can get through Northwestern to the Semis of the BTT and (probably) another game against Ohio, I don't see how we fall below a 3. Also, assuming Ohio and MSU are pretty solid 2 seeds, the tournament committee won't put us in the same region so there is no intra-conference game in the Sweet 16. My point here is that if Duke stays as a 2 seed, we have about a 50-50 chance of seeing them in the Sweet 16, if both teams make it through. I think fans of both schools would love another game, and we will want to avenge the loss in the tournament last year and in Hawaii at the beginning of the season this year.

Obviously it's a long week between now and Selection Sunday, and things will change. But, this might be an intriguing story to watch as it gets closer.

Visit BTN Facebook page to participate in the fan vote for conference awards.

Currently, we are losing in every category.

Click Here to vote.

Update - We are now winning in two categories.

POY -

Trey Burke - 21.8%

Draymond Green - 39.5%

COY -

Beilein - 35.9%

Crean - 21.8%

Izzo - 19.3%

FOY -

Trey Burke - 45.9%

Cody Zeller - 30.5%

When Mike Hart once publically referred to MSU as "little brother", I was not happy about it,  because there is no more of a unifying force than saying something like that... and when you dominate an opponent, you shouldn't be crass about it. But he said it, and they ran with it. So be it.

Well,  Derrick Nix just referred to MBB as  "little nephew".....   to quote him... "We had to share it with our little nephews," center Derrick Nix said. "And that (stinks)."

Now is the time for Michigan to run with it, and let karma stick the condescension back in their faces.  

Did Green fould out at 7:10 and still play the rest of game.  Here is the info from the CBS play by play.

First Half: 18:53 Foul on Draymond Green

First Half: 3:33 Foul an Draymond Green.  Appears he missed a layup and fouled L Smith and he made 1 of 2. 

Second Half: 19:09 Technical Foul on Draymond Green.  Also counts as a personal.

Second Half:  10:14 Foul on Draymond Green.

Second Half:  7:10 Foul on Draymond Green.

Thats 5 fouls.  I have see two scenarios stated so far.  One is that his second foul was not attributed to him (ESPN says it was on Kearney). The second is that the officials did not attribute or count the Technical foul as a personal foul, thus keeping his total at 4.

The announcers said during the telecast that the foul was on Green.  Did they make a mistake or was it changed to Kearney later in the game?  Either way I don't think MSU should be complaining about the refs.

Via U-M Media Relations—check below the release for the full bracket. Michigan will play the winner of Northwestern/Minnesota on Friday at 6:30 EST, televised on BTN:

BIG TEN RELEASES 2012 MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKET
Michigan State earns fourth No. 1 seed; Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin round out top four
 
The Big Ten announced on Sunday the bracket for the 2012 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, which will be played Thursday through Sunday, March 8-11, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Michigan State is the No. 1 seed for the fourth time in tournament history and the first time since 2009, finishing the conference slate with a 13-5 record. No. 2 Michigan (13-5), No. 3 Ohio State (13-5) and No. 4 Wisconsin (12-6) also earned first-round byes.
 
The tournament will tip off at 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, March 8, as No. 8 Iowa (8-10) takes on No. 9 Illinois (6-12) on BTN. The second game of the day features No. 5 Indiana (11-7) and No. 12 Penn State (4-14), also on BTN.
 
Thursday’s second session tips off at 5:30 p.m. as No. 7 Northwestern (8-10) takes on No. 10 Minnesota (6-12) on ESPN2. The first day of games wraps up as No. 6 Purdue (10-8) takes on No. 11 Nebraska (4-14) also on ESPN2.
 
The second day of the tournament tips off with Michigan State squaring off against the winner of Thursday’s Iowa/Illinois game at Noon on ESPN. The second contest of the day will have Wisconsin playing the winner of the Indiana versus Penn State matchup at approximately 2:30 p.m., also on ESPN. Michigan will face either Northwestern or Minnesota at 6:30 p.m., while Ohio State will take on the winner of Thursday’s Purdue-Nebraska game at approximately 9 p.m. The last two games of the day will be broadcast by BTN.
 
Big Ten Tournament semifinal games will be played on Saturday, beginning at 1:40 p.m. on CBS Sports. The championship game tips off at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday and will also be broadcast by CBS Sports.
 
This year’s tournament marks the fourth time Michigan State has earned the No. 1 seed and the first time since 2009. Michigan earns its highest seed ever at No. 2, claiming a first-round bye for the second consecutive season. Ohio State will have a bye in the first round for the seventh straight season. The Buckeyes have won the last two Big Ten Tournament titles and three all-time, marking the most of any team. Wisconsin earns the No. 4 seed for the fifth time and for the third time in the last four seasons. With the No. 4 seed, the Badgers also earn a first-round bye for the 12th consecutive season.
 
Since the first Big Ten Tournament in 1998, six teams have captured the event’s title with Ohio State claiming three titles, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State and Wisconsin each owning two tournament trophies, and Purdue winning one tournament title. Tournament championship games have featured teams seeded as high as first, second and third and as low as eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th. Nine different schools have advanced to the tournament’s championship game.
 
All-session and single-session tickets to the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament can be purchased through the Bankers Life Fieldhouse box office, Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.

TOURNEY BRACKET (click to enlarge)