Don't need no credit card to ride this train

Purdue absolutely waxed Penn State 79-65 in a 60 possession game. Matt Painter is apparently good friends with Doc Brown (and owns a DeLorean), as the Boilers looked like last year's team that won 15 conference games. Keaton Grant, version 2007-08, was kind enough to make an appearance, scoring on 15 points on 6 3-point shots. Robbie Hummel was also healthy and active, going for 20 on 12 shots. Jamelle Cornley led the Nittany Lions with 20 points on 17 shots. Box score.

The Nittany Lions certainly have some anti-fans, but this team deserves to go to the Dance. Do they have the best RPI? No. The best strength of schedule? No. But they do have a 4-2 record over Purdue, Illinois, and Michigan State, along with 11 wins over conference opponents. And it's not like they have any disaster losses, either.

Ohio State edged Wisconsin, 61-57 in a 57 possession game to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes once again put on a shooting clinic (56.5 eFG), and they took good enough care of the ball to advance. Yet, Bo Ryan's offense still strikes me as ingenious. Normally, a team that posts a 43.0 eFG does not score a point per possession. But again, the Badgers took care of the ball (just 7 turnovers), which resulted in more shot attempts. Wisconsin doesn't make the most of their opportunities as much as they try and get the most opportunities. Evan Turner led Ohio State as per usual with 19 points on 15 shots, while Trevon Hughes had 15 on 11 shots for the Badgers. Box score.

Sad to say, but Wisconsin might be sweating a little this week. I thought of the two teams, Ohio State was in a better position to weather a loss. After all, the Buckeyes have nice non-conference wins over Butler, Miami, and Notre Dame. The Badgers don't have any bad losses, but they also don't have any great wins. Their best win is a home victory over Illinois. I don't think they're necessarily in big trouble, but I do think Bo might be doing some scoreboard watching.

Michigan State advanced past Minnesota, 64-56 in a 64 possession game. Chris Allen led the Spartans with 17 points on 11 shots, while Damian Johnson scored 19 on his 11 shots. Box score.

The Spartans have turned into a defensive powerhouse in the second half of the season. Over their last 9 regular season games, opponents have averaged just 0.84 points per possession. Minnesota didn't do much better, scoring just 0.875 points per possession in this one. The Spartans now have a top 10 defense nationally. In fact, this is Tom Izzo's best defense at Michigan State, edging out the 99-00 team. Someone tap Joe Lunardi's shoulder - this is definitely #1 seed material here.

On the flip side, Minnesota continues to struggle to make shots. And their normally-reliable free throw shooting was nowhere to be found here, as the Gophers made just 13 of their 27 attempts from the stripe. I think they're in, but I suppose that depends on whether the Selection Committee is drinking from the same punch bowl as ESPN's talking heads.

Illinois took it to Michigan in the second half, turning a one point lead into a 20 point advantage before holding on for the win 60-50 in a 59 possession game. For Illinois, the story was winning convincingly without their senior leader Chester Frazier. Mike Davis was a big part of that, posting a 22/10 dub-dub. The Wolverines, on the other hand, couldn't make a shot, posting an effective field goal percentage of 41.2. Few players for Michigan had more points than shots, but Zack Novak was one of them, with 10 points on 8 shots and 7 rebounds. Box score.

The consensus seems to be that Michigan is in, and I can't disagree there. The Wolverines' resume stacks up very well against the rest of the bubble, and they seem to get a lot of mileage out of those wins over Duke and UCLA.

Today, Michigan State faces Ohio State at 12:40 CT, and Illinois/Purdue is scheduled to tip off around 3. Again, I'll be live blogging the action, so stop on by.