So maybe all those preseason magazines were right

Wisconsin opened its play in the NCAA Tournament with a dramatic 61-59 overtime win against Florida State. The Badgers trailed big at the half in this one, but came out on fire in the second half, shooting 50% from three point range. Trevon Hughes hit the game winner - an impossible one-handed shot over two Seminole defenders, and he was fouled. Bo Ryan's team made me sweat, but they pulled out the 5/12 upset I had predicted earlier. Jason Bohannon led Wisconsin with 16 points on 11 shots. Box score.

Wisconsin might have used up all of their shooting on Friday, because they didn't have anything left against Xavier on Sunday, falling 60-49 in a 59 possession game. The Badgers shot just 29% on the game, including 15% on their 20 three point attempts. Bo Ryan's shot-maximization offense was working, as Wisconsin saw 10 more shot attempts than the Musketeers thanks to the low turnover total, but at the end of the day, someone has to put the ball in the hoop. Outside of Marcus Landry, who had 18 points on 14 shots and 10 rebounds, the best offense was Trevon Hughes shooting free throws. Box score.

We'll have more thoughts later on about Wisconsin's season, but overall I think it was a solid season. At this point, however, making the NCAA Tournament every season is expected of the Badgers. And although Bo Ryan's steady stream of seniors doesn't show signs of letting up on that pattern, eventually the natives will start asking for more out of the program.

Ohio State saw its season come to an end with a 74-72 double OT thriller against Siena. Despite how entertaining double overtime games usually are, this was actually a pretty sloppy game, with both teams turning it over on a quarter of their possessions, and shooting well below their seasonal averages. The difference, as everyone has discussed ad naseum, was Siena's rebounding. The heartbreaking part for Buckeye fans is that Siena really isn't a very good rebounding team. Moreover, this was basically a home game for the Buckeyes, who were playing in Dayton - a mere 70 miles from Columbus. Evan Turner led Ohio State with 25 points on 18 shots, to go along with 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Box score.

Frankly, this is a game which elicits a lot of finger pointing. Why didn't the Buckeyes foul when they were ahead by 3 in the game's final seconds of regulation? Why does Matta insist on playing zone defense which keeps the rebounding numbers low? Then again, the rebounding might be acceptable if perhaps the team's best rebounder wasn't forced to play point guard and frequently guard the other team's best player. In a way, this game was somewhat of a microcosm of Ohio State's season. This team is talented. Really talented. There are several NBA talents on this team, perhaps more than on any other team in the Big Ten. But there are two problems with that talent. The first is that it's very young, and young players are prone to mistakes. The second problem is that all these talented pieces don't fit together very well. Ohio State has 4 quality wing players (which would be 5 if David Lighty were healthy), but no point guard. They have two centers but no power forward who can guard quicker big men. As a result of these issues, this team has looked out of sync all season. And the kicker here is that Buckeye fans might need to be prepared for more of the same - there's a very good chance that some of this talent decides to head to the NBA this summer.

Purdue advanced to the Sweet 16 on Saturday with a 76-74 victory over 4th seeded Washington. The Boilers were up by 14 early in the second half before the Huskies stormed back and made a game of this in the game's final minutes. JaJuan Johnson had 22 points on 17 shots, and he also had 4 blocks - two of them coming in the final minute to preserve Purdue's lead. Box score. Matt Painter's team advances to face top-ranked Connecticut, which has steamrolled everything in sight since the Tournament started.

The Michigan State Spartans also had a successful opening weekend of the Dance, advancing to the Sweet 16 as well. First, Tom Izzo's team crushed 15th seeded Robert Morris with their always superb offensive rebounding. The Spartans gathered 46% of their misses, and when this ball hungry squad is able to do that, without turning the ball over (15.3% turnover rate), they are hard to stop. Draymond Green led Michigan State with 16 points on 8 shots. Box score.

The Spartans didn't keep the turnovers in check against USC in the second round, but they won anyways, 74-69 in a 69 possession game. This game was tightly-called with both teams combining for 57 free throw attempts. That's one area where Izzo Depth can really help out. USC's frontline was in foul trouble for much of this contest, especially Taj Gibson. USC is one of the best shotblocking teams in the country, and that's due in no small part to Gibson. Michigan State certainly felt that, with Gibson swatting 5 shots in his 23 minutes. No doubt he would have had more had he not been in foul trouble. Travis Walton led Michigan State with 18 points in a rare scoring outburst. Box score. The Spartans are now staring down a rematch against Kansas. The Jayhawks were throttled by State in East Lansing in January. I expect a more competitive game this time around.

In Michigan's 73-63 loss to #2 seed Oklahoma, the Wolverines actually held their own on the boards. That probably came as a surprise to most considering Big Blue's undersized frontline, and the fact that Blake Griffin plays for Oklahoma. Sure, Mr. Griffin went nuts - to the tune of 33 points and 17 rebounds - but on the whole, Michigan grabbed 39% of their misses. Oklahoma did as well, but hey, just matching the Sooners on the boards was a big upset. Unfortunately, there was another big upset in this one, and that was in the turnover department. Beilein Ball generally limits turnovers, and on the season, the Wolverines have done a fine job in that department. But against the Sooners - who don't force TOs that often - Michigan coughed it up on 23% of their possessions. Anthony Wright and DeShawn Sims each had 14 points in the loss. Box score.

To say that Michigan had a good season is an understatement. The Wolverines nearly turned last season's 10-22 record upside-down, and went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998 (or 1995, if you're looking for results that haven't been vacated). The job that John Beilein has done in his short time in Ann Arbor has been amazing, and so long as Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims come back next season (hey, you never know), this team is well-positioned to improve on this season's results.

That leaves just two Big Ten teams standing after the first weekend - Purdue and Michigan State (the two teams everyone figured to get this far when the season started). That doesn't sound like a lot, considering the conference received 7 bids, but keep in mind that only the top 4 seeds in each region are "expected" to make it this far. And the conference only received one top 4 seed, so this isn't so bad.