ESPN.com - NCB - Big Ten won't be as easy as 1, 2 ... 3-peat

The top-seeded Illini (23-6, 13-3) finished in a tie with defending national champion Michigan State for a share of their 14th conference title, but just their third since 1983-84. They whipped the Spartans by 11 points along the way. Bill Self became the first coach in 22 seasons to win a title in his first season in the Big Ten. And sophomore guard Frank Williams was named the Big Ten's player of the year on Monday.

"That trophy," Self said, "even though it will be a co-trophy, will be something we treasure forever."


	Charlie Bell is part of a senior class that's compiled a record of 111-23 at Michigan State.

Forever? The second-seeded Spartans (23-3, 13-3) believe they have just what it takes to remind the Illini that forever doesn't always last a lifetime, or even longer than a week.

"This is one-and-done time," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "The goals and dreams now change. It's on to phase two. But it's mind-boggling to look at some of these accomplishments."

It is the memory of those accomplishments that have Izzo's players confident they can win a rematch with Illinois and win the Big Ten tournament, which opens Thursday in at the United Center in Chicago.

The Spartans have won or shared the last four Big Ten regular-season titles, with the seniors compiling a record of 111-23, a Big Ten record for victories by a class. They have been to back-to-back Final Fours, delivering the school's first national championship in 21 years last season. And they've won the last two Big Ten tournaments, beating Illinois in the championship game each time.

"We're about winning championships," Michigan State senior forward Andre Hutson said. "It's all we've ever done."

Don't discount the Spartans' chances of winning a third Big Ten tournament title.

After suffering that 11-point loss at Illinois on Feb. 6, the Spartans reeled off six consecutive victories, with the average margin of victory 15 points.

"We finished about as well as we could have," Izzo said.

Both Michigan State and Illinois remain in the running to receive a No. 1 seeding in the NCAA tournament, likely the Midwest Regional.

Yet neither team will have a stroll into the Big Ten championship game on Sunday.

Remember first that in the three-year history of the Big Ten tournament the top two seeded teams have yet to meet in the final. In the first tournament, No. 4 Michigan beat No. 3 Purdue. Two seasons ago, the top-seeded Spartans wore down the 11th-seeded Illini. The teams met in the final last season, with the second-seeded Spartans holding off the fourth-seeded Illini.

What will it take for someone to oust either Michigan State or Illinois before the final?

"It takes one 10-minute stretch for an Illinois or a Michigan State not to be on top of their game for that to happen," Minnesota coach Dan Monson said. "I think those two are a cut above everybody else.

"But there are some teams like Ohio State, Indiana and Wisconsin ... it's not like it's an absolute miracle for those teams to knock one of the (top) two off."

Michigan State will face either seventh-seeded Penn State (17-10, 7-9) or 10th-seeded Michigan (10-17, 4-12) in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Spartans are a combined 4-0 against those teams this season. Barring an upset, third-seeded Ohio State (20-9, 11-5) will be waiting in the semifinals.

The Buckeyes, of course, jump-started their season by upsetting the Spartans in Columbus to gain a season split.

"I wasn't really sure what our full potential was going to be," said Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien, the Big Ten coach of the year. "The thing that I did think early on was that we had a chance to be better than what people initially thought.

"We were picked eighth, ninth in the conference and kind of like afterthoughts. I didn't know we'd get to the point where we'd win 11 games in the league and get to 20 (overall) and finish third.

"But I really did think we could be a little bit better than what the general public thought. And these guys game after game have rallied and surprised me."

Led by senior center Ken Johnson, the defensive player of the year in the Big Ten, Ohio State is fully capable of surprising the Spartans again.

Illinois, which struggled in its regular-season finale at Minnesota, will face either eighth-seeded Purdue (14-13, 6-10) or the ninth-seeded Gophers (17-12, 5-11) in the quarterfinals. Illinois is a combined 3-0 against those teams.

Barring a quarterfinal disaster, the Illini will face fourth-seeded Indiana (19-11, 10-6) or fifth-seeded Wisconsin (18-9, 9-7) in the semifinals. The Illini scored in the final second to beat Wisconsin by a point on Feb. 13 and then battled to a six-point victory over the Hoosiers four days later.

Indiana, which won its final three games by 30, 36 and 16 points, may well be the hottest team in the Big Ten.

"Our confidence is very high," interim coach Mike Davis said.

Self isn't worried about the competition as much as he is his own team's consistency.

"My personal opinion is that Ohio State and Michigan State are playing better than anybody," Self said, "with Indiana right there as well. It can change from week to week or game to game.

"There was a point in time last week that I could say Illinois was playing as well as anybody. But we didn't play very well (against) Minnesota."

True. But the Illini have Williams and perhaps the deepest team in the conference. The Spartans' depth is equally impressive and no one in the field can match the experience and savvy of Izzo's team.

"Whoever aspires to get into that championship game is going to have to go through Illinois and Michigan State," said Wisconsin coach Brad Soderberg, whose Badgers went 0-3 against those teams, losing by a combined 15 points. "And in order to do so, they're going to have to play about as good as they possibly can.

"Both teams are just exceptional. Both are Final Four caliber teams."

Cyclones class of Big 12, but ...
It is safe to say that Iowa State surprised a few people this season.

Picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 by the media and fourth by the league's coaches, the Cyclones ignored the naysayers and won 13 of 16 games to win their second consecutive Big 12 regular-season title.

Kansas, the preseason favorite, Oklahoma and Texas finished a game back at 12-4.

	“	Nobody gave us a chance. Marcus (Fizer) was gone, the league was tougher. We couldn't do it again. But I knew we'd be good. ”
		— Larry Eustachy, Iowa State head coach

"Just look at the teams below us in our conference," Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy said. "You're talking about a major, major powerhouse conference. We've been on top of this league twice in the past two years. It's staggering."

With the Big 12 tournament set to open Thursday in at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, one question remains unanswered.

Can anyone stagger the top-seeded Cyclones (25-4, 13-3) in the tournament?

With all due respect to the members of the Big 12, only three teams appear capable of preventing the Cyclones from adding the tournament title to their list of accomplishments this season. They are: fourth-seeded Texas (23-7, 12-4), second-seeded Kansas (23-5, 12-4) and fifth-seeded Oklahoma State (19-8, 10-6).

The Longhorns enter the tournament riding a six-game winning streak. They clearly are playing their best basketball of the season. They are confident. They are dangerous.

And most important, they whipped Iowa State by 16 points during the current winning streak. It was the teams' lone meeting this season.

In guards Darren Kelley and Maurice Evans (who can play forward, too), the Longhorns have a backcourt to battle Iowa State's trio of Jamaal Tinsley, Kantrail Horton and Jake Sullivan. In junior center Chris Owens, the Longhorns have both an inside scoring presence and a shot-blocker to battle Iowa State's inside duo of Martin Rancik and Paul Shirley.

Iowa State should get past either eighth-seeded Baylor (17-10, 6-10) or ninth-seeded Colorado (15-14, 5-11) in the quarterfinals on Friday. If Texas can get past either Oklahoma State or 12th-seeded Texas Tech (9-18, 3-13) in its quarterfinal game, the Cyclones and Longhorns would meet Saturday in the semifinals.

Can Kansas end its five-game losing streak against Iowa State?

The Jayhawks should have a boisterous following at Kemper Arena and they were bolstered by the return of sophomore forward Drew Gooden, who missed five games with a wrist injury. Gooden had 17 points and seven rebounds against Kansa State in his first game back and 19 points and nine rebounds in the finale against Missouri, an impressive 75-59 Kansas victory.

Kansas, which will meet either 10th-seeded Kansas State (10-17, 4-12) or seventh-seeded Nebraska (14-15, 7-9) in the quarterfinals, needs better guard play if it hopes to beat Iowa State. The Cyclones' guards outplayed their Kansas counterparts in both games this season. Shooting guard Jeff Boschee has struggled at times this season. He needs to play big in the tournament.

Oklahoma State beat Iowa State in the teams' lone meeting this season. The Cowboys must first get past Texas Tech and then Texas to set up a semifinal showdown with Iowa State. But if that happens, the Cowboys know that guards Maurice Baker and Victor Williams will not shy away from the challenge of facing Tinsley and Horton.

Why not include third-seeded Oklahoma (23-6, 12-4) and sixth-seeded Missouri (18-11, 9-7) among the teams capable of upsetting Iowa State?

Oklahoma, which will meet either Missouri or 11th-seeded Texas A&M (10-19, 3-13) in the quarterfinals, won 11 of its last 12 conference games and coach Kelvin Sampson has his team peaking at the proper time. But the Sooners were drilled by Iowa State by 20 points during the regular season and that was before Sampson dismissed guard J.R. Raymond from the team.

Missouri did beat Iowa State in an epic four-overtime battle back in January. But that was at home, where the Tigers are nearly unbeatable, and with a healthy Kareem Rush.

Rush returned to the Tigers' lineup in the regular-season finale against Kansas after missing seven games with a thumb injury. But he was rusty and ineffective. The Tigers need his scoring punch in the tournament.

Any team that meets Iowa State will have to find a way to control Tinsley and keep him from dominating the game. No team has done that yet, even when Tinsley has struggled on offense.

In the regular-season finale against Nebraska, Tinsley scored 23 of his career-high 29 points in the second half to lead the Cyclones to an 86-73 victory that clinched the conference title.

"Basically," Rancik said, "the whole team jumped on his back and he carried us to the finish line."

Now can anyone keep Tinsley from leading the Cyclones to the finish line in Kansas City?

"Nobody gave us a chance," Eustachy said, referring to the Cyclones' hopes of winning the regular-season title. "Marcus (Fizer) was gone, the league was tougher. We couldn't do it again. But I knew we'd be good."

Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.

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