Big Ten Tournament preview

The 11 Big Ten teams will meet in Indianapolis this week and crown a conference tournament champion. Play begins Thursday at noon in Conseco Fieldhouse and concludes with the conference championship game Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

Ohio State

After winning a share of their third regular season conference title in five years, the Buckeyes arrive in Indianapolis as the tournament's No. 1 seed. Led by the Big Ten Player of the Year Evan Turner, OSU has won 13 of its last 14 games.

After their first-round bye, they will play the winner of the Thursday's Michigan-Iowa game at noon on Friday. OSU beat Iowa twice this year, and split the season series with the Wolverines. However, in their loss at Michigan, the Buckeyes were without Turner, who was recovering from a back injury.

Biggest Strength: Starting Five

With Turner on the court, the Buckeyes will have the best player in any game they play this weekend. However, the other four OSU starters cannot be ignored.

Jon Diebler and William Buford combined for 36 points in last week's win over Illinois, 21 of which came on Diebler's seven 3-pointers. Junior David Lighty, who was once known solely for his defensive prowess, has gotten better and better on the offensive end as the season has progressed. Throw in Big Ten All-Defensive center Dallas Lauderdale and you have a starting five that rivals anybody's in the country.

Biggest Weakness: Depth, or Lack Thereof

If there is a weakness to this OSU team, it is the virtual absence of a bench. The only reserve to play in every game this season was senior Kyle Madsen, and fellow seniors P.J. Hill and Jeremie Simmons are the only other Buckeyes who have any hope of entering the game.

Because the starting five is so strong, extensive bench play has not been essential to this point. None of the Buckeye regulars have shown any ill effects of playing nearly every minute, but if any of them were to get into foul trouble, it could spell trouble for OSU.

Purdue

Last year's tournament champion took a serious hit late in the season when junior Robbie Hummel was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

With Hummel, Purdue was all alone atop the conference standings. Without him, they went 2-1, including a loss at home to Michigan State and just a four-point win against Penn State.

Without their first-team All-Big Ten forward, Purdue could have a hard time repeating last season's title.

Biggest Strength: Experience

Purdue will start four players who also started on last season's tournament championship team and had Hummel not gotten hurt, they would have returned all five. These guys know what it takes to win three games in three days.

Hummel or no Hummel, Purdue should still be a contender.

Biggest Weakness: Outside Shooting

Hummel was Purdue's best outside shooter and without him, junior E'Twaun Moore is the only real threat the Boilermakers have from beyond the 3-point arc. The lack of a long-distance scorer will put a lot of pressure on center JaJuan Johnson.

Johnson is plenty capable, and might be the best big man in the conference. But without help from the outside, teams will be more willing to collapse inside and make things more difficult for him. It will be interesting to see how he handles the added responsibility, and the Boilermakers will need him to be nothing short of spectacular if they hope to win the tournament.

Michigan State

The Spartans entered February undefeated in the conference and likely had their sights set on an outright conference championship. So after going just 5-4 to end the season, earning just a share of the title may feel to many in East Lansing as a less-than-consoling consolation prize.

They will be looking to redeem themselves with a tournament championship and will start by playing the winner of Minnesota-Penn State.

Biggest Strength: Rebounding

Michigan State leads the conference in both offensive and defensive rebounding.

Led by their front line of senior Raymar Morgan and sophomore Delvon Roe, as well as Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year Draymond Green, the Spartans have out-rebounded their opponents by an average of more than nine a game. In comparison, Penn State is second in the conference averaging just three more rebounds than its opponents.

Michigan State's ability to get second and even third chances on the offensive end could be key if it hopes to make a run this weekend.

Biggest Weakness: Suspended Guard

Michigan State announced Tuesday that junior guard Chris Allen would be suspended indefinitely because of unfulfilled responsibilities, coach Tom Izzo said. Allen will miss at least his team's opening game.

Allen averages nine points per game, but is perhaps the Spartans' best perimeter defender. In MSU's regular season finale, Allen held Michigan's Manny Harris to just four points.

In a conference with such an abundance of great guards, any deficiency on the defensive perimeter could be costly.

Wisconsin

The Badgers have quietly gone about their business all year and should not be overlooked. They play Illinois, a team they beat by 15 earlier this week, in their first game on Friday. If they top the Illini again, they will move on to the semifinals where OSU could be waiting.

The Badgers beat the Buckeyes handily in the teams' first game, but Turner was out with an injury. In the rematch, Wisconsin was without junior Jon Leuer and the Buckeyes controlled the game.

Biggest Strength: Senior Leader

For the second year in a row, the Big Ten's All-Conference Team was absent of seniors. But unlike many teams in the conference, Wisconsin's best player is also its most experienced.