Is Michigan Dancing?

I've got to make this quick, but here are some of my thoughts:

-- Michigan's 80+ scoring output yesterday over Purdue may have just put them back in the race for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. John Beilein's crew has proven they can play with the best teams in the country. If Michigan gets in with, say, an 11 seed, would you want to play them...

-- Despite having injury/suspension problems all season, Iowa gave Michigan State all it could handle Wednesday. I'll be honest, I thought Iowa would get blown out of the water by the Spartans inside the Breslin Center, but Iowa played extremely tough. Playing at the point guard, Jake Kelly is proving he's got some game and is capable of running Todd Lickliter's offense. That may change when Jeff Peterson returns, though...

-- Props to Tom Crean for playing senior manager Mike Santa in the waning moments of Indiana's loss to Northwestern. Nothing has really gone the right way this season for the Hoosiers, but this is a feel-good story...

-- Finally, were Bruce Weber's comments about the Big Ten justified? Seems as if the perception towards the Big Ten not only hurt the conference's rep. in football but in basketball as well? Nice to see Weber stand up for the conference.

QUICK PICKS:
Saturday
Iowa at Northwestern (1 p.m., BTN) -- Iowa has played well the last few games despite having a few key players injured. Northwestern will look for revenge following a loss in Iowa City two weeks ago.
Ohio State at Purdue (3 p.m., ESPN) -- This may be Ohio State's last chance at a quality win before the Big Ten Tournament starts. They got back on their horse after beating Penn State, but a season-sweep over the Boilermakers would do wonders for their confidence.
Indiana at Penn State (5 p.m., BTN) -- Penn State has been pretty solid at home. Indiana has been abysmal on the road.
Sunday
Michigan at Wisconsin (1 p.m., BTN) -- Wisconsin beat Michigan way back in the season-opener but both teams have changed since then. Both teams are in search of a win.
Michigan State at Illinois (3 p.m., CBS) -- A match-up of two of the top teams in the Big Ten. Michigan State won the first meeting. Should be a good one here.

Record: 37-10