Thursday Notes & Links

Four weeks remain until the Big Ten Tournament kicks off inside Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. After going through a three-week stretch where they didn't win any games, Wisconsin has suddenly come alive and look like the Bo Ryan teams of old. Also, Michigan State continues to get it done without forward Raymar Morgan, while Purdue finally found a way to win without the star forward of their own, pre-season Player of the Year pick Robbie Hummel. So how will it all shake out? We've got three weeks of regular-season play left to figure it out.

As March draws ever closer, here are some news and notes from around the Big Ten Conference Thursday:

-- Minnesota's inability to put away Indiana at home Tuesday could point to the Golden Gophers' losing momentum, writes Myron Medcalf in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

-- Former Ohio State point guard Mike Conley Jr. is surging in Memphis under new coach Lionel Hollins, writes Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

-- Interesting read on Illinois forward Dominique Keller from Paul Klee at IlliniHQ.com, who is providing a major lift off the bench for Bruce Weber's now-ranked Fighting Illini.

-- With Michigan's home loss to rival Michigan State Tuesday, the Wolverines continue to walk a dangerous line between "at-large selection" and "bubble team", writes Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, also head of this year's Selection Committee, says that there's no set parameters to take a certian number of teams from each league, which may end up helping Michigan considering how many top-tier teams they've played this season:

“How many teams can be selected at‑large from any one conference?” Slive said he’s often asked. “The answer is: However many of these teams are deemed to be among the best 34 teams in the country… Each team is judged independently, and its entire body of work will be thoroughly evaluated. The fact that a number of teams from one league are already in the field does not help nor hurt another team's chances of receiving a bid.”

-- Two factoids out of the Wisconsin area. The first is a chart showing how Wisconsin has fared in the NCAA Tournament since the 1998-99 season. Second, the play of senior guard Trevon Hughes helped Wisconsin to a relatively easy win over Iowa Wednesday night to get the Badgers back to. 500 in Big Ten play.