Happ named to Big Ten’s first team

During the past week, the Terps defeated Rutgers, 79-59, on the road February 28 and edged Michigan State, 63-60, at home March 4. A run in the Big Ten Tournament could push its NCAA Tournament seed up one or two lines. However, this game would be more of a toss-up than if the Badgers played the Wildcats.

Maryland seems to have bounced back after a three-game losing streak. Is Wisconsin back on track?

Swanigan was also named first-team All-Big Ten Monday night.

If Wisconsin advances to the semifinals, by either getting revenge over Iowa or beating IN for the third time this season, there are a number of teams the Badgers could potentially play.

Most friendly path to Sunday: Wisconsin. Minnesota’s Reggie Lynch was named defensive player of the year. Michigan State, a fifth-seed opening Thursday against either Penn State or Nebraska, has a much easier path in that field than eighth-seed Michigan (Wolverines open vs. Illinois, also Thursday and then would likely meet Purdue). They’ll face Rutgers, who finished last in the conference. Teams in the conference will be battling to either improve their position in the NCAA Tournament, or make the field all together thanks to a conference championship. Four straight wins (over Iowa, Northwestern, Nebraska and Michigan State) ended with a loss at Rutgers. Schools from the states Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin were eligible for the award.

Fundamentals will be one of the keys in this game. Which is an entirely reasonable thing to do. Michigan State has claimed a conference-best five tournament titles. First, the Spartans had two chances in the final 20 seconds to tie IL, but neither shot would fall, leading to a 73-70 loss.

The Terps (24-7, 12-6) topped Michigan State on a last-second Melo Trimble three-pointer on Saturday in the regular season finale to clinch the third overall seed in the tournament.

The 2017 Big Ten Tournament bracket has been set following another weekend of college basketball action.

A win for Maryland in that matchup would get them into the quarterfinals. In the next round, they’ll have to face Purdue, Michigan or IL. And, oh yeah, Wisconsin lost 59-57 to the Hawkeyes at home on March 2 when Iowa went on a 7-0 run to close the game.

Long a fixture in the Midwest, the Big Ten Tournament will be held in the nation’s capital for the first time.

Maryland made consecutive layups out of the stoppage, and another Jones layup yielded a 61-52 lead with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter. MI is playing terrific at the moment and has secured its spot in the tournament field, meaning a win for IL would count as a signature one, a resume-builder and a big deal for a team looking to inch over the bubble.