BigTen.org stopped by the Wisconsin Pep Rally at the Embassy Suites in Indianapolis Friday, prior to the Badgers' quarterfinal matchup against Penn State.



We walked right into a rowdy version of "Hey Baby" and then witnessed the Wisconsin band and cheerleaders just get flat out nuts.

What a great atmosphere here!  The Badger Faithful is certainly ready for tonight's game.
 

We are moments away from the Purdue/Michigan State quarterfinal matchup at the 2011 Big Ten Tournament.

Earlier today, BigTen.org caught up with the Purdue Alumni Association and several Boilermaker fans at Scotty's Brewhouse in Indianapolis.

Congratulations to Michigan on its 60-55 win over Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, as well as head coach John Beilein on earning his 1,000th career win.

Click here for a recap of the game! 

Can you say Freaky Friday????

The top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes, ranked No. 1 nationally, received a scare today from eighth-seeded Northwestern in the first game of the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament.

Congratulations to both teams on a heckuva way to start the day.  The Buckeyes needed an extra five minutes Friday before ousting the Wildcats 67-61 in overtime.

A surprise to many?  Perhaps, but it shouldn't be.  Ohio State narrowly escaped Northwestern in its lone regular-season contest this year, winning 58-57 in Evanston on Jan. 29.

NU's John Shurna had game-high honors with 23 points, while Ohio State's Jared Sullinger led the Buckeyes with 20 points and an eye-opening 18 rebounds.

Welcome to Quarterfinal Friday where we have four games on tap for today.

Action begins at noon with the top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes facing No. 8 Northwestern, which ousted Minnesota last night.  The second game of the day features No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Illinois.  To begin Session 3, No. 2 Purdue will battle No. 7 Michigan State, while No. 3 Wisconsin will face No. 6 Penn State in the nightcap.

Among the storylines, all four games today feature brief Big Ten Tournament history between the teams, including today's tip-off matchup against the Buckeyes and Wildcats, who have never faced one another in BTT play. 

In the second game, Michigan looks for its first win over Illinois in three Big Ten Tournament  contests.  This will be the first year that the Wolverines are ranked better than the Fighting Illini.  The previous two meetings have resulted in double-digit wins by the Illini.

In the third game of the day -- the first of the evening session -- No. 2 Purdue will also look for its first win in the three-game BTT series with Michigan State.  The Spartans have topped the Boilers as both the No. 5 and 6 seed, but can they keep the pattern going as the No. 7 seed?

The nightcap takes us all the way back to the first Big Ten Tournament in 1998.  In the first round of the inaugural event, the 10th-seeded Badgers upset No. 7 Penn State in a close 52-51 outcome.

Check out the breakdown below:

Game 4:  No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Northwestern (12 p.m. ET)
First Meeting in the Big Ten Tournament

Game 5:  No. 4 Michigan vs. No. 5 Illinois  (Approximately 2:30 p.m. ET)
Illinois leads Big Ten Tournament series, 2-0

2004, S, No. 1 Illinois def. No. 5 Michigan, 74-60
2009, Q, No. 2 Illinois def. No. 7 Michigan, 60-50

Game 6:  No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 7 Michigan State  (6:30 p.m. ET)
Michigan State leads Big Ten Tournament series, 2-0

2003, Q, No. 5 Michigan State def. No. 4 Purdue, 54-42
2006, 1st, No. 6 Michigan State def. No. 11 Purdue, 70-58

Game 7:  No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 6 Penn State  (Approximately 9 p.m. ET)
Wisconsin leads Big Ten Tournament series, 1-0

1998, 1st, No. 10 Wisconsin def. No. 7 Penn State, 52-51

At halftime of the Indiana/Penn State game at the 2011 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, the Big Ten Network highlighted three "Gus Johnson Sound-a-Like" contest winners from across Big Ten Country, including Nebraska, to perform in front of the fans and BTN announcer Gus Johnson.

	Look who it is in attendance tonight... Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers (left), father of Indiana senior Jeremiah Rivers, and Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (right).

So you are a senior in college.  It's your last Spring Break.  Where do you go?

South Beach?  Panama City?  Cancun?

How about Indianapolis?

That was the destination of choice for 15 proud members of Nittany Nation, the Penn State student section.

President Katie Huber noted that the group of Nittany Lions jammed into three cars around 1 a.m. this morning and made the 10-hour drive to Indianapolis, arriving shortly after 11 a.m.

The reason?

"We believe," Huber said.  "That has been the team's motto the whole year and we have a very strong relationship with the team, cheerleaders and band."

Huber pointed out that most of the traveling group are seniors and while some Penn State students were off to the Caribbean, they thought Indianapolis was the best place to be during break.

"We haven't slept for an entire day, but this means a lot to us and the team, especially since we are on the bubble right now (for the NCAA Tournament)."

Asked if the group even had time to make lodging plans for the night, Huber quickly replied.

"Oh yeah, we are booked through Sunday.  We plan to win."

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo speaks to the media following the Spartans' first-round 66-61 win over Iowa on Thursday at the 2011 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament.

Click here for the complete game recap.