March 14, 2010
[ONE // buckeyes capture big ten tournament title]
Congratulations to the Ohio State men’s basketball team on capturing the 2010 Big Ten Tournament Championship Sunday with a 90-61 victory over Minnesota. The top-seeded Buckeyes were led by Evan Turner’s 31 points and 11 rebounds, which helped the conference’s Player of the Year earn him Most Outstanding Player honors as well. His 31 points marked the most scored in a Big Ten Championship final, while his 80 Big Ten Tournament points were third-best in a single tournament. Joining Turner on the All-Tournament Team were teammates William Buford and David Lighty, as well as Illinois’ Demetri McCamey and Minnesota’s Devoe Joseph.
[TWO // five men’s basketball teams earn ncaa championship bids]
Five Big Ten teams were selected Sunday to participate in the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. Big Ten Tri-Champions Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan State will represent the conference along with Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes earned the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional and will face No. 15 UC Santa Barbara for their first game. Purdue is the No. 4 seed in the South Regional and will take on No. 13 Siena. Wisconsin is the No. 4 seed in the East Regional and will meet No. 13 Wofford in the opener. Michigan State is the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Regional and is slated to first play No. 12 New Mexico State. Minnesota is the No. 11 seed in the West Regional and will face No. 6 Xavier for its first game.
[THREE // illinois and northwestern named to nit field]
In addition to the five men’s basketball teams selected to NCAA Championship, a pair of conference squads was named to the National Invitation Tournament on Sunday. Illinois, a No. 1 seed, will face No. 8 seed Stony Brook in the NIT on Wednesday, March 17 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU. Northwestern earned a No. 7 seed and will face No. 2 Rhode Island also on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. For the Wildcats, the invitation marks the first time in school history they have earned postseason appearances in consecutive seasons.
[FOUR // big ten basketball honors announced]
Prior to the start of the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, the conference office announced Monday the 2010 All-Big Ten men’s basketball teams and individual award winners. Ohio State’s Evan Turner captured the conference's highest honor, as he was named Big Ten Player of the Year in voting by conference coaches and media. Purdue’s Chris Kramer was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year by the coaches and Illinois’ D.J. Richardson was tabbed the Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the coaches while Northwestern newcomer Drew Crawford was recognized by the media. Michigan State’s Draymond Green was selected as the Sixth Man of the Year by the coaches and two mentors shared Big Ten Coach of the Year accolades, as Purdue’s Matt Painter was chosen by his peers and Ohio State’s Thad Matta was honored by the media.
[FIVE // hoosier high jumper highlights ncaa men’s track championships]
For the second straight season, Indiana and Minnesota led all Big Ten teams at the NCAA Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championships this past week. The Hoosiers finished the meet in sixth place with 25 points, the best for IU since 2005 and the third-most ever at the Indoor meet for IU. Minnesota earned 18 team tallies to tie for eighth place at the conclusion of the two-day event. Penn State racked up 14 points as the Nittany Lions tied for 14th place followed by Wisconsin in 26th place with eight team points. Illinois earned four points while Michigan State and Ohio State tallied three points. Hoosier sophomore Derek Drouin paced all Big Ten student-athletes by claiming his first NCAA title in the high jump at a height of 2.28m (7-5.75).
[SIX // illini runner makes headlines at ncaa women’s track championships]
Penn State led all Big Ten teams as competition came to a close at the 2010 NCAA Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships at the University of Arkansas on Saturday. The Nittany Lions tallied 17 team points to finish in 13th place, marking their third-consecutive top-15 finish at the national event. Rounding out the Big Ten contingent was Illinois (10) and Indiana (8) in 21st and 28th place, respectively. Illinois senior Angela Bizzarri claimed top honors in the 3,000-meter run. The Mason, Ohio native smashed her own school record in the event by 13 seconds with a time of 8:57.40 and edged top-seeded Lisa Koll (8:57.52) of Iowa State by just over a tenth of a second.
[SEVEN // big ten wrestlers prepare for ncaa championships]
A total of 66 Big Ten student-athletes were selected to the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships field of 330, the NCAA Wrestling Championships selection committee announced on Wednesday night. The event begins March 18 and will be contested in Omaha, Neb., with Sessions Three, Four, Five and Six televised by the ESPN family of networks. Each weight class will be represented by at least five conference student-athletes, including six at 125 pounds, seven at 133 pounds, five at 141 pounds, eight at 149 pounds, six at 157 pounds, seven at 165 pounds, seven at 174 pounds, seven at 184 pounds, eight at 197 pounds and five at 285 pounds.
[EIGHT // big ten media selects “icons” watch list]
Credentialed media members in town for the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament selected 100 former Big Ten stars to the preliminary Big Ten Icons Watch List on Thursday at a reception hosted by the Big Ten Network in Indianapolis. Big Ten Icons, the network's new 20-episode series hosted by legendary college sports broadcaster Keith Jackson, will debut Sept. 18. New episodes every Tuesday night will continue the countdown throughout football season and into the spring. The No. 1 Big Ten Icon will be revealed around the 2011 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament.
[NINE // buckeyes’ tennis team reaches milestone]
Congratulations to the Ohio State men’s tennis team, which earned its 100th straight home victory with a 7-0 win over Purdue on Friday. No other Big Ten team in any sport has accomplished this feat as Ohio State has won all its home matches the past six seasons. Consider this: OSU last lost a home match on April 5, 2003. The victory also gave the Buckeyes their 54th consecutive win over a Big Ten opponent.
[TEN // big ten announces former student-athlete to conference staff]
This past week the Big Ten introduced a new member into its conference staff family as Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany announced Diane Dietz as Chief Communications Officer. Dietz, a former executive with Comcast and a Michigan basketball player, will lead all conference communications efforts and work to integrate conference communications where appropriate with institutional and Big Ten Network endeavors. She will assume her new role at the conference office on May 3.
[ELEVEN // get her a mitt]
Finally this week, Illinois softball head coach Terri Sullivan has found herself a new recruit. Sullivan gave birth to a baby girl -- Macy Jean – at 12:12 a.m. Wednesday morning at an Urbana hospital. Macy weighed in at seven pounds, five ounces and measured 21 inches long. Sullivan and baby are healthy and well!
