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Three Teams Battle for Big Ten Title in Final Weekend
May 20, 2004 Big Ten Race Goes Down to the Wire: For the third consecutive season, Minnesota and Ohio State will meet in the season's final weekend with the Big Ten Championship on the line. Both squads took three of four games last weekend to remain separated by one game, while Michigan State took three of four at Penn State to stay just two games back. The Gophers are aiming for a third straight Big Ten title, a feat the program has not accomplished since the 1968-70 seasons. Last season, Minnesota needed only one victory in the final series to clinch the crown and won three games against the Buckeyes. In 2002, the Gophers secured the title with a road victory at Ohio State on the final day of the season. OSU bounced back to win the Big Ten Tournament on Minnesota's home field each of the last two years, as the Buckeyes' last regular-season crown occurred in 2001 (when the Gophers won the Conference Tourney in Columbus). Michigan State still has a shot at its first Big Ten Championship since 1979, depending on its series against Northwestern and the results of the Ohio State-Minnesota set.
Big Ten Tourney Field: Six teams will earn invites to the 2004 Big Ten Tournament, which will be held May 26-29 at the site of the Conference champ. With just one weekend left, Minnesota, Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State have clinched berths while Michigan, Purdue and Northwestern will battle for the final two seeds. OSU, the two-time defending tourney champ, was joined at the 2003 event by Minnesota, Michigan, Penn State, Northwestern and Indiana. The Tournament winner is granted the Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
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