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The day before Selection Sunday is finally here, which means that a number of conferences will determine their winners throughout the course of the day. Thirteen automatic bids are up for grabs and a 14th, the battle between South Dakota and North Dakota in the Great West, will be for an automatic bid in the College Insider Tournament. The Big 12 and Big East title games may receive a great deal of attention (and rightfully so), but the first meeting between teams with 30 victories will take place in the Mountain West final.

With three NCAA Tournament tickets assured of being punched (that number becomes four if Princeton wins at Harvard in a crucial Ivy League tilt), it makes sense to touch on each of those games as opposed to the usual daily preview. The title game in the Atlantic Sun provides a matchup of the prohibitive favorite taking on the underdog, a storyline that usually doesn't come into play for another two weeks.

If there was one area of concern for Wisconsin going into their game against Minnesota on Tuesday night it would have been rebounding given the Golden Gophers' size up front. And sure enough Minnesota won the battle convincingly, out-rebounding the Badgers 42-24 and scoring 16 second-chance points (34-12 edge in points in the paint) on the night. But the Gophers also shot just 39% from the field, and with Wisconsin turning the ball over just two times (and going 17-18 from the foul line) it proved to be too much for the visitors at the Kohl Center.

With four clear-cut big-dancers, the Big Ten oozes front-end quality.  But with lower-seeded teams providing late season scares to perennial powers – see Michigan State barely escaping Penn State in East Lansing last week - look for some drama to unfold this Thursday thru Sunday in Indianapolis.

 

Illinois

Michigan St

Ohio St

Purdue

Wisconsin

Other (Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn St)

Tuesday's a big day for teams in need to resume-building wins with many games providing teams the opportunity to further their causes. Rhode Island, who fell victim to Jordan Crawford in the second half of their loss at Xavier, could really use a win at Dayton to help their at-large chances. The same goes for the Flyers, who have lost two of their past three (both defeats came on the road). Losing to the Musketeers is by no means a bad thing but the 60-59 loss at St. Joseph's could be one that comes back to haunt Brian Gregory's squad if they don't pick up a few more quality wins.

While much of the country was caught up in the hoopla that was the BCS Championship Game, an amazing comeback was taking place at Penn State. The Nittany Lions looked to be well on their way to their first Big Ten win of the season, leading a cold-shooting Michigan at the half 31-16. But if you're familiar with John Beilein-coached teams you know that at the snap of a finger they can heat up from the field. And that's exactly what happened in the second half, as the Wolverines outscored their opponents 48-24 in the final twenty minutes on their way to a 64-55 victory.