2006 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was played between March 9 and March 12, 2006 at the Conseco Fieldhouse
in Indianapolis, Indiana
. This is the ninth annual Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament. The champion of the tournament
were the Iowa Hawkeyes
, which received the Big Ten's
automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Jeff Horner of Iowa was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Conseco Fieldhouse
Conseco Fieldhouse is a multi-purpose arena located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Opened in November 1999 to replace Market Square Arena, it is home to the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association...
in Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. This is the ninth annual Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament. The champion of the tournament
Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament is held annually at the end of the men's college basketball regular season. The tournament has been played each year since 1998. The winner of the tournament is designated the Big Ten Tournament Champion, and receives the conference's automatic...
were the Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represents the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, as a member of the Big Ten Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. They currently play in 15,500-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena, along with the school's women's basketball, wrestling, and...
, which received the Big Ten's
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Jeff Horner of Iowa was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Seeds
All Big Ten schools play in the tournament. Teams are seeded by conference record, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with identical conference records.| Seed | School | Conference (Overall) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State University Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States... |
12–4 (23–4) |
| 2 | University of Iowa University of Iowa The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees... |
11–5 (22–8) |
| 3 | University of Illinois | 11–5 (25–5) |
| 4 | University of Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866... |
9–7 (19–10) |
| 5 | Indiana University Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana... |
9–7 (17–10) |
| 6 | Michigan State University Michigan State University Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,... |
8–8 (20–10) |
| 7 | University of Michigan University of Michigan The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan... |
8–8 (18–9) |
| 8 | Penn State University Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service... |
6–10 (14–13) |
| 9 | Northwestern University Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees.... |
6–10 (14–14) |
| 10 | University of Minnesota University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557... |
5–11 (14–13) |
| 11 | Purdue University Purdue University Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and... |
3–13 (9–17) |
Tiebreakers
- Iowa over Illinois for #2 seed: Iowa and Illinois each won one of the two games played head-to-head, Iowa wins tiebreaker by virtue of a better record against regular season champion Ohio State. (Iowa vs Ohio State, 1–0; Illinois vs Ohio State, 0–1)
- Wisconsin over Indiana for #4 seed: Wisconsin wins tiebreaker by winning only head-to-head game played.
- Michigan State over Michigan for #6 seed: Michigan State and Michigan each won one of the two games played head-to-head, Michigan State wins tiebreaker by virtue of a better record against regular season champion Ohio State (Michigan State vs Ohio State, 1–1; Michigan vs Ohio State, 0–2)
- Penn State over Northwestern for the #8 seed: Penn State wins tiebreaker by winning both head-to-head games played.
Storylines
Of course, each team playing in the Big Ten Tournament has the goal of winning the tournament. Many teams have hopes of playing in additional postseason tournaments. These are some of the primary storylines for the teams in the tournament.- Regular season champion Ohio State is looking to cap a breakout season with a tournament championship. Also, with an estimated RPI ranking of fifth, Ohio State is looking to solidify a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament by avoiding an early upset, and to possibly gain a #1 seed by winning the Big Ten Tournament.
- Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan State are believed to be assured of receiving a bid for the NCAA Tournament, and are looking to improve their seed in the NCAA Tournament by winning multiple games in the Big Ten Tournament.
- Indiana and Michigan have estimated RPI rankings of 35 and 37, respectively, and are looking to avoid being on the "bubble" and to solidify a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
- Penn State, Northwestern, and Minnesota are looking to finish above .500 (have a "winning season"), and to receive a bid to play in the National Invitation TournamentNational Invitation TournamentThe National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
. - Purdue will be finished after the Big Ten Tournament.
- Source for estimated RPI rankings: collegerpi.com
Opening round
In the opening round, the higher seeded teams won two of the three games played. In the first game, eighth-seeded Penn State had an easy victory over ninth-seeded Northwestern, handing Northwestern their worst loss of the season in the 60–42 win. The win guarantees a winning season for Penn State, and ends Northwestern's season at 14–15. Penn State moves onto the quarterfinals to play the top seed, Ohio State. The second game featured the only upset of the day, as tenth-seeded Minnesota beat seventh-seeded Michigan 59–55. The loss leaves Michigan on the NCAA Tournament bubble, and sends Minnesota into the quarterfinals to play second-seeded Iowa. The final game of the opening round saw sixth-seeded Michigan State beat the bottom seed, Purdue, 70–58. Michigan State plays third-seeded Illinois in the quarterfinals. Illinois swept Michigan State in the regular season, including a victory at Michigan State the previous weekend.Opening Round (March 9, 2006)
- Game 1: #8 Penn State 60, #9 Northwestern 42
- Leading scorers, PSU: Geary Claxton 17, NU: Mohamed Hached 16
- Game 2: #10 Minnesota 59, #7 Michigan 55
- Leading scorers, Minn: Maurice Hargrow 15, Mich: Dion Harris 16
- Game 3: #6 Michigan State 70, #11 Purdue 58
- Leading scorers, MSU: Maurice AgerMaurice AgerMaurice Darnell Ager is an American professional basketball player. He played collegiately for the Michigan State Spartans from 2002 until 2006...
20, PU: Gary Ware 20
Quarterfinals (March 10, 2006)
- Game 4: #1 Ohio State 63, #8 Penn State 56
- Leading scorers, OSU: Ron LewisRon Lewis (basketball)Ron Lewis is an American professional basketball player for Hapoel Holon from the Ligat HaAl and formerly for The Ohio State University and the Bowling Green Falcons.-College career:...
17, PSU: Jamelle Cornley 18- Game 5: #5 Indiana 61, #4 Wisconsin 56
- Leading scorers, Ind: Marco Killingsworth 20, Wisc: Alando TuckerAlando TuckerAlando Forest Tucker is an American professional basketball player. Tucker played five seasons at The University of Wisconsin–Madison and wore the number 42...
20- Game 6: #2 Iowa 67, #10 Minnesota 57
- Leading scorers, Iowa: Jeff Horner 26, Minn: Vincent GrierVincent GrierVincent Grier is an American former college basketball player for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. He has scored 1,118 points, but did not play during his junior season, due to an injury....
29- Game 7: #6 Michigan State 61, #3 Illinois 56
- Leading scorers, MSU: Maurice AgerMaurice AgerMaurice Darnell Ager is an American professional basketball player. He played collegiately for the Michigan State Spartans from 2002 until 2006...
, Paul DavisPaul Davis (basketball)Paul Davis is an American professional basketball player. Davis started his career at Reuther Middle School where his number has been retired. Davis played for Rochester High School, earning Mr. Basketball of Michigan honors in 2002. As a center for the Michigan State Spartans, he finished the...
16, Ill: James AugustineJames Augustine (basketball)James Augustine is an American professional basketball player. He was born in Midlothian, Illinois, but eventually moved to Mokena, Illinois where he attended Lincoln-Way Central High School in New Lenox, Illinois where he graduated in 2002...
16
Semifinals (March 11, 2006)
- Game 8: #2 Iowa 53, #6 Michigan State 48
- Leading scorers, Iowa: Jeff Horner 14, MSU: Maurice AgerMaurice AgerMaurice Darnell Ager is an American professional basketball player. He played collegiately for the Michigan State Spartans from 2002 until 2006...
21- Game 9: #1 Ohio State 52, #5 Indiana 51
- Leading scorers, OSU: J.J. Sullinger 19, Ind: Roderick Wilmot 16
Championship (March 12, 2006)
- Game 10: #2 Iowa 67, #1 Ohio State 60
- Leading scorers, Iowa: Jeff Horner 16, OSU: Jamar ButlerJamar ButlerJamar Butler is a basketball point guard. His career started at Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio, where he was named Ohio's Mr. Basketball his senior year. Butler was then recruited by both the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University. Jamar chose Ohio State, where he broke multiple...
19
All-Tournament Team
- Jeff Horner, Iowa – Most Outstanding Player
- Maurice AgerMaurice AgerMaurice Darnell Ager is an American professional basketball player. He played collegiately for the Michigan State Spartans from 2002 until 2006...
, Michigan State - Greg Brunner, Iowa
- Jamar ButlerJamar ButlerJamar Butler is a basketball point guard. His career started at Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio, where he was named Ohio's Mr. Basketball his senior year. Butler was then recruited by both the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University. Jamar chose Ohio State, where he broke multiple...
, Ohio State - J.J. Sullinger, Ohio State