Michigan State has won the last eight matchups against Minnesota.
Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) -
Michigan State will begin play in the Big Ten Conference Tournament when the third-seeded Spartans battle the sixth-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers in the quarterfinal round at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Golden Gophers opened the tournament with a convincing, 76-55 victory over Penn State. Minnesota, which finished 9-9 in conference action, has won five of its last seven contests.
Michigan State has won this tournament twice, but the last time occurred back in 2000. The 11th-ranked Spartans earned the third seed in the tournament by finishing conference play with a 14-4 ledger, and come into this event with five wins in their last six contests.
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Our version of awards night
By Meghan Arrell, Contributing College Basketball Editor
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
Well, the votes are in. (Although they hardly took me any time to tally since I was the only one who voted.) With Oscars having been awarded on Sunday, I figured I might as well hand out some trophies too. I figured there would be enough coverage out there on those emotional senior day wins/losses, so I'm giving out awards instead. Before I do, I must add my fine print...
Note: All awards were determined by personal opinion and most likely, by what events are freshest in my mind. Most importantly, the only award that considered injury was the one I made up for a team adapting to the loss of a player. There is no "Best Injury Recovery" category in my awards program, but I have heard rumors that we will soon be replacing the National Player of the Year Award with that. Duke was not considered for any awards because I already knew it did not deserve any. I considered giving one to Jim Calhoun for best comedic performance, but I think his season has been punishment enough. While I'm on Jims, Boeheim is not getting an award from me either; another award would keep the Naismith Hall of Famer from playing his relished (and nonsensical) version of the underdog.
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