BY ETHAN ASOFSKY

AND THOMAS BRUCH

SENIOR WRITER AND STAFF WRITER

Editor’s note: Big 10 of the Big Ten is a collection of tidbits from around the conference. This weekly feature provides a recap from the previous slate of games and also serves as a preview to the upcoming basketball week.

Leaderboard

Entering their head-to-head matchup on Tuesday night, Michigan State and Indiana were tied for first in the Big Ten. Both boasted records of 11-2, two games ahead of Michigan.

Experts say

In ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s latest mock selection, the Big Ten is projected to get seven teams into the field. Indiana is the overall No. 1 selection on his bracket, while Michigan State and Michigan are both No. 2 seeds. Illinois is currently a No. 10 seed, playing No. 7 North Carolina State in Philadelphia.

Hoosier woes at Breslin Center

Indiana’s historic program has been through all sorts of peaks and troughs in the past 22 years, but one thing it hasn’t done is win at the Breslin Center since the year 1991. Some members of both squads were not even alive when that last victory took place. That changed Tuesday with Indiana’s 72-68 win over Michigan State.

Game of the week

You saw it last night: No. 1 Indiana at No. 4 Michigan State for possession of the conference crown. Michigan State also plays at No. 18 Ohio State on Sunday.

The Buckeyes that good?

The only team Ohio State beat that was ranked at the time of its win was then-No. 2 Michigan at home. Other than that, the Buckeyes are 1-7 against teams that are ranked. They did defeat Wisconsin on Jan. 29, but the Badgers weren’t ranked at the time.

To the ice

It’s not basketball, but No. 18 Wisconsin defeated No. 2 Michigan in the OfficeMax Hockey City Classic at Soldier Field. More than 50,000 fans were in attendance.

Bo Ryan’s genius

Here’s a stat that will make your jaw drop: Wisconsin, sitting in fourth place in the Big Ten, is five games away from finishing in the top four in the Big Ten standings for the 12th consecutive year under head coach Bo Ryan.

Postgame celebrations with Ke$ha

Two Big Ten teams had postgame victory celebrations go viral in the past week. What was the common thread in both Wisconsin and Minnesota’s celebrations? Ke$ha’s club-banger “Die Young” was the background music for each, including Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith showing off some impressive dance moves.

Ken Pom’s stats back the Big Ten

Ken Pomeroy’s tempo-free statistical rankings are now must-reads for college hoops fans and even coaches, John Groce and Butler head coach Brad Stevens included. This week, Pomeroy has eight Big Ten teams ranked in the top 30: Indiana, Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio State and Iowa.

Iowa lurking

The Big Ten’s strength and depth crops up in almost every discussion involving college basketball, but one team that is not receiving as much love is Iowa. The Hawkeyes (17-9, 6-7 Big Ten) have marquee victories over Minnesota and Wisconsin. Two other resume builders remain on the schedule, Illinois and Indiana, but even if the Hawkeyes win only their other three games, that will put Iowa at 9-9 in conference play.

Ethan and Thomas can be reached at [email protected].