EAST LANSING – About 18 hours after the NCAA Tournament bracket was released, Tom Izzo was back in the Breslin Center media room on Monday talking again about the draw. This time the Michigan State coach had more insight after a glimpse at the entire field.

Purdue and its standout point guard head into the NCAA Tournament on a hot streak after their Big Ten Tournament championship

Purdue jumped from 11th to 8th in the final rankings on selection Sunday based off Big Ten Championship

EAST LANSING – Does the Big Ten Tournament championship game really matter for March Madness seeding? Some years it doesn’t seem so, but this wasn’t one of them. Purdue shook out of a late-season funk and put together a surprising run to beat Michigan in the championship on Sunday in Chicago and was rewarded with a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Where the mid- and low-major level has seen so many programs fall victim to transfer churn, North Dakota State is benefiting from consistency.

The Wolverines are going to need more out of their bench to make a run.

Can anyone take down Michigan in the Midwest region?

Michigan is going to need more consistent play from starting point guard Elliot Cadeau if it wants to keep dancing late into March.