Pat Caputo: This Is The Most Important Big Ten Tournament Ever For Michigan And MSU
Quick quiz. Off the top of your head. No looking it up.
Name the last five winners of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament?
It has evolved into the biggest non-event, big-event in this region.
Michigan State, for example, hasn't typically performed well in the Big Ten Tournament.
And who has cared?
It has not been an issue because the Spartans have reached the Final Four six of the last 12 seasons.
Michigan has been so down in basketball since the Wolverines won the Big Ten Tournament in 1998, that it has also been a non-issue - little more than a disappointing follow up to generally disheartening regular seasons.
This weekend is different.