BIG TEN TOURNAMENT CAPSULES

Team: Illinois

Seed: No. 6.

Record: 21-10, 9-7.

Strengths: Coach Bruce Weber preaches good defense and the Fighting Illini know how to put the clamps on opposing offenses as they allowed only 55.8 points per game in league play. Warren Carter (all-conference second team) and Shaun Pruitt (third team) are the team's top two scorers.

Weaknesses: Scoring droughts. The Illini have a tendency play tight and go scoreless for extended periods of time.

John O'Malley's prediction: The Illini are on the bubble in their quest to appear on the board on Selection Sunday. They'll need more than a "Sea of Orange" cheering them on at the United Center to avoid a possible NIT berth.

Wins over Penn State in the first round and Indiana in the second round, though, could save their fading NCAA hopes.

Team: Indiana

Seed: No. 3.

Record: 20-9, 10-6.

Strengths: Offensive firepower. The Hoosiers are the top-scoring team in the conference in league games and second to Ohio State overall. Indiana also ranks No. 2 in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (.407) and also second in overall field goal percentage (.461).

Weaknesses: The Hoosiers are one of the worst offensive rebounding teams in the league and rank No. 8 in the conference in field goal percentage defense.

John O'Malley's prediction: The Hoosiers need a win or two to improve their seeding for the NCAA tournament, but won't have the opportunity after Illinois beats them in their second round meeting Friday night.

Team: Iowa

Seed: No. 4.

Record: 17-13, 9-7.

Strengths: Tournament history. The Hawkeyes won the title in 2001, and again last year. With Adam Haluska, the league's top scorer in conference games and a first team all-league performer, and Tyler Smith, an all-league second team selection, Iowa has two of the Big Ten's top 10 scorers.

Weaknesses: Coach Steve Alford's team doesn't exactly intimidate opponents outside of Carver-Hawkeye Arena and struggles on the boards.

John O'Malley's prediction: The Hawkeyes, like the Wolverines, need a miracle to make the NCAA tourney field. Iowa must run the table and at least reach the title game to go dancing. But Iowa won't even get close, losing to Purdue in its first game.

Team: Michigan

Seed: No. 8.

Record: 20-11, 8-8.

Strengths: Very athletic team that has a penchant for dunking and converting free throws, ranking No. 2 in the league with .739 accuracy.

Weaknesses: The Wolverines have struggled on the boards and with ballhandling -- ranking ninth in the league in assist/turnover ratio, turnover margin and in offensive rebounding.

John O'Malley's prediction: Tommy Amaker's Wolverines should beat Minnesota, but the reward will lead to their tournament ouster and probably an NIT berth after Ohio State waxes them in Friday's quarterfinals.

Team: Michigan State

Seed: No. 7.

Record: 21-10, 8-8.

Strengths: Coaching. Tom Izzo has done as good a job with this group as any team he's had in East Lansing. First team All-Big Ten performer Drew Neitzel is one of the best go-to players not just in the conference, but in the country as well.

Weaknesses: The Spartans rely too much on Neitzel and don't get much firepower out of anyone else outside of Raymar Morgan, who was named to the league's All-Freshman Team.

John O'Malley's prediction: Michigan State will tame the Wildcats in the first round, but lose to Wisconsin in Friday's quarterfinals.

Team: Minnesota

Seed: No. 9.

Record: 9-21, 3-13.

Strengths: The team ranks fourth in the league in blocked shots, but the only blocking the Gophers will do at the United Center will come when the team bus holds up traffic.

Weaknesses: The Gophers are last in the league in rebounding and scoring defense and are just as bad at the offensive end of the floor, where they are last in field goal percentage (.435) and 10th in scoring offense, averaging only 61.3 points.

John O'Malley's prediction: It's easy to see why this team won only three league games. The Gophers won't win again until next season after losing to Michigan in the first round.

Team: Northwestern

Seed: No. 10.

Record: 13-17, 2-14.

Strengths: These Wildcats know how to play defense. They specialize in frustrating opposing offenses by allowing only 58.6 points per game.

Weaknesses: Putting the ball in the basket. The Wildcats shoot just 43.7 percent as a team, while averaging only 56.4 points per game.

John O'Malley's prediction: It's been a frustrating year for coach Bill Carmody in Evanston. Look for Michigan State to continue to add to the coach's woes with a decisive first-round win over the "Mildcats."

Team: Ohio State

Seed: No. 1.

Record: 27-3, 15-1.

Strengths: The Buckeyes have two of the league's best players in Greg Oden -- who was named the conference's Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year and was named first team All-Big Ten -- and guard Mike Conley, Jr., who was named second team all-conference. Ohio State has quality depth, too, as Daequan Cook was voted the league's best sixth man.

Weaknesses: Three-point shooting. The Bucks rank No. 9 in the league from behind the arc, converting only 33.4 of their attempts.

John O'Malley's prediction: Being No. 1 has been a bad thing for a lot of teams this season. The hex will continue as the Buckeyes won't leave the Windy City as tournament champs.

Team: Penn State

Seed: No. 11.

Record: 11-18, 2-14.

Strengths: Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley, who rank No. 6 and 14, respectively, in the league in scoring.

Weaknesses: The Lions have numerous weaknesses. The most glaring are their defense -- which allowed a league-worst 71.9 points -- and their inability to get offensive rebounds -- 10th in the conference.

John O'Malley's prediction: The Lions haven't roared all season and even though they could cement Illinois' postseason destination to the NIT with a win, there's virtually no way they'll beat the Illini -- who won the 2003 and 2005 titles -- at the UC.

Team: Purdue

Seed: No. 5.

Record: 20-10, 9-7.

Strengths: The one-two punch of All-Big first team forward Carl Landry and second team guard David Teague, who rank as the league's No. 4 and 5 scorers.

Weaknesses: Offensive rebounding. Landry gets little help and that's come back to bite the Boilers in several games this year. Purdue sometimes has a tendency to shoot too many 3-point shots.

John O'Malley's prediction: Iowa doesn't leave too many teams shaking in their boots outside of their home court. Even though Purdue lost big in Iowa City two weeks ago, look for the Boilermakers to further solidify their NCAA resume with a win in the first round.

Team: Wisconsin

Seed: No. 2.

Record: 27-4, 13-3.

Strengths: Outstanding coach in Bo Ryan and the league's Player of the Year in Alando Tucker, who averaged 19.7 points in conference games and tied for eighth in the league in rebounding (6.1 rpg). The Badgers also rank at or near the top of the league in most defensive categories.

Weaknesses: Free-throw shooting -- the team ranks No. 9 in the conference at .684.

John O'Malley's prediction: The Badgers launch their bid for the national title by winning the Big Ten Tournament.