Listen to Loren Tate's radio appearance at the Big Ten tourney by clicking here.

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Minnesota's NCAA hopes were bolstered with Thursday's win against Northwestern. Experts thought a loss would knock the Gophers out of NCAA tournament consideration.

"We never looked at it that way. Obviously it's a big win. I'm not going to lie. We watch TV, we hear what people are saying. But the only for sure way we're going to get in the (NCAA) tournament is if we just win," guard Lawrence Westbrook said. "Hopefully we can get one (today against Michigan State), and if we just keep doing that I think our fate's in our own hands."

Win against the top-seeded Spartans today and there's no question Minnesota will be in prime position to claim an at-large bid, but the Gophers want to take it one step further and take all the guessing out of it.

"We don't want to leave it up to anybody," Blake Hoffarber said. "Hopefully we can just go out and win the whole thing, and if that doesn't happen I guess we're just going to have to wait and see until Sunday."

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Ask Indiana coach Tom Crean and he'll tell you Minnesota's a lock to make the NCAA tournament. As far as the former Marquette coach is concerned, every team in the Big Ten should be invited, except his Hoosiers and Iowa.

"There shouldn't be a bubble for the rest of this league. I spent three years in the Big East. It's a tremendous league, but this league doesn't take a back seat to anybody's league," he said. "There's no question that Michigan State should be a No. 1 seed no matter what happens here. There's no question that nobody should be shocked if it's nine (teams), maybe we get happy with eight, but there ought to be a major revolt if it's seven because it wouldn't make any sense. It's a great league, and it's been an honor to coach in it this first year."

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How effective Penn State forward Jamelle Cornley would be in the Nittany Lions' opener against Indiana was up for debate.

Cornley sustained a slight shoulder separation against Illinois on March 5 in State College, Pa., and in the subsequent game at Iowa, he clearly favored his left shoulder and pulled down one rebound in the loss to the Hawkeyes.

"He's had a couple good days of practice. He was not close to 100 percent at Iowa," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "He couldn't get his left arm over his head to rebound. I think he only got one rebound the whole game."

Cornley was aggressive in the Nittany Lions' 66-51 win against the Hoosiers and erased any doubt about his health with a strong start. The senior scored 16 of his team-high 22 points in the first half and grabbed five boards.

"Tonight I think he's got his confidence back in that shoulder. He can go up with two hands and rebound the thing and help us rebound the ball," DeChellis said. "We were hoping he could come in and rebound, rebound. I've been after him the past two days about rebounding the basketball."

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Despite Indiana's poor record, the folks who follow Hoosiers basketball have been loyal.

Indiana averaged 14,332 fans for its 15 home dates in 17,000-plus-seat Assembly Hall in Bloomington, and Crean and the Hoosiers have been grateful for the strong following all season.

On Thursday, public address announcer Gene Honda announced the crowd in Conseco Fieldhouse at 12,174, with more than half of those folks dressed in crimson.

"I want to thank the fans that have stuck with us," Crean said. "From close, from far, in Assembly Hall, through e-mail, through letters, on the road, you name it.

"There will be a time and day where we'll look at it and know our fan support was just beyond anything anybody could have ever asked for or imagined."

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Hours after Waukegan defeated Zion-Benton 70-64 in the Class 4A state playoffs Wednesday, Waukegan coach Ron Ashlaw relaxed with a snack.

"I was out to a late, late, late dinner," Ashlaw said Thursday. "A guy came up to me. I didn't know who he was. He said, 'You have no idea what this team has done for this community.' "

The impact of Waukegan's win was felt in Illini circles, too. It secured a matchup between UI recruits Jereme Richmond (Waukegan) and Brandon Paul (Gurnee Warren) in a sectional championship game today at Waukegan.

The teams squared off in November – a 73-60 win for Waukegan – and the second edition features a pair of high-profile prospects playing the best basketball of their careers. A 2009 recruit, Paul is coming off consecutive games of at least 20 points. A 2010 recruit, Richmond had 15 points and 12 rebounds against Zion-Benton, with UI assistant Jerrance Howard in attendance.

"His scoring numbers aren't astronomical, but everything else is," Ashlaw said of Richmond, the Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year. "He's a willing passer and a great, great rebounder. He had some tough, physical rebounds against a great rebounding team (Zion-Benton). He's been a great team player. Whatever our team has needed, that's what he's done."

* * *

If Alex Legion had stuck with his initial plan, he would be on the opposite side of the scorer's table today.

An Illinois sophomore and Detroit-area native, Legion once signed a letter of intent with Michigan. But he enrolled at Kentucky.

Legion would have been in the same recruiting class as Michigan star Manny Harris, who said he doesn't communicate with Legion.

"He's from my state, so there's always a communication," Harris said Thursday. "But not at all, we don't talk."

Asked if he has followed Legion's career, Harris said, "No. I'm just worried about mine."

Another Michigan player who can relate to Legion is sophomore Laval Lucas-Perry, who transferred there after playing half of his freshman season at Arizona. Legion played half of his freshman season at Kentucky.

"First of all, Alex is going to be a tremendous asset to that program. He's going to continue to improve," Lucas-Perry said of Legion, who had 10 points in Illinois' first game against Michigan and none in the second. "It just takes some patience. You transfer, and you have to sit out a while. It can be hard, a lot of patience and will."

* * *

Penn State guard Talor Battle sent a dagger through Illini hearts with a game-winning buzzer beater to shock Illinois 64-63.

You figure he threw in the DVD, just for thrill of it. Nope, not once.

"I haven't watched it all, actually," Battle said Thursday. "I saw it on ESPN once or twice, just because it was on."

* * *

Northwestern's season isn't over. But the Wildcats had aspirations of reaching the program's first NCAA tournament, and a 66-53 loss to Minnesota squelched those hopes.

"We thought the sky was the limit for this team," senior guard Craig Moore said.

He said Northwestern (17-13) should be a shoo-in for the NIT.

"I don't see why we wouldn't be," Moore said.

* * *

If there was an ideal scenario for Big Ten bubbles, Thursday's results might have been it.

The three teams that needed a win to feel comfortable on Selection Sunday – Minnesota, Michigan and Penn State – each got one. Who knows if that was enough to secure bids to the NCAA tournament, but a loss would have left them sleepless.

"Penn State needed the most help," veteran bracketologist Jerry Palm (CollegeRPI.com) said late Thursday. "I think they still have to beat Purdue (today) to get in. They have the classic NIT profile."

As for Michigan, "It wasn't so much the win (against Iowa), but the fact they won by 30 (or 73-45). It was very impressive. Even though it was Iowa, that looks good," Palm said.

As for Minnesota, "It's the same thing as Michi- gan. I think if they're competitive today (against Michigan State), and they don't get blown out, they're in."

On his current mock bracket on CBSSportsline.com, Palm has eight teams from the Big Ten in the field (Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State and Minnesota).

-Marcus Jackson and Paul Klee