Team gets one more crack at Big Ten crown

Any piece -- no matter if it's divided two, three or four ways -- is better than none. \nAsk IU, which looked primed for its first Big Ten championship since 1993 before losing back-to-back games at Michigan State and No. 15 Illinois. \nIU muffed its chances to win the league outright, but the No. 25 Hoosiers get one more crack at halting the nine-year Big Ten drought at 2:30 p.m. Saturday when they welcome Northwestern to Assembly Hall on Senior Day. With a victory, IU will guarantee itself at least a share of the Big Ten crown. \nWisconsin clinched a piece of the title and the No. 1 seed at the Big Ten Tournament with a win over Michigan Wednesday. Ohio State and Illinois can also share the championship with victories this weekend. The Buckeyes play at Michigan Saturday, and Illinois travels to Minnesota Sunday. \n"If we share it between two teams, I can live with that," junior guard Kyle Hornsby said. "Sharing it between three and four teams takes a little luster out of the title. I'll take it right now, though."\nTo do that, IU (18-10, 10-5 Big Ten) will need to dispose of upstart Northwestern (16-11, 7-8), which has never won in Assembly Hall and hasn't won in Bloomington since 1968. The Wildcats have beaten the Hoosiers only three times since 1970. \nBut things won't be that easy this time around. \nNorthwestern has already beaten Wisconsin, Michigan State and Minnesota and nearly upended Ohio State Feb. 2 in Columbus. The Wildcats hung with IU in both teams' Big Ten opener Jan. 2, before the Hoosiers pulled away to win 59-44 in Evanston, Ill. \nBecause of a low RPI, the Wildcats are doubtful for an NCAA Tournament berth but could solidify their NIT chances with a victory. Win or lose, the Wildcats will be the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, their highest seed in the five-year history of the tournament. \n"At this time last year, we didn't have a game that meant anything," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. "Our margin for error is very slim. We can't have anyone not play well. Maybe we're a little bit of a surprise, but we should be winning some games."\nThe Wildcats haven't done that in their last two games, losing to Illinois and at Minnesota Wednesday. In those games, they hit 4-of-42 three pointers and shot just 28 percent from the field. \nNorthwestern's second-leading scorer, Jitim Young, went 6 of 20 from the field at Minnesota. Junior guard Winston Blake leads the Wildcats at 13.5 points per game. Young, a sophomore guard, is second at 12.4, and senior forward Tavaras Hardy averages 12.0. \nIU has also struggled in its last two games, blowing a 16-point first-half lead at Michigan State and battling technical fouls and an early 14-point deficit at Illinois. \nIU also played much of the second half at Illinois without leading scorer Jared Jeffries, who coach Mike Davis said is still not 100 percent after a sprained ankle sidelined him for IU's loss against Wisconsin. In the four games since the injury, two of which IU lost, Jeffries has been limited to seven points per game. \nJeffries scored a game-high 17 points in the first matchup with Northwestern and helped hold the Wildcats frontcourt to 19 points. The 6-foot-10 sophomore isn't expected to be at 100 percent tomorrow but is on the way back. \n"He'll definitely be 100 percent at the Big Ten Tournament," Davis said. "He's not 100 percent right now, but we can't make excuses."\nJeffries had help against the Wildcats last time out. Senior Jarrad Odle exploded for a then-career-high 16 points and 15 rebounds, junior guard Tom Coverdale scored 13 and Hornsby dumped in nine. \nThat win ignited IU's best Big Ten start since the championship season of 1993, with the Hoosiers winning seven of the first eight. Since then, IU has dropped four of seven and seen its grip on the Big Ten title slip. \nSaturday offers a chance at redemption and momentum heading toward the post-season. \n"It gets things rolling for the Big Ten Tournament," Hornsby said. "Get a win, play well and play hard. Don't come out and halfway do it and get a win. That's not the kind of steam we need to build up"