Battle on the bubble

For IU coach Mike Davis, three would not be enough.\nSaddled with a 10-10 record with seven conference games remaining before the Big Ten Tournament, Davis said Thursday that the Big Ten is not receiving enough credit around the nation for its quality basketball teams, and he's ready to put a stop to it.\n"For some reason people are talking like this conference is down. It's not," Davis said. "You look at Ohio State -- they're playing well. Iowa was ranked and had a good record even though they lost their best player," referring to guard Pierre Pierce who was removed for criminal charges.\nDavis pointed to the Hoosiers' next opponent, Minnesota, as another Big Ten team worthy of tournament consideration. Despite being predicted as a Big Ten bottom feeder in the preseason, the Gophers have stepped up and currently stand at 16-7, 6-4 in the Big Ten. The Gophers lost at home Wednesday against Northwestern coming into Saturday's match-up in Assembly Hall.\n"We've got to step up and talk for our conference because no one else is saying the right things about the Big Ten," Davis said. "When you hear three teams, what other conference would you say should have more teams than us? Probably the ACC, but they've got some really good teams that are under .500 in their conference play."\nWhile many analysts predict that the Big Ten will receive NCAA tournament three bids with Illinois, Michigan St. and Wisconsin, Davis said the conference deserves six and maybe even seven bids to the tourney.\nIf his team performs well in the upcoming conference games and the Big Ten tournament, Davis said one of those six teams should be the Hoosiers. Davis used Alabama -- where he played -- as an example.\n"Our strength of schedule should get us in if we get it to 15 or 16 wins," Davis said. "Last year, they let Alabama in with only 17 wins. They were 17-13. I'm not saying anything negative about Alabama because they won 17 games and had a tough schedule. Our schedule is No. 2 in strength of schedule right now; we should be able to get in with 16 wins."\nAccording to http://cbs.sportsline.com, IU is currently No. 56 in the ratings percentage index, or RPI, which the NCAA selection committee uses partly as a basis for choosing at-large teams for the tournament. The same Web site lists IU's strength of schedule as No. 4 in the nation.\nFour Big Ten teams rank ahead of the Hoosiers in CBS' version of the RPI with Minnesota ranking No. 32.\nWhile Davis is promoting the conference, freshman forward Robert Vaden said they don't plan on being hospitable for other teams in the Big Ten's well-being. The Hoosiers know that with seven conference games remaining, it's crunch time.\n"We don't need any extra motivation because we're trying to get into the tournament ourselves," Vaden said. "Whoever we're playing we're trying to win."\nIn a 70-65 loss three weeks ago against Minnesota, IU couldn't hit from three-point range as the Hoosiers shot just 2 of 19 and Bracey Wright went 0 of 10 from long distance. IU only scored one field goal in the first 11 minutes as the Gophers went on a 16-2 run to win the game.\nWith Wright still hobbled by a left ankle sprain and probably not playing, the Hoosiers for the second straight game will have to look for a new source on offense. If James Hardy starts in place of Wright, IU will start four freshmen for the second straight game.\nOne freshman Davis said he has been impressed with and wants to continue stepping up is Vaden.\n"Coach told me to be a little more aggressive on offense and to look to score more because Bracey's out and he was averaging 18 points a game," Vaden said. "I just try to not necessarily score but create more opportunities."\nVaden will be one Hoosier hoping to limit Minnesota guard Vincent Grier's opportunities. Grier is the Gophers' leading scorer and has poured in 32 points in back-to-back games in the win versus Wisconsin and the loss against Northwestern.\nTo be one of the teams representing the Big Ten in the NCAA tournament, the Hoosiers have a sense of urgency to get the job done.\n"We're at home so we're going to come out and play hard because we know we've got to win just about all of them," Vaden said, "and it's going to have to start versus Minnesota."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John \nRodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.