1. Michigan
No. 23 Michigan (21-7 Big Ten, 39-14 overall) started Big Ten play with a dominating 15-1 record, then lost four of its last seven games to finish the season. The Wolverines swept sixth-seeded Ohio State in Columbus and went 3-1 against fourth-seeded Iowa, but split against fifth-seeded Illinois and only won one of four against third-ranked Penn State.

Michigan's series against Minnesota on April 6-9 was canceled due to snow and temperatures in the low 20's, and it will be interesting to see how these two teams react after playing each other for the first time this season in a high-stakes tournament environment. Both teams are looking to secure an NCAA tournament bid and Minnesota will try to avenge last year's championship game loss.

Michigan has strong pitching and big hitting, a combination that helped them to dominate the All-Big Ten honors given out yesterday. Sophomore pitcher and DH Zach Putnam, sophomore second baseman Kevin Cislo, sophomore pitcher Mike Wilson made First Team All-Big Ten, while Michigan coach Rich Maloney was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.

Notable wins:
Mississippi State (11-3), Troy (4-3), Oklahoma (8-5).
Ohio State (10-4, 10 innings)

Notable quote:
"We started 15-1, and that's hard to do. Sooner or later, you're going to have a phase where you're not going to win games. After (Penn State) kicked the tar out of us, I went back and looked at the SEC and ACC schedules through the whole year, and their scores throughout the season. There are about 20 games or more where there was a 10 run differential between those teams that are supposed to be these nationally great programs. So even the teams that are supposed to be the best get whupped." -Maloney, explaining Michigan's recent performance

2. Minnesota
Though Minnesota (18-9 Big Ten, 38-14 overall) didn't lose a Big Ten series this season, weather-cancelled games and series splits cost it a chance for the first seed. Minnesota split with Ohio State, Northwestern and Indiana. Like the Wolverines, the Golden Gophers have posted a mediocre record as of late, losing four of eight to close out the season. The marquee matchup would be Michigan vs. Minnesota - a game that could potentially happen on Friday.

Senior outfielder Mike Mee, sophomore third baseman Nate Hanson and sophomore outfielder Matt Nohelty earned First Team All-Big Ten honors and will be the difference for Minnesota this weekend.

Notable wins:
Mississippi (3-2), Arkansas (10-5), Pepperdine (5-4).

Notable quote:
"I picked (Michigan) to win the league, and I'm not surprised they did. ... Our problem is we lost five games in the league (due to bad weather) and so trying to climb and stay at the top of the league is difficult when you have five fewer games played. ... I think we're fortunate to end up even in the second spot based on the number of games we played this year." -Minnesota coach John Anderson, on Minnesota's No. 2 seed

3. Penn State
The Nittany Lions (20-10 Big Ten, 28-24 overall), using their late-season success to finish just one game behind Minnesota, are making their first tournament appearance in three years and are hungry for the crown. They've defeated both higher-seeded teams at least once, thanks to their dominating pitching staff. Pitchers Craig Clark and Drew O'Neil were named to the First Team All-Big Ten team. O'Neil set a school record for saves with 10 and has a 0.00 ERA in Big Ten play. Watch for their pitching and occasional offensive surges.

Notable wins:
UNC (3-2), Minnesota (3-2), Michigan (5-4, 9-3, 15-5)

Notable quote:
"I think our strength, our pitching, is deep and consistent. ... The whole staff did a very good job coming in, doing their thing and not trying to do too much. We have one guy whose motto is "83 at the knees." He's not going to try and throw 90, and that was one of our team slogans: just stay within yourself and do what you can." -PSU coach Robbie Wine, on Penn State's pitching dominance

4. Iowa
Iowa (17-13 Big Ten, 31-21 overall) will play its first tournament game against Illinois, a team from whom they took three of four during the regular season.

Shortstop Jason White and outfielder Travis Sweet made First Team All-Big Ten. White scored a conference-high 69 runs and had ten home runs, while Sweet finished with a .409 batting average and 81 hits.

Notable wins:
Arkansas (9-6), Nebraska (12-8), Michigan (8-6)

Notable quote:
"We're going to have to have some guys step up and do some things they haven't done for us in order to win the championship. Just about all these teams here have a very talented offense and we have to get our bats going. We feel like we can compete with anybody in the tournament." -Iowa coach Jack Dahm, on what it will take to win

5. Illinois
Illinois (16-14 Big Ten, 30-25 overall) is the school of the Big Ten player of the year - catcher Lars Davis, who dominated with a .416 batting average, 13 home runs and a .673 slugging percentage. His two home runs against Michigan State last weekend gave Illinois the win and the fifth seed.

But Davis was nearly nonexistent during the regular season against top-seeded Michigan, going 0-for-11 during the first three games. If Illinois makes it deep into the weekend, will he be able to break through and save his team again - or will the Illini be hung out to dry?

Notable wins:
Ohio State (8-5), Iowa (6-2), Michigan (4-3, 10-5)

Notable quote:
"If you look at the season on any given day, for everyone in this room, if we actually matched up against each other, we could beat each other. ... We have to go out and we have to do things on a daily basis very consistently. We just need to hope for a four, five, six-day period that we're consistent, that our guys go out and play well." -Illinois coach Dan Hartleb, on his team's inconsistency

6. Ohio State
At one point in the season, Ohio State (15-15 Big Ten, 33-22 overall) had a fourteen-game winning streak - but it struggled down the stretch and barely made the Big Ten tournament. The Buckeyes' 3-2 victory over Penn State in their final regular season game gave them the sixth seed. And even though Ohio State split with Minnesota, the two OSU victories were commanding - seven and twelve-run margins, respectively - and a matchup between the two teams this weekend could result in a huge upset.

Injuries have decimated Ohio State's team, and now is the time to redeem a subpar regular season. If they lose the first game on Wednesday, though, they're likely done.

Notable wins:
Illinois (10-7), Minnesota (8-1, 13-1)

Notable quote:
"We can't afford to get into the loser's bracket. We don't have the pitching to come back out of that, I don't think. ... This has probably been the poorest defensive team that I can remember having. We just do not play very good defense, and when you're short on pitching and you make your pitchers labor even more, it's even more difficult." -OSU coach Bob Todd, on Ohio State's struggles