The future looked so bright for Michigan State center Derrick Nix. Now, it’s murky. Nix was arrested early Tuesday morning and charged with operating a vehicle with the presence of drugs and marijuana possession.

On Tuesday night’s “The Big Ten Football Report,” Howard Griffith watched film with Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges to pick his mind about his always entertaining and electric QB Denard Robinson. Also, Gerry DiNardo traveled to Lincoln, Neb., to to catch up with Huskers QB Taylor Martinez, who hopes to improve as a passer in his junior season.

The nation still is buzzing over the greatest six-point performance in NCAA title game history. Thank you, Anthony Davis. Here’s what’s buzzing around Big Ten gridirons.

As is the case immediately following every Final Four nowadays, analysts and talking heads have shifted focus to next season by releasing their super-early 2012-13 top 25 polls. Several of the polls, by the way, feature a Big Ten team in the No. 1 spot. The team: Indiana. Yes, the Hoosiers, the same program that is fresh off its first NCAA tourney berth since 2008 and the same one that hasn’t been to the Final Four since 2002.

When a tornado touched down in Harrisburg, Ill., on Feb. 29, it ripped through much of the city and left seven people dead. However, the destruction was deemed too small for federal assistance. Good thing for Harrisburg,  the Illinois baseball team has a proud native, Reid Roper, who wanted to lend a helping hand. Roper, with the help of his coaches and teammates, delivered 32,000 pounds of food and supplies to Harrisburg and presented a $10,319 check to the mayor during its spring trip to Carbondale in mid-March. Watch the entire touching feature now.

Minnesota is in the Frozen Four for the first time since 2005. The Gophers, which beat North Dakota in the West Regional finals, take on No. 1 seed Boston College at 8 p.m. ET Thursday at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Beat Boston College, and Minnesota would play the Ferris State-Union winner at 7 p.m. ET Saturday. See GopherSports.com’s Frozen Four Preview and Frozen Four Central page, plus watch all of GopherAthletics YouTube videos.

It is four straight bowls (Alamo, Outback, TicketCity, and Meineke Car Care) and counting for Northwestern under Pat Fitzgerald, but he’s still looking to sip from the postseason championship cup as he enters his seventh season in Evanston. It could happen this year, if the Wildcats can answer some key questions this spring.

The Big Ten Network will stream Illinois’ spring football game live at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 14, on both BTN2Go and the Big Ten Digital Network. BTN will have highlights and analysis from that day’s Big Ten spring games at 9:30 p.m. ET on B1G Tonight Spring Football Edition with Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith. The Illinois game will air on BTN at 7 p.m. ET Sunday, April 15.