John Shoop long has admired Purdue’s offensive tradition from afar. Now, he gets a chance to add to that tradition by pushing the buttons on the Boilermakers’ attack under first-year coach Darrell Hazell.

It’s a slow, steady process, but the Minnesota offense is coming on as Jerry Kill continues to put his mark on the program entering his third year in the Twin Cities. Offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Matt Limegrover’s attack ranked 10th in the Big Ten in 2012 (321.4 ypg). And the offense was ninth in scoring (22.1 ppg).

Stephen Bardo needs no introduction to Big Ten fans. A key cog to Illinois’ 1989 Final Four team, dubbed the “Flyin’ Illini,” and a respected broadcaster since his retirement, Bardo is about to become even more synonymous with Big Ten hoops. That’s because the Illini product is BTN’s newest hire, and he’ll serve as one of our basketball analysts. Read our Q&A with the Illini product in this post.

It’s good to be Pat Narduzzi. The Michigan State defensive coordinator has it rolling right now, pushing the buttons on what was the Big Ten’s best defense last season (274.4 ypg) and No. 4 in the nation. In fact, it was the second season in a row the Spartans paced the Big Ten in defense.

Nebraska offensive coordinator Tim Beck has the keys to one of the top offenses in the Big Ten—if not the country. He knows it.

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald is the king of the measured statement sprinkled with a heavy-dose of “we just have to improve” coachspeak.

The Illinois offense was broken in 2012. How bad was it? The Fighting Illini ranked 11th in the Big Ten in rushing (127.8 ypg); 11th in passing (168.8 ypg); last overall (296.7 ypg); last in scoring (16.7 ppg) during a 2-10 debut season for Tim Beckman that saw the Illini finish 0-8 in the Big Ten.

Danny Hope guided Purdue to back-to-back bowl games the past two seasons, but there was little momentum behind the program. That’s why Hope was shown the door after going 22-27 overall and 13-19 in the Big Ten in four seasons in West Lafayette and Darrell Hazell was brought in.

On Wednesday night’s “Big Ten Basketball & Beyond: Tournament Edition,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers was in studio to break down the Big Ten’s four Sweet 16 matchups and talk about his Nittany Lions. Watch Chambers on set now and see our Q&A with him in this post.

Since slumping to 2-7 in the Big Ten, Illinois has ripped off four wins in a row to greatly enhance its NCAA profile. And, it’s an impressive profile, with wins over the likes of Gonzaga, Butler, Ohio State and Indiana. D.J. Richardson has played a big role in the Fighting Illini’s surge.

This has been a trying season for Penn State. You don’t have to remind D.J. Newbill who has overcome bigger things in his life, including a transfer and the loss of his mother. The 6-4 sophomore is doing his part to get the Nittany Lions on track. How tough has it been? Penn State is 0-10 in the Big Ten and 8-14 overall. Not having star point guard Tim Frazier has made matters challenging for Newbill and Penn State, as Frazier is out with a left Achilles tendon injury suffered just four games into the season.

It’s all coming together for Tim Hardaway Jr., during his junior season at Michigan. He’s enjoying the best season of his Wolverine tenure—and Michigan is ranked No. 1 for the first time since 1992-93 as it tries to win the school’s first national title since Glen Rice led the school to the Promised Land in 1988-89.

Wisconsin big man Jared Berggren knows what’s at stake when Minnesota visits the Kohl Center on Saturday. The Badgers need a win—badly. Following a surprising 4-0 start in Big Ten play, Wisconsin has lost two games in a row, at Iowa last weekend and against Michigan State on Tuesday.

Minnesota point guard Andre Hollins knows what’s at stake on Thursday night when No. 5 Michigan visits the Barn.

Brandon Ubel knows building a team is a process. That’s one reason why he relishes being a part of the construction of the Nebraska program under first-year coach Tim Miles.