With Tuesday's loss, the Spartans' only chance at a Big Ten Championship is for Ohio State to knock off Illinois this weekend. But the Spartans aren't thinking about a conference crown now. They've set their sights ahead to the Big Ten tournament.

"Our faces are on our hands right now, but once the Big Ten tournament rolls around, it'll be in our hands and we can win another championship - if we want to," senior center Jason Andreas said.

In all, the time between MSU's loss to Wisconsin and its first game in the conference tournament is 10 days. The Spartans (17-10 overall, 12-4 Big Ten) will fill their time with practice, watching film and rest.

The players, despite usually having a universal opinion, had different takes on the layoff.

"A lot of times, the best way to get it out of your system is to play again," junior guard Chris Hill said. "Now, we have to wait. It's going to be hard."

Hill was under duress when he made the comment, thinking he let all of East Lansing down by missing two late free throws that could have won the game. But he said getting on the hardwood would be the best option even if he had made the foul shots.

Andreas looked not only at the team's moral, but injuries and fatigue as well.

Sophomore center Paul Davis didn't play the last 2:24 of regulation and all of overtime due to excruciating pain from leg cramps. The pain was so bad, Davis was biting down on a towel while on the bench, and after the game, he was rolled off the court in a wheelchair.

"It is a long stretch, but I think it will be good for us to rest a little bit and relax," Andreas said. "It's my job, it's Coach's job, to make sure this doesn't get to the guys.

"It's tough and it should be tough. We can't forget this game - we've got a Big Ten Tournament to play, we've got a NCAA Tournament left to play. We've got a lot of basketball left in this team."

The Big Ten Tournament begins on Thursday, but because MSU finished in the top five in the conference, the team won't play until March 12.

Since MSU, at best, will tie the Fighting Illini in Big Ten record, and (in the season's only meeting) suffered a 24-point loss. There are only two scenarios as to where the Spartans will be seeded in the conference tournament: No. 2 or No. 3.

The Spartans will take the No. 2 seed if Indiana beats Wisconsin, leaving the Badgers (20-6, 11-4) one game behind MSU. However, if Wisconsin beats the Hoosiers, the Spartans would be bumped to a No. 3 seed due to losing both head-to-head meetings.

If granted a No. 2 seed, MSU would play at 6:40 p.m. the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 10 game. If the Spartans fall to the No. 3 seed, they would play at 9:10 p.m. against the winner of the No.6 vs. No. 11 game.

Knowing where the Spartans will fall seems easy compared to the rest of the conference.

With this weekend's matchups, there is a chance the Big Ten's fourth- through eighth-place teams all can be 8-8 in conference play, which would make figuring out the seeds interesting.

MSU has two Big Ten Tournament Championships under its belt, claiming the title in 1999 and 2000. However, aside from those years, the Spartans are just 1-4 in the tournament.

Junior swingman Alan Anderson, who is being counted on as MSU's main point guard to carry the Spartans into the NCAA Tournament on a hot streak, said it doesn't matter who or when the Spartans are playing.

He said he'll be bringing his A-game, attempting to bring the Spartans a third tournament title. What the rest of his teammates do is up to them.

"We get to decide what we want to do," Anderson said. "We can call it a season or we can go out in the tournament, play, and hopefully get a championship from there.

"We've been down before. Now, it's time to pick it up and move forward."

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Big Ten Tournament schedule

In its seventh year, the Big Ten Tournament makes it second stop in Indianapolis. The action begins at noon on Thursday, and the title game will be at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. Here is the tournament schedule:

Thursday, March 11

Game 1: No. 8 vs. No. 9 (noon on ESPN)

Game 2: No. 7 vs. No. 10 (2:30 p.m. on ESPN)

Game 3: No. 6 vs. No. 11 (5:05 p.m. on ESPN2)

Friday, March 12

Game 4: No. 1 vs. Game 1 winner (noon on ESPN)

Game 5: No. 4 vs. No. 5 (2:30 p.m. on ESPN)

Game 6: No. 2 vs. Game 2 winner (6:40 p.m. on ESPN Plus)

Game 7: No. 3 vs. Game 3 winner (9:10 p.m. on ESPN plus)

Saturday March 13

Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner (1:40 p.m. on CBS)

Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner (4:05 p.m. on CBS)

Sunday, March 14

Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner (3:30 p.m. on CBS)

Source: MSU Sports Information