The clock is ticking down ever closer to tip-off time for the first taste of Big Ten Tournament action on Wednesday evening, but there’s plenty of storylines to sort out among conference title contenders in anticipation of the five-day single-elimination tournament.

That’s exactly what BuckeyeGrove team writer Griffin Strom and several other members of the Rivals.com network did Tuesday when OrangeandBlueNews assembled a host of Big Ten hoops analysts to preview the madness that is a mere number of hours away from ensuing on the hardwood in Indianapolis.

You can check out the entire hour-long conversation in video form above, but below we’ve highlighted several talking points from the discussion with GoldandBlack publisher Brian Neubert, HawkeyeReport publisher Tom Kakert, OrangeandBlueNews’ Doug Bucshon and Jim Cotter and former Fighting Illini guard Mike LaTulip.

From Ohio State’s path to Sunday’s championship game, to how the Buckeyes have helped shape their opponents’ seasons entering the tournament, we’ve pulled out the threads most pertinent to the Scarlet and Gray ahead of its postseason opener on Thursday.