Get ready, Minnesota. A dozen days of Big Ten basketball bliss are coming.

Your moment is coming, Minneapolis, to be the epicenter of college basketball for two straight weeks — like arguably nothing the city has seen before and will likely see again in the same span.

We’re not talking Final Fours or national championships, something the Twin Cities recently hosted for the NCAA men’s and women’s tourneys in 2019 and 2022, respectively.

It’s about two icons. Two all-time greats. Two generational players. One venue. A dozen fun-filled days of basketball bliss at Target Center. One of the NBA’s hottest teams, the Timberwolves, will be jealous of the fanfare.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Purdue’s Zach Edey will play on the same arena floor before thousands of fans when the Big Ten women’s and men’s tournaments are hosted in back-to-back weeks, starting Wednesday.

Clark is the greatest scorer ever in major college ball after breaking a 54-year-old record. Edey’s a lock to be the first back-to-back men’s NCAA player of the year since Ralph Sampson’s three-peat from 1981-83.

Hoops diehards are salivating. You can bet they’ve had dates booked for weeks to witness greatness during the next two Wednesday-through-Sunday stretches at the Wolves’ arena.

If you didn’t buy Big Ten tourney women’s tickets already, good luck. Get ready to cough up big bucks. The event was announced as a sellout for the first time ever last week. That means more than 109,000 fans are expected to attend, more than doubling the record-setting women’s Big Ten tournament attendance from last season of 48,000 at Target Center.

Clark, a scintillating 6-foot senior, broke LSU great “Pistol Pete” Maravich’s NCAA all-time scoring mark of 3,667 points Sunday, fittingly in her last regular-season home game for the Hawkeyes. Her idol, Lynx legend Maya Moore, was even in attendance.

Four days earlier at the U’s Barn, Clark surpassed the top women’s major college hoops scoring mark of 3,649 from Kansas legend Lynette Woodard set from 1977-1981.

Hawkeye faithful took over downtown Minneapolis last year as Clark led Iowa to the Big Ten tourney title before a run that ended in an NCAA runner-up finish to LSU.

Local fans last year got an up-close glimpse at Clark’s pro-level passing skills and shooting range with near logo-length threes. More impressive was her massive cultural influence on young ballers — boys and girls alike. Her presence will loom large over the Twin Cities through this weekend, even if Indiana and regular-season champion Ohio State challenge her Hawkeyes.

Then it’s Edey’s turn. Clark exists in her own stratosphere, but Edey walks among the clouds with his size alone at 7-foot-4. The Boilermakers bruiser isn’t just a giant in stature but in talent as an unstoppable inside force.

Not bad for the once overlooked Canadian prospect who started his Purdue career averaging 8.7 points as a freshman in 2020-21. Entering Tuesday, Edey was averaging 25.3 points on 64% shooting, 13.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in Big Ten games.

Edey was the MVP of the Big Ten men’s tournament last season in Chicago when the top-seeded Boilermakers defeated 10th-seeded Penn State. The Gophers men could be a sleeper pick to make a similar run as the Nittany Lions with this year’s conference tourney in their backyard. Momentum is on the side of Ben Johnson’s program having the biggest one-season turnaround in the league this year from nine to 18 wins overall and counting.

First, all eyes will be on Clark’s quest for a second straight Big Ten women’s tourney crown after the second-seeded Hawkeyes blew out Ohio State in front of a raucous crowd in Sunday’s regular-season finale.

The Buckeyes and Hoosiers have already beaten Clark this season, but she shines the brightest in big moments. Whatever she does this week at Target Center will be a must-see event for us all, something we’ll never forget.

Five Minnesota ballers who stood out:

Hopkins legend had back-to-back 30-point efforts vs. DePaul and Villanova. Led the Huskies in scoring in four straight games to help them win the Big East title with an 18-0 league record.

Addi Mack, Minnehaha Academy

The junior guard reached 3,000 career points to pass Jalen Suggs as Minnehaha’s all-time scoring leader in boys and girls basketball after her 33 points last week vs. Mounds Park.

Cedric Tomes, East Ridge

Gophers target and sophomore point guard scorched Totino-Grace with 36 points in a 74-72 road win for the Raptors last week.

Senior from Waseca earned NSIC tournament MVP honors after averaging 23.0 points on the way to leading the No. 2-ranked Mustangs to the championship. He had 21 points Tuesday in the 97-77 win against Minnesota Duluth in the title game.

Olivia Wren, Minneapolis Roosevelt

Senior guard had 26 points against Como Park to clinch the Twin Cities Championship. Had 29 points vs. Two Rivers in Saturday’s Class 3A Section 3 semifinal.

2,000 Career scoring milestone reached for North Dakota senior guard Kacie Borowicz last week in the regular-season finale against South Dakota.

207 Single-season Gophers assist record broken by junior point guard Elijah Hawkins in last weekend’s 75-70 win against Penn State.

9 National Division II ranking for Minnesota State Moorhead before being knocked off in the NSIC quarterfinals Sunday 69-65 by Winona State in Sioux Falls.

5 Number of Minnesota teams to lose in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament last week.

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