Updated Big Ten Tournament Seeding Predictions

It was a rough night for ranked teams last night, as 5 of 6 ranked teams playing lost.

The Hoosiers beat their third ranked team at home this season, topping #20 Iowa 93-86.  Now, they have clinched a .500 record for the regular season and that all-important eligibility for the NIT.  Of course, when they win their remaining three games and at least one Big Ten Tournament game, the Hoosiers will be going to the big dance instead.

In other Big Ten news, Penn State held off #22 Ohio State for the season sweep of the Buckeyes.  And then the Penn State student section rushed the court, which was just pathetic.

Here's the schedule for this weekend's games (all times Central):

Saturday
-Illinois at #18 Michigan State (3 p.m.; ESPN2)
-Northwestern at Nebraska (4 p.m.; ESPNU)
-Minnesota at #16 Michigan (5 p.m.; BTN)

Sunday
-#14 Wisconsin at Penn State (11 a.m.; BTN)
-Purdue at #20 Iowa (1:05 p.m.; BTN)
-#22 Ohio State at Indiana (3 p.m.; CBS)

Here are the current standings, with the conference record, each team's remaining games, and my predictions.

1.  Michigan (12-3):  Minnesota (W), at Illinois (W), IU (W)

2.  Michigan State (11-4):  Illinois (W), Iowa (W), at OSU (L)

3.  Wisconsin (10-5):  at PSU (W), Purdue (W), Nebraska (W)

4.  Ohio State (9-7):  at IU (L), MSU (W)

5.  Iowa (8-7):  Purdue (W), at MSU (L), Illinois (W)

6.  Nebraska (8-7):  Northwestern (W), at IU (L), Wisconsin (L)

7.  Minnesota (7-9):  at Michigan (L), PSU (W)

8.  Indiana (6-9):  OSU (W), Nebraska (W), at Michigan (L)

9.  Purdue (5-10):  at Iowa (L), at Wisconsin (L), Northwestern (W)

10.  Northwestern (5-10):  at Nebraska (L), PSU (W), at Purdue (L)

11.  Illinois (5-10):  at MSU (L), Michigan (L), at Iowa (L)

12.  Penn State (5-10):  Wisconsin (L), at Northwestern (L), at Minnesota (L)

Given my predictions and Big Ten tiebreaking rules, here is how the Big Ten Tournament seeds should fall into place and how the Big Ten Tournament will play out (all times are Central):

1.  Michigan (15-3)

2.  Wisconsin (13-5) (Wisconsin has tiebreaker over MSU based on 1-0 head-to-head record)

3.  Michigan State (13-5)

4.  Iowa (10-8) (Iowa has tiebreaker over OSU based on 1-1 record vs. Michigan, while OSU has 0-1 record vs. Michigan)

5.  Ohio State (10-8)

6.  Nebraska (9-9)

7.  Minnesota (8-10) (Minnesota has tiebreaker over IU based on 1-0 head-to-head record)

8.  Indiana (8-10)

9.  Northwestern (6-12) (Northwestern will have tiebreaker over Purdue based on 1-1 record vs. Wisconsin, while Purdue will have 0-2 record vs. Wisconsin)

10.  Purdue (6-12)

11.  Illinois (5-13) (Illinois has tiebreaker over PSU based on 2-0 head-to-head record)

12.  Penn State (5-13)

Now that we have two weeks until the Big Ten Tournament starts, I'm just going to go ahead and provide my game-by-game predictions for the entire tournament.  It just makes sense.  Here are the dates/times/TV schedule for the Big Ten Tournament (and a link to the bracket), which will be in Indianapolis.  All times are Central.

Thursday March 13 – First Round

(8) Indiana vs. (9) Northwestern (11 a.m., BTN).  Predicted winner:  Indiana

(5) Ohio State vs. (12) Penn State (1:30 p.m., BTN).  Predicted winner:  Ohio State

(7) Minnesota vs. (10) Purdue (5:30 p.m., ESPN2).  Predicted winner:  Minnesota

(6) Nebraska vs. (11) Illinois (8 p.m., ESPN2).  Predicted winner:  Illinois

Friday March 14 - Quarterfinals

(1) Michigan vs. (8) Indiana (11 a.m., ESPN/EPSN2).  Predicted winner:  Indiana

(4) Iowa vs. (5) Ohio State (1:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2).  Predicted winner:  Ohio State

(2) Wisconsin vs. (7) Minnesota (5:30 p.m., BTN).  Predicted winner:  Minnesota

(3) Michigan State vs. (11) Illinois (8 p.m., BTN).  Predicted winner:  Michigan State

Saturday March 15 - Semifinals

(8) Indiana vs. (5) Ohio State (12:40 p.m., CBS).  Predicted winner:  Indiana

(7) Minnesota vs. (3) Michigan State (3 p.m., CBS).  Predicted winner:  Michigan State

Sunday March 16 - Finals

(8) Indiana vs. (3) Michigan State (2:30 p.m., CBS).  Predicted winner:  Indiana