Updated Big Ten Tournament Seeding Predictions and NCAA Tournament Resumes

Guys, we're less than three weeks from Selection Sunday and only one week away from the beginning of Championship Week.  Shit's about to get exciting.  By "shit," I mean college basketball.

Twas another important weekend in the Big Ten.  On Saturday, Wisconsin held off Minnesota at home, while Northwestern held Penn State to 29 points for the Wildcats' first three-game winning streak in conference play since 2012.

On Sunday, my beloved Hoosiers rebounded from that embarrassing home loss to Purdue by destroying Rutgers at the RAC.  Meanwhile, Michigan upset Ohio State, beating a ranked team for the first time this year and ending the Wolverines' five-game skid.  Iowa crushed Nebraska in Lincoln, and Michigan State beat Illinois in Champaign, a win the Illini desperately needed for their NCAA Tournament resume.  The loss drops Illinois out of the RPI Top 50.

Tomorrow night, Wisconsin goes to College Park to take on Maryland, in what is, for all intents and purposes, the game that will decide the Big Ten regular season championship.  A win by Wisconsin means the Badgers will clinch at least a tie of the Big Ten title, and would eliminate Maryland from having any chance at the regular season title.  A win by the Terps would give them an outside shot at the regular season title, but they would need some help, as they would still be two games down in the loss column.  Nonetheless, if Maryland wins, it will put itself in the driver's seat for the 2-seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

On the slate next (Tuesday):

-Maryland at Wisconsin (7:00 p.m. EST, ESPN)

Current Standings

Here are the current standings, with the conference record, each team's remaining games, and my predictions.  I will try to update these after every day or every couple days of games.

1.  Wisconsin (13-1):  Minnesota (W), at Maryland (L), MSU (W), at Minnesota (W), at OSU (L)

2 (tie).  Maryland (10-4):  Wisconsin (W), Michigan (W), at Rutgers (W), at Nebraska (W)

2 (tie).  Purdue (10-4):  Rutgers (W), at OSU (L), at MSU (L), Illinois (W)

2( tie).  Michigan State (10-4):  Minnesota (W), at Wisconsin (L), Purdue (W), at IU (L)

5.  Indiana (9-6):  at Northwestern (W), Iowa (W), MSU (W)

6 (tie).  Ohio State (8-6):  Nebraska (W), Purdue (W), at PSU (W), Wisconsin (W)

6 (tie).  Iowa (8-6):  Illinois (W), at PSU (W), at IU (L), Northwestern (W)

8.  Illinois (7-7):  at Iowa (L), Northwestern (W), Nebraska (W), at Purdue (L)

9.  Michigan (7-8):  at Maryland (L), at Northwestern (W), Rutgers (W)

10 (tie).  Nebraska (5-10):  at OSU (L), at Illinois (L), Maryland (L)

10 (tie).  Minnesota (5-10):  at MSU (L), Wisconsin (L), PSU (W)

12.  Northwestern (4-10):  IU (L), at Illinois (L), Michigan (L), at Iowa (L)

13.  Penn State (3-12):  Iowa (L), OSU (L), at Minnesota (L)

14.  Rutgers (2-13):  at Purdue (L), Maryland (L), at Michigan (L)

Projected Big Ten Tournament Seeding

Given my predictions and Big Ten tiebreaking rules, here is how the Big Ten Tournament seeds should fall into place:

1.  Wisconsin (15-3)

2.  Maryland (14-4)

3.  Michigan State (12-6) (MSU would have tiebreaker over Purdue, OSU, and IU based 3-1 vs. other schools, while Purdue would have 3-2 record, OSU would have 2-3 record, and IU would have 2-4 record vs. other three schools)

4.  Purdue (12-6)

5.  Ohio State (12-6)

6.  Indiana (12-6)

7.  Iowa (11-7)

8.  Illinois (9-9) (would have tiebreaker over Michigan based on better record vs. Maryland)

9.  Michigan (9-9)

10.  Minnesota (6-12)

11.  Nebraska (5-13)

12.  Northwestern (4-14)

13.  Penn State (3-15)

14.  Rutgers (2-16)

Big Ten Tournament Schecule

Here are the dates/times/TV schedule for the Big Ten Tournament (and a link to the bracket), which will be in Chicago.  All times are Central.

Wednesday March 11 – First Round

(12) vs. (13) (3:30 p.m. ESPN2)

(11) vs. (14) (6 p.m. BTN)

Thursday March 12 – Second Round

(8) vs. (9) (11 a.m., BTN)

(5) vs. (12)/(13) (1:30 p.m., BTN)

(7) vs. (10) (5:30 p.m., ESPN2)

(6) vs. (11)/(14) (8 p.m., ESPN2)

Friday March 13 – Quarterfinals

(1) vs. (8)/(9) (11 a.m., ESPN)

(4) vs. (5)/(12)/(13) (1:30 p.m., ESPN)

(2) vs. (7)/(10) (5:30 p.m., BTN)

(3) vs. (6)/(11)/(14) (8 p.m., BTN)

Saturday March 14 – Semifinals

(1)/(8)/(9) vs. (4)/(5)/(12)/(13) (12 p.m., CBS)

(2)/(7)/(10) vs. (3)/(6)/(11)/(14) (2:30 p.m., CBS)

Sunday March 15 – Finals

(1)/(4)/(5)/(8)/(9)/(12)/(13) vs. (2)/(3)/(6)/(7)/(10)/(11)/(14) (2:30 p.m., CBS)

NCAA Tournament Resumes for All 14 Big Ten Teams

Here is each Big Ten team's updated NCAA Tournament resume.  From top to bottom, I will list each team's RPI (based on ESPN's daily RPI), "good" wins (wins against RPI Top 50 teams or, if none, the team's best win), "bad" losses (losses against teams with an RPI of 101+ or, if none, the team's worst loss).  An * means the game was played on a neutral court, and for the "good" wins and "bad" losses, the team's current RPI is identified.  Also, I have categorized the teams by "In," "Bubble," or "Out," which is my best guess, based on what I know right now, as to whether each team is a lock for the NCAA Tournament, is on the bubble, or is out.

In

1.  Wisconsin

RPI:  6

Overall record:  25-2

Good wins:  5 (Oklahoma* (15), Georgetown* (22), Indiana (32), Boise State (43), Buffalo (44))

Bad losses: 1 (at Rutgers (149))

2.  Maryland

RPI:  10

Overall record:  22-5

Good wins:  5 (Iowa State* (9), Michigan State (28), at Michigan State (28), at Oklahoma State (29), Indiana (32))

Bad losses:  None (at Illinois (57))

3.  Michigan State

RPI:  28

Overall record:  19-8

Good wins:  2 (Indiana (32), Ohio State (41))

Bad losses:  2 (at Nebraska (122), Texas Southern (155))

4.  Indiana

RPI:  34

Overall record:  19-9

Good wins:  5 (Maryland (10), SMU (17), Butler* (24), Pittsburgh (36), Ohio State (41))

Bad losses:  None (Eastern Washington (74))

5.  Ohio State

RPI:  41

Overall record:  19-8

Good wins:  2 (Maryland (10), Indiana (32))

Bad losses:  None (at Purdue (59))

Bubble

6.  Iowa

RPI:  55

Overall record:  17-10

Good wins:  4 (Maryland (10), at North Carolina (13), at Ohio State (41), Ohio State (41))

Bad losses:  1 (Northwestern (116))

7.  Illinois

RPI:  57

Overall record:  17-10

Good wins:  3 (Maryland (10), Baylor* (14), at Michigan State (28))

Bad losses:  1 (at Nebraska (122))

8.  Purdue

RPI:  59

Overall record:  18-9

Good wins:  4 (Indiana (32), at Indiana (32), Ohio State (41), NC State (48))

Bad losses:  4 (Kansas State* (103), at Vanderbilt (112), Gardner-Webb (171), North Florida (191))

Out

9.  Michigan

RPI:  81

Overall record:  13-13

Good wins:  2 (Ohio State (41), Oregon* (45))

Bad losses:  2 (Eastern Michigan (154), NJIT (170))

10.  Minnesota

RPI:  98

Overall record:  15-12

Good wins:  1 (Georgia* (34))

Bad losses:  3 (at Penn State (107), Northwestern (116), at Nebraska (122))

11.  Penn State

RPI:  107

Overall record:  15-13

Good wins:  None (George Washington (91))

Bad losses:  3 (at Northwestern (116), at Rutgers (149), Charlotte* (196))

12.  Northwestern

RPI:  116

Overall record:  13-14

Good wins:  None (Iowa (55))

Bad losses:  2 (Georgia Tech (106), at Nebraska (122))

13.  Nebraska

RPI:  122

Overall record:  13-14

Good wins:  2 (Michigan State (28), Cincinnati (50))

Bad losses:  4 (at Penn State (107), Creighton (131), Incarnate Word (151), at Hawaii (164))

14.  Rutgers

RPI:  149

Overall record:  10-18

Good wins:  1 (Wisconsin (6))

Bad losses:  5 (at Penn State (107), Northwestern (116), at Nebraska (122), St. Francis (PA) (201), St. Peter's (251))