Updated Big Ten Tournament Seeding Predictions and NCAA Tournament Resumes

Last night, Maryland handed Wisconsin its third loss of the season, ending the Badgers' 10-game winning streak.  This technically means that the Badgers could still fail to win the regular season Big Ten title, if they lose out and Maryland, Purdue, and/or Michigan State end win out.  They could also lose the 1-seed in the Big Ten in the unlikely event that they lose their remaining games, or if they lose 2 of their remaining 3 games and Maryland and/or Michigan State wins out.

Tonight, IU looks for its 20th win of the season and looks to end Northwestern's three-game winning streak in Evanston.  Also, Illinois and Iowa battle in Iowa City for what would be a big win for either school and, on the flip side, a tough loss for either school with respect to the NCAA Tournament bubble.

On the slate tonight:

-Indiana at Northwestern (7:00 p.m. EST, BTN)

-Illinois at Iowa (9:00 p.m. EST, BTN)

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 (13-2):  MSU (W), at Minnesota (W), at OSU (L)

2.  Maryland (11-4):  Michigan (W), at Rutgers (W), at Nebraska (W)

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

3 (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:  25-3

Good wins:  5 (Oklahoma* (15), Georgetown* (23), Indiana (30), Buffalo (43), Boise State (45))

Bad losses: 1 (at Rutgers (150))

2.  Maryland

RPI:  9

Overall record:  23-5

Good wins:  6 (Wisconsin (6), Iowa State* (10), Michigan State (27), at Michigan State (27), at Oklahoma State (29), Indiana (30))

Bad losses:  None (at Illinois (56))

3.  Michigan State

RPI:  27

Overall record:  19-8

Good wins:  2 (Indiana (30), Ohio State (42))

Bad losses:  2 (at Nebraska (124), Texas Southern (156))

4.  Indiana

RPI:  30

Overall record:  19-9

Good wins:  5 (Maryland (9), SMU (19), Butler* (24), Pittsburgh (39), Ohio State (42))

Bad losses:  None (Eastern Washington (74))

5.  Ohio State

RPI:  42

Overall record:  19-8

Good wins:  2 (Maryland (9), Indiana (30))

Bad losses:  None (at Michigan (80))

Bubble

6.  Illinois

RPI:  56

Overall record:  17-10

Good wins:  3 (Maryland (9), Baylor* (13), at Michigan State (27))

Bad losses:  1 (at Nebraska (124))

7.  Iowa

RPI:  57

Overall record:  17-10

Good wins:  4 (Maryland (9), at North Carolina (17), at Ohio State (42), Ohio State (42))

Bad losses:  1 (at Northwestern (119))

8.  Purdue

RPI:  59

Overall record:  18-9

Good wins:  4 (Indiana (30), at Indiana (30), NC State (38), Ohio State (42))

Bad losses:  3 (at Vanderbilt (114), Gardner-Webb (170), North Florida (193))

Out

9.  Michigan

RPI:  80

Overall record:  13-13

Good wins:  2 (Ohio State (42), Oregon* (47))

Bad losses:  2 (Eastern Michigan (160), NJIT (172))

10.  Minnesota

RPI:  99

Overall record:  15-12

Good wins:  1 (Georgia* (37))

Bad losses:  3 (at Penn State (107), Northwestern (119), at Nebraska (124))

11.  Penn State

RPI:  107

Overall record:  15-13

Good wins:  None (George Washington (93))

Bad losses:  3 (at Northwestern (119), at Rutgers (150), Charlotte* (197))

12.  Northwestern

RPI:  119

Overall record:  13-14

Good wins:  None (Iowa (57))

Bad losses:  2 (Georgia Tech (110), at Nebraska (124))

13.  Nebraska

RPI:  124

Overall record:  13-14

Good wins:  1 (Michigan State (28))

Bad losses:  4 (at Penn State (107), Creighton (116), Incarnate Word (145), at Hawaii (164))

14.  Rutgers

RPI:  150

Overall record:  10-18

Good wins:  1 (Wisconsin (6))

Bad losses:  5 (at Penn State (107), Northwestern (119), at Nebraska (124), St. Francis (PA) (202), St. Peter's (250))