As we wind towards the close of the Big Ten regular season, the big news that typically arises regards potential lineups and brackets for the postseason. Almost all of these are directed toward the NCAA Tournament, but what about the Big Ten Tournament? This year's bracket should be even more unpredictable than last year and with several teams on the bubble, it could have major implications. With that in mind, let's take a look:
2014 Big Ten Tournament Bracket (3/5):
Thoughts
Once again, the important thing to stress is that this is still very fluid. In all seriousness, the only spot that is legitimately locked up at this moment is the #1 seed to Michigan. On that thought, clearly the Wolverines are going to come in with a solid matchup after getting the bye in the 1st round. Right now, they are set to face the winner of Illinois and Minnesota. They just beat both teams last week and are 3-0 on the season. Odds look good that Michigan will be aimed for the semi-finals.
It will also be interesting to watch the battle for the #2 seed. MSU and Wisconsin are tied so in their final 4 games, it's going to be a battle to see who can secure that spot. Wisconsin has the tiebreak because they beat MSU. Iowa has slid into that #4 seed, but there are still 4 teams that could potentially move in there (Iowa, OSU, Nebraska, Indiana). Arguably, the 1st round bye is the most important thing you can earn going into the BTT, so it will be interesting to see who gets it.
In the 1st round games, this bracket is admittedly a little less exciting than the last projection. However, it would be interesting to see OSU and PSU face off after the Nittany Lions swept the Buckeyes and last year's Big Ten Tournament game between Illinois and Minnesota was a thriller, so there's hope there. However, it is worth noting that just like the last projection, every game would ave NCAA Tournament implications, even just for seeding.