BTPowerhouse's 2/27 Big Ten Tournament Bracketology: Iowa Hawkeyes Making A Run

Last week could very well have been the most entertaining one of conference play so far this season.  There were huge matchups between teams like Maryland and Wisconsin, upsets by teams like Michigan, and thrilling overtime battles between teams like Michigan State and Minnesota.  It was truly a week that had it all and one that had a big impact on the conference race.  Let's take a look at the current seeding of this year's Big Ten Tournament.

The concept is pretty simple. Each week, BTP will be taking a look at how the Big Ten Tournament projects as of that morning. For instance, today's bracket will be set as of Friday, February 27, 2015 morning. I have taken the liberty of looking at the Big Ten records and using the Big Ten tiebreaker scenarios to see where teams will land. Things will certainly move, but it is still interesting to see as of this moment. Let's take a look.

2015 B1G Tournament Bracket (2/27):

Despite Maryland's win over Wisconsin this week, nothing changed at the top and it seems unlikely that anything will as the Badgers still have a 2 game lead over the Terps.  Maryland and Purdue are tied for the #2 seed, but the Terps hold the tiebreaker due to their win over the Boilermakers earlier this year.

The race below Wisconsin still remains a battle.  The Spartans are just 1 game behind Maryland and Purdue and Iowa and Ohio State are just a game back from there.  If we see any upsets in this group over the coming week, it could have a huge impact on which teams get the double-bye and who can avoid Wisconsin on the opposite side of the bracket.  The Hoosiers are only a game back from Iowa and Ohio State as well with games coming against Iowa and Michigan State.  Things could get really wild in this section of the standings.

Beyond Indiana, things are still pretty tight in the standings, but it's tough to see anybody here making a run at any of those higher seeds.  Illinois and Michigan are tied in the standings for the #8 seed, but outside of them alternating whether they wear home uniforms or not, they both sit back from Indiana with some difficult games ahead.  After these two, Minnesota is 2 games back and Northwestern is another game back.  Perhaps somebody can mix things up, but the odds are pretty strong that you will see Illinois and Michigan matchup in Chicago.

At the bottom, Penn State and Rutgers remain cemented to the bottom of the standings.  Northwestern has helped its chances of making it past the first day, but they're going to have to keep their great play going to make any run at the #10 seed.  Nebraska's struggles have left them just a game up on Penn State and unlikely to avoid Wednesday.