BTPowerhouse's 1/15 Big Ten Tournament Bracketology: Iowa Hawkeyes Moving Up

What a week across the Big Ten. Not only were there more upsets around the conference, but we got a thriller in Ann Arbor between Maryland and Michigan and a massive win for Iowa in East Lansing. It was a great week of action that had plenty of implications for March and beyond.

So, let's take a look at the Big Ten Tournament bracket.

The concept of the bracket is pretty simple. Each time, BTP will breakdown how the Big Ten Tournament projects as of that moment. For instance, today's bracket will be set as of the night of Friday, January 15, 2016. 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.

2016 Big Ten Tournament Bracket (1/15):

Thoughts:

Once again, it bears mentioning, but I'll put it out there again. The margin between seeds is still very thin from top to bottom. Overall, the range is five games from first to last and a total of 11 teams are tied with at least one other team in the standings. As such, things are going to continue moving regularly over the next few weeks.

At the top, the Hoosiers maintained the top spot. Iowa is tied in the standings, but Indiana has a slight edge based on the tiebreaker procedures. The good news for fans in Bloomington is that Indiana has a few manageable games coming up soon, meaning that the Hoosiers might very well stay at the top for the net few weeks.

There are a few significant things in the middle of the bracket, but none more notable than Michigan State sitting at No. 8 in the seeding. The Spartans were No. 1 nationally a few weeks ago and the two losses to Iowa have certainly taken a toll on Michigan State's spot in the Big Ten standings. Add in Purdue as a No. 7 seed and that middle section looks crazy right now. If these hold true, the early days of the Big Ten Tournament will be insane.

Finally, there was virtually no movement at the bottom. Until some of the bottom teams start facing each other, don't expect things to change much. Again, the one interesting thing is Wisconsin currently set to open on the first day of Big Ten Tournament action. An incredible statement given Wisconsin's recent success.

We'll have to see how the weekend impacts things, but it looks like an exciting race in the Big Ten.