BTPowerhouse's 2/1 Big Ten Tournament Bracketology: Purdue Boilermakers Rising

There were a few massive matchups this week and the Big Ten standings saw some major changes since just last weekend. The top has settled out, the middle is emerging, and the bottom teams have settled as well. It's an exciting time for the Big Ten.

With that, 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, February 5, 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 (2/5):

Thoughts:

It seems as if things have gone back and forth the last few weeks, but it can finally be said. The standings have finally shaken out and we now know the contenders and pretenders. From first to last, the gap is now 10 games and just six teams are tied with another in the current standings.

At the top of the standings, Indiana and Iowa remain tied. The Hoosiers still have the tiebreaker, but the two teams are set for a major showdown next week. That game could very well decide how things sit for the final portion of the season and who ends up grabbing the Big Ten title. The Terps also continue to nip at their heels.

The middle group expanded quite a bit this week with Michigan getting smashed by Indiana and the emergence of Michigan State and Wisconsin behind the Wolverines. It looks like it will be an absolute battle for that No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament with a bunch of teams involved.

At the bottom, it continues to be a incredibly rough season. Minnesota and Rutgers remained winless in conference play and Penn State sits at just 2-8 in the Big Ten. As such, it looks like the battle for the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds will be between Illinois, Nebraska, and Northwestern in some order.

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