2/12 Big Ten Tournament Bracketology: Wisconsin Takes Firm Control

The Big Ten has operated more like the wild west than a major basketball conference this season, but it’s led to some intriguing and exciting results. It should also set things up nicely for the Big Ten Tournament, especially considering how unpredictable play has been for the league’s top teams.

In light of 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 morning of Sunday, February 12, 2017. I have taken the liberty of looking at the Big Ten records and using the Big Ten tiebreaker scenarios to see where teams land. Things will certainly move, but it’s interesting to see as of this moment.

2017 Big Ten Tournament Bracket (2/12):

Thoughts:

To start, it's worth noting that this projection is still early with a capital e. Even a single game can drastically change the bracket’s outlook and with so many important ones over the coming days, expect things to look much different in the near future. However, as mentioned above, it’s still fun to see how things look now.

At the top of the bracket, Wisconsin has emerged as the clear favorite to land the one seed with Maryland and Purdue battling behind the Badgers. Northwestern has also taken firm control of the four seed and barring a collapse, should get a double-bye.

The middle of the bracket remains a mess as teams rapidly move up and down in the standings. The Spartans appear to be making a run, but fans will have to wait and see if Michigan State can hold its position. Minnesota is also a team to watch as the Gophers have a manageable closing slate of the season.

At the bottom, Ohio State continues to disappoint and appears slated to play on Wednesday in the Big Ten Tournament. Additionally, Illinois, Nebraska, and Rutgers all appear as if they will be relegated to Wednesday as well.

We'll have to see how the coming weeks impacts things for the bracket, but it still looks like an exciting race across the Big Ten.