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Even though the season is still around four months away, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi released his second 2020 bracket of the off-season last week.
The Big Ten led the pack with eight teams projected to make the tournament. The SEC and Big 12 each had 7 representatives, while the Big East and ACC (surprisingly) had 6.
Take a look below at the Big Ten’s seeding and opponents.
Big Ten 2020 Bracketology (June 2019)
| Team | Seed | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| Team | Seed | Opponent |
| Michigan State | 1 | Grambling/Lamar |
| Maryland | 3 | Colgate |
| Purdue | 4 | Northern Iowa |
| Ohio State | 5 | Vermont |
| Iowa | 6 | Kansas State |
| Michigan | 10 | VCU |
| Minnesota | 11 | Providence (play-in) |
| Penn State | 11 | Georgetown (play-in) |
| Indiana | First Four Out | None |
All of this, of course, should be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s July, it’s fun to speculate. The surprises here continue to be Lunardi’s projection of Iowa and Penn State. For Iowa, a six-seed seemed like a possibility entering the off-season, but the Hawkeyes lost Isaiah Moss to transfer and Jordan Bohannon to a potentially season-ending injury.
For Penn State, it does seem like a do-or-die season for Pat Chambers. Getting to the tournament is not something Chambers has achieved with Penn State, so some skepticism is warranted.
Elsewhere, will Maryland live up to expectations and nab a top-three seed? Coach Turgeon has been known to underachieve. Michigan will be interesting to follow with Coach Howard trying to implement his new system, and can there be a case for Illinois as a better “First Out” team than Indiana?
Fun stuff to speculate, but things certainly look competitive for the Big Ten again this season.