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This afternoon, Fox College Hoops’ Mike Decourcy revealed his Friday bracket projection update and the Big Ten is slotted once again with 11 teams getting into the NCAA tournament. We’ve seen theses projections get up to as many as 12 of the 14 Big Ten teams. At this point in the season it is looking very likely that the Big Ten will get 10 teams in at a minimum. The conference teams’ non-conference performance combined with the cannibalistic nature of the Big Ten this year has been historic.
Louisville drops down to a 3 seed in @tsnmike's latest bracket after a loss on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/1Wy1Ai2qIz
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 14, 2020
The Big Ten race has been a roller coaster this season. The plot has certainly thickened with the likes of Penn State, Illinois and Rutgers having huge seasons and remaining serious contenders for winning the conference.
Here is how the Big Ten was projected by seed.
Big Ten 2/14 Fox College Hoops Bracketology by Seed
No. 2- Maryland
No. 3- Penn State
No. 5- Iowa
No. 5- Michigan State
No. 7- Ohio State
No. 7- Illinois
No. 8- Michigan
No. 8- Wisconsin
No. 9- Rutgers
No. 10- Indiana
No. 11 (Last Four In)- Purdue
Thoughts
The way things stand right now, Maryland, Penn State, Iowa and Michigan State are probably locks for the NCAA tournament. Then there is a second tier of Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Rutgers. These five are pretty solid from a profile perspective but are not guaranteed to be in. The final two teams are living on the edge. Those are Indiana and Purdue. If Indiana wins the rest of their home games they'll be fine without any more road wins. However, Purdue will need to most likely win out at home and pick up at least one road win to be on the right side of the bubble come Selection Sunday.
Two games this weekend that could help push the Big Ten towards 12 teams would be Purdue beating Ohio State on the road and Minnesota beating Iowa at home. The Minnesota win would be a good start to getting them to the right side of the bubble and give the Big Ten 12 teams.