What The Big Ten Tournament Bracket Would Look Like Today
Posted by jnowak on February 20th, 2012The depth of the Big Ten is unmatched nationwide this season, which should make for an exceptional conference tournament this year in Indianapolis. Add to it the fact that Minnesota, Illinois, Purdue, and Northwestern still have plenty to play for and could make their hay during that weekend. Here’s a sneak peek at what the Big Ten Tournament bracket would look like if play ended today, based on the conference standings heading into this week’s games. (There are a few teams tied, so tiebreaker results are explained below.)
Will This Be the 2012 Big Ten Championship Game? (AP)
- #1 : Michigan State (22-5 overall, 11-3 Big Ten)
- #2: Michigan (20-7, 10-4)*
- #3: Ohio State (22-5, 10-4)*
- #4: Wisconsin (20-7, 9-5)
- #5: Indiana (20-7, 8-7)
- #6: Purdue (17-10, 7-7)
- #7: Northwestern (16-10, 6-8)**
- #8: Iowa (14-13, 6-8)**
- #9: Illinois (16-11, 5-9)***
- #10: Minnesota (17-10, 5-9)***
- #11: Nebraska (12-13, 4-10)
- #12: Penn State (12-16, 4-11)
* The first tiebreaker is head-to-head. Since the Wolverines and Buckeyes split the season series, the second tiebreaker is record versus the conference’s top team. Michigan split against Michigan State, and Ohio State is 0-1 against the Spartans with one meeting yet on the schedule.
** Northwestern won the only meeting between the Wildcats and Hawkeyes, though they play again in the season finale.
*** Illinois and Minnesota split head-to-head, but Illinois is 1-0 against Michigan State, while Minnesota is 0-1 against the Spartans. Michigan State travels to Minnesota on Wednesday.
Under this scenario, the first round would play out like this:
- #8 Iowa vs. #9 Illinois
- #5 Indiana vs. #12 Penn State
- #6 Purdue vs. #11 Nebraska
- #7 Northwestern vs. #10 Minnesota
- Winner #8/#9 vs. #1 Michigan State
- Winner #5/#12 vs. #4 Wisconsin
- Winner #6/#11 vs. #3 Ohio State
- Winner #7/#10 vs. #2 Michigan
- It paves the way for a possible Michigan-Michigan State championship game. If the Spartans are in that position, they have likely already secured an NCAA Tournament #1 seed. After the two teams split in the regular season, it would be a match-up both teams and fans around the state of Michigan would be salivating over. Who saw this coming at the beginning of the season?
- To even get to the semifinals, the Wolverines would have to get past the winner of a potentially really tough 7-10 match-up. Minnesota and Northwestern are both dangerous and will surely have plenty to play for at that point.
- A Penn State team with nothing to lose could potentially pose problems for an Indiana group that doesn’t always perform at its highest capability away from home although the crowd in Indianapolis should favor the Hoosiers. And if Indiana wins, it would be a great environment against Wisconsin.
At this point, it’s mostly hypothetical. But as conference play wraps up, these are some interesting — and more and more likely — scenarios to keep in mind.
