A new gold standard for the number of teams in the NCAA Tournament from a single conference is about to be set by the SEC. While the dissolution of the Pac-12 is not a factor in the SEC glut, it is why the Big Ten is expected to set a new league record.
After sending nine teams to the NCAA Tournaments in 2021 and 2022, the Big Ten has at least 10 teams that appear to be headed to March Madness this season, with a couple more sitting on the proverbial bubble.
While that number points out the depth of the conference, the Big Ten isn’t getting as much love on the college basketball futures as the Big 12, Big East and ACC, all of whom will send fewer teams, or the SEC that will send more than a dozen.
Showdown Looms for Wolverines & Spartans
With a little less than three weeks left in the regular season, Michigan has the slimmest of leads over Michigan State at the tip-top of the Big Ten ranks. Two meetings remain between the old rivals, the top seed for the conference tourney could easily be determined by those outcomes.
The first of those clashes takes place Friday in Ann Arbor, with a follow-up in East Lansing at the end of the schedule, and action at top sportsbooks should be crisp for both contests.
Dusty May brings his Wolverines into the first matchup on a sweet 6-game win streak. The last two victories were a takedown of then-No. 7 Purdue and a win in Columbus over Ohio State. It’s worth noting oddsmakers have been fattening up Michigan’s lines a little too much, resulting in just one cover the last nine trips to the floor.
Tom Izzo and the Spartans have a more modest 2-game win streak going, though it has come following a rough 1-3 stretch on the fixture. One of the wins also came against Purdue, the other on the road in Illinois.
Badgers Beginning to Blossom
Wisconsin may trail the Wolverines and Spartans in the standings, but the Badgers are ahead of Michigan and Michigan State to win the NCAA Tournament according to the odds at the top NCAAB betting sites.
Greg Gard’s gang is currently priced +3500 to win their first National Championship since 1941, placing the Badgers in the third tier of chalk. The Wolverines are +4000 with the Spartans checking in at +4500.
Long known for defense and a slow, deliberate half-court offense, this is a very different Wisconsin team. Following Tuesday’s 95-74 whipping of Illinois, the Badgers rank 16th in the nation in scoring (82.0).
Purdue presently checks in fourth in the Big Ten standings, the Boilermakers sliding down to that rung thanks to a 3-game losing streak against the three teams ahead of them: Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Two of those losses were on the road, but the Boilermakers are struggling right now to fill the lane and work the glass.
Could Illini Fall Out of the Picture?
Of course, none of the Big Ten’s dance hopefuls is struggling right now as much as Illinois. Following a 4-1 start to the conference slate, the Fighting Illini have gone 5-7 and are besieged by injuries or illness to make it difficult on Brad Underwood to find the right mix on the floor.
The timing couldn’t be worse for the Fighting Illini who have just three league games remaining, plus a trip this weekend to Madison Square Garden to battle No. 3 Duke.
Oregon and UCLA are Pac-12 refugees helping the Big Ten possibly set a new mark for most invites to the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks have recovered from a sloppy 5-game skid to win their last two, but three of their final five games are on the road, and the two at home come against desperate USC and Indiana sides.
The Bruins were embarrassed at home on Tuesday by Minnesota, blowing a double-digit halftime lead in a 64-61 setback as 11-point chalk at sharp sportsbooks. That sets up a very crucial game for Mick Cronin’s club at Purdue on the final day of February.
‘Huskers & Buckeyes Complete B1G 10
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently has Ohio State and Nebraska in his Field of 68, as No. 9 and No. 10 seeds, respectively, and they would make it 10 Big Ten squads in the tourney along with the previous eight mentioned.
The Buckeyes have three road games remaining, two out in Los Angeles against UCLA and USC, while the Cornhuskers will be in Lincoln for three of their five remaining tilts. It’s the clash between those two in Columbus on March 4 that everyone should circle.
History tells us all 10 of those teams won’t make it, however. Either some team will get hot in the league tournament to rise up the ranks, or a team will go cold and fall out. The two most likely teams to move up are USC and Indiana, and both have plenty of opportunities remaining to impress the selection committee.
