Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, February 6, 2013

The weekly mock brackets are out, and the Big Ten looks primed for seven bids-at least for now, as Illinois seems to be hanging by a thread. The Fighting Illini appear in three of the four mock brackets I check each week. Each analyst also has two Big Ten teams as No. 1 seeds, with Indiana and Michigan leading a group that also includes Michigan State, Ohio State, Minnesota and Wisconsin in each bracket.

Here?s a look at the brackets.

RPI Rankings
Rankings as of 2/5/2013
Rank School RPI Prev Rank
1 Duke 19-2 0.7011 1
2 Miami (FL) 18-3 0.6919 2
3 Michigan 21-2 0.6766 6
4 Arizona 19-2 0.6757 4
5 Florida 18-3 0.6744 3
6 New Mexico 19-3 0.6742 5
7 Kansas 19-2 0.6676 7
8 Syracuse 19-3 0.6583 8
9 Minnesota 17-5 0.6538 9
10 Louisville 18-4 0.6533 10
11 Gonzaga 21-2 0.6525 11
12 Indiana 20-2 0.6519 11
13 Michigan State 18-4 0.6452 13
14 Butler 18-4 0.6370 14
15 Colorado State 18-4 0.6349 15
16 Marquette 15-5 0.6321 16
17 Ohio State 17-5 0.6315 19
18 UNLV 17-5 0.6313 17
19 Belmont 19-4 0.6309 18
20 Cincinnati 18-4 0.6232 21
21 North Carolina State 16-6 0.6230 20
22 Oklahoma 14-7 0.6199 23
23 Connecticut 15-5 0.6195 22
24 Kansas State 18-4 0.6148 25
25 Colorado 14-7 0.6141 24
View Complete Poll

ESPN
Joe Lunardi is the lone analyst who has just six Big Ten teams in his bracket, with Illinois being left out. No real surprises here, save for maybe Minnesota as a No. 5. Is that too high?

  • No. 1 Indiana (Midwest) vs. No. 16 Bryant/Norfolk State
  • No. 1 Michigan (West) vs. No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast
  • No. 3 Michigan State (South) vs. No. 14 Stony Brook
  • No. 3 Ohio State (East) vs. No. 14 Harvard
  • No. 5 Minnesota (East) vs. No. 12 Arizona State/Indiana State
  • No. 8 Wisconsin (South) vs. No. 9 Kentucky

CBS
Jerry Palm has seven Big Ten teams in his bracket. And no analyst has Illinois higher, as a No. 9 seed. Hmmm. Minnesota at No. 4 is high. Palm has Wisconsin higher than any other analyst at No. 6.

  • No. 1 Indiana (West) vs. No. 16 North Carolina Central
  • No. 1 Michigan (Midwest) vs. No. 16 Davidson
  • No. 3 Michigan state (South) vs. No. 14 Harvard
  • No. 4 Ohio State (East) vs. No. 13 Southern Miss
  • No. 4 Minnesota (South) vs. No. 13 Louisiana Tech
  • No. 6 Wisconsin (West) vs. No. 11 Memphis
  • No. 9 Illinois (South) vs. No. 8 Oregon

Sports Illustrated
Andy Glockner also has Illinois in his field, with the Fighting Illini playing in a play-in game for right to be a No. 12 seed. No analyst has Minnesota lower, here a No. 6.

  • No. 1 Indiana (West) vs. No. 16 Niagara
  • No. 1 Michigan (Midwest) vs. No. 16 Northeastern
  • No. 3 Michigan State (East) vs. No. 14 Harvard
  • No. 4 Ohio State (South) vs. No. 13 Akron
  • No. 6 Minnesota (Midwest) vs. No. 11 Saint Louis
  • No. 7 Wisconsin (South) vs. No. 10 Ole Miss
  • No. 12 Illinois (Midwest) vs. No. 5 Oregon

[RELATED: Enter the Buffalo Wild Wings Trip to the Tournament Sweepstakes. ]

Sporting News
Ryan Fagan also has Illinois is his field as a No. 10. No analyst has Minnesota higher than Fagan at No. 4.

  • No. 1 Indiana
  • No. 1 Michigan
  • No. 3 Michigan State
  • No. 4 Ohio State
  • No. 4 Minnesota
  • No. 7 Wisconsin
  • No. 10 Illinois
About Tom Dienhart BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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