Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, February 26, 2013

It?s time for my weekly check of some mock brackets to see where the Big Ten ranks. The four brackets I examined all have seven Big Ten teams in the Big Dance. And that looks like a pretty solid number right up until Selection Sunday on March 17.

Iowa likely saw any shred of hope it possessed at grabbing an at-large spot vanish when it inexplicably lost at Nebraska on Saturday.

Some observations from the brackets:

Indiana is a consensus No. 1; and apparently a consensus No. 1 overall seed, getting sweet placement in the Midwest.

Michigan is a No. 1 by CBSSports.com and SportingNews.com. But ESPN.com and USAToday have the Wolverines as a No. 2. I don?t know how Michigan isn?t a consensus No. 1. No matter, I think the Wolverines will end up there.

Michigan State is a No. 2 seed in three brackets; USAToday has the Spartans as a No. 1. I?m trying to figure that out, since MSU went 0-2 last week.

Wisconsin is a No. 5 seed across the board.

Every bracket has Ohio State as a No. 5 except CBSSports.com, which has the Buckeyes as a No. 6.

Illinois is a No. 6 in two brackets (Sporting News.com and USAToday); a No. 7 by CBSSports.com; a No. 9 by ESPN.com.

Minnesota ranges from a No. 6 (USAToday) to a No. 11 (ESPN.com) seed.

THE BRACKETS

Jerry Palm, CBSSports.com
No. 1 Indiana (Midwest) vs. No. 16 play-in team
No. 1 Michigan (South) vs. No. 16 Southern
No. 2 Michigan State (East) vs. No. 15 Niagara
No. 5 Wisconsin (West) vs. No. 12 play-in team
No. 6 Ohio State (West) vs. No. 11 Villanova
No. 7 Illinois (South) vs. No. 10 Cal
No. 8 Minnesota (East) vs. No. 9 Missouri

Joe Lunardi, ESPN.com
No. 1 Indiana (Midwest) vs. No. 16 Norfolk State/Robert Morris
No. 2 Michigan (East) vs. No. 15 Niagara
No. 2 Michigan State (West) vs. No. 15 Montana
No. 5 Wisconsin (East) vs. No. 12 Akron
No. 5 Ohio State (West) vs. No. 12 Kentucky/Villanova
No. 9 Illinois (South) vs. No. 8 North Carolina
No. 11 Minnesota (Midwest) vs. No. 6 Notre Dame

Ryan Fagan, Sporting News
No. 1 Indiana
No. 1 Michigan
No. 2 Michigan State
No. 5 Wisconsin
No. 5 Ohio State
No. 6 Illinois
No. 8 Minnesota

Patrick Stevens, USAToday
No. 1 Indiana (Midwest) vs. No. 16 Southern/Charleston Southern
No. 1 Michigan State (South) vs. No. 16 Mercer/Northeastern
No. 2 Michigan (West) vs. No. 15 Niagara
No. 5 Ohio State (West) vs. No. 12 Villanova/Charlotte
No. 5 Wisconsin (East) vs. No. 12 Middle Tennessee State
No. 6 Illinois (South) vs. No. 11 Iowa State
No. 6 Minnesota (East) vs. No. 11 Temple

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.

And if you want to leave a comment on this post, use the box below. All comments need to be approved by a moderator.