Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, March 12, 2013
With the major league tournaments about to start, let?s take one last look at some mock brackets to see where the Big Ten rates. Indiana remains a No. 1 seed in the four brackets I checked. And there?s nothing that can happen in the Big Ten tourney-or elsewhere, for that matter-that will change that. And a spot in the cozy Midwest Region (Dayton, Ohio; then Indianapolis) also is basically a given, too, no matter what the Hoosiers do in Chicago.
Michigan and Michigan State are Nos. 2 or 3 in each bracket. It?s difficult to differentiate between the two, honestly. It seems each should be the same seed. Jerry Palm and Sporting News have both as a No. 2; Joe Lunardi has them as No. 3 seeds. USA Today has MSU as a No. 2; Michigan as a No. 3.
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The biggest surprise in the brackets I checked is to find Ohio State as a No. 2 in Lunardi?s field. The Buckeyes are a No. 4 in the other brackets.
No Big Ten team is as varied as Wisconsin, however. The Badgers are as high as a No. 4 (Lunardi) and as low as a No. 7 (Palm).
Illinois is a consensus No. 8.
Minnesota is as high as a No. 7 (USA Today) and as low as a No. 10 (Sporting News).
The lone bubble team is Iowa, meaning no Big Ten has as much on the line in the Big Ten tourney as the Hawkeyes. How many games do the Hawkeyes need to win to punch a Big Dance ticket? Most seem to think Iowa needs two victories. Stay tuned.
- No. 1 Indiana (Midwest) vs. No. 16 play-in team
- No. 2 Michigan (West) vs. No. 15 Vermont
- No. 2 Michigan State (East) vs. No. 15 Western Kentucky
- No. 4 Ohio State (South) vs. No. 13 Stephen F. Austin
- No. 7 Wisconsin (Midwest) vs. No. 10 Colorado
- No. 8 Illinois (South) vs. No. 9 N.C. State
- No. 9 Minnesota (West) vs. No. 8 North Carolina
- No. 1 Indiana (Midwest) vs. No. 16 Western Kentucky
- No. 2 Ohio State (East) vs. No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast
- No. 3 Michigan (West) vs. No. 14 South Dakota State
- No. 3 Michigan State (South) vs. No. 14 Harvard
- No. 4 Wisconsin (South) vs. No. 13 Louisiana Tech
- No. 8 Illinois (East) vs. No. 9 San Diego State
- No. 9 Minnesota (West) vs. No. 8 Missouri
- No. 1 Indiana (Midwest) vs. No. 16 Northeastern or Southern
- No. 2 Michigan State (South) vs. No. 15 Harvard
- No. 3 Michigan (East) vs. No. 14 Montana
- No. 4 Ohio State (South) vs. No. 13 Louisiana Tech
- No. 6 Wisconsin (West) vs. No. 11 Cincinnati
- No. 7 Minnesota (Midwest) vs. No. 10 Wichita State
- No. 8 Illinois (East) vs. No. 9 Colorado
- No. 1 Indiana
- No. 2 Michigan
- No. 2 Michigan State
- No. 4 Ohio State
- No. 6 Wisconsin
- No. 8 Illinois
- No. 10 Minnesota
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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