Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, October 20, 2016
The second half of the season is on our door step, and the Big Ten West division race is shaping up as a doozy. Nebraska, Wisconsin and Iowa look to be drawing a bead on winning the ultra-competitive division. And don?t count out Northwestern and Minnesota.
Who is going to take home the hardware? I asked some media members who cover the league for their opinion.
GopherHole.com: Nebraska is our pick to win the West at this point. We think it will come down to the last game of the season at Iowa, and Nebraska will knock off the Hawkeyes at home. It will be a short-lived celebration, though, as either Ohio State or Michigan will win easily the next week (in the league title game).
Louie Vaccher, WildcatReport.com: Good question. The Big Ten West is a big, hot mess right now. Nebraska is the only undefeated team and has the best offense, but it's certainly not a juggernaut. Wisconsin may be the best team, but it already has two losses. Northwestern is the hottest team right now, but it has that loss to the Huskers. Iowa might have the best shot at unseating the Huskers if it can beat Wisconsin, but that's a big if. I'll go Big Red, but not in a big way.
Pete DiPrimio, Fort Wayne News Sentinel: Wisconsin is the best team, but it has had a brutal opening Big Ten schedule. Iowa is playing better. Nebraska is good. I'll take the Badgers. Breaks will come their way.
Lee Barfknecht, Omaha World-Herald: Wisconsin. The Badgers have zero margin for error but so far have been a cut above.
Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: I think UW will win it, particularly if it wins Saturday at Iowa. In my opinion, UW is the best team in the division. Only question is whether the 1-2 start will come back to bite them.
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Big Ten Conference Standings – West Division (through Oct. 15) | ||||||||||||
Conference | Overall | vs | ||||||||||
W-L | PF | PA | Home | Road | W-L | PF | PA | Home | Road | Top 25 | ||
Nebraska | 3-0 | 82 | 51 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 6-0 | 212 | 110 | 4-0 | 2-0 | 1-0 | |
Iowa | 3-1 | 108 | 87 | 0-1 | 3-0 | 5-2 | 216 | 134 | 2-2 | 3-0 | 0-0 | |
Northwestern | 2-1 | 105 | 95 | 0-1 | 2-0 | 3-3 | 157 | 139 | 1-3 | 2-0 | 0-1 | |
Purdue | 1-2 | 76 | 130 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 3-3 | 165 | 206 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | |
Minnesota | 1-2 | 64 | 53 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 4-2 | 183 | 128 | 3-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | |
Wisconsin | 1-2 | 60 | 50 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 4-2 | 153 | 91 | 2-1 | 1-1 | 2-2 | |
Illinois | 1-2 | 71 | 72 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 2-4 | 156 | 157 | 1-3 | 1-1 | 0-1 |
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