Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, February 3, 2017

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Time to take the temperature of the Big Ten and its NCAA tourney hopes. For that, we check in with the two most renowned bracketologists: Jerry Palm of CBSSports.com and Joe Lunardi of ESPN.

Each bracket has the same eight Big Ten teams. But no conference squad is seeded higher than No. 4, which is where Wisconsin is in both brackets.

The team on the fringe? It?s Michigan, which is No. 11 in Palm?s bracket and No. 10 in Lunardi?s.

The Wolverines have work to do, as do Indiana and Michigan State, which got a much-needed victory last night at Nebraska.

Here is Palm?s latest bracket, released on Feb. 2.

No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Valparaiso in the West
No. 5 Maryland vs. No. 12 New Mexico State in the East
No. 5 Purdue vs. No. 12 Akron in the South
No. 7 Minnesota vs. No. 10 Marquette in the East
No. 7 Northwestern vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech in the Midwest
No. 10 Michigan State vs. No. 7 Florida in the West
No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 7 Xavier in the South
No. 11 Michigan vs. No. 6 USC in the Midwest

Here is Lunardi?s latest bracket, released on Feb. 2.

No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Valparaiso in the Midwest
No. 5 Maryland vs. UNC Wilmington in the West
No. 6 Purdue vs. No. 11 Illinois State in the South
No. 7 Northwestern vs. No. 10 Marquette in the Midwest
No. 8 Michigan State vs. No. 9 VCU in the South
No. 9 Minnesota vs. No. 8 Dayton in the East
No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 8 Virginia Tech in the Midwest
No. 10 Michigan vs. No. 7 USC in the East