Big Ten Bracketology

By John Williams

Who would've known stepping into this season that only three teams in the Big Ten appear to be legitimate NCAA contenders - Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin.

Before the season, many critics were selling their stock on the Boilermakers after they lost veteran point guard Robbie Hummel.

And let's be honest, Wisconsin always comes out soft and then Bo Ryan kicks it into fourth gear and has this team ready for a deep tournament run.

Ohio State is just flat out good and Thad Matta is an amazing recruiter and in-game coach.

TOURNAMENT LOCKS:
1. Ohio State
2. Purdue
3. Wisconsin

So let's check out where the BIG TEN teams stand:

There is a vast "second tier" of teams currently sitting around.

1. Illinois
2. Michigan State
3. Michigan
4. Penn State
5. Minnesota (Now, just barely hanging on)

Let's start out with Illinois. Everyone believed this team to be a legitimate top 25 squad before the season started and so far they haven't lived up to expectation. In order to make the tournament, Illinois, as well as Penn State, must win out the remainder of the season and win a few Big Ten tournament games.

Michigan State. The fans in East Lansing must really be disappointed. They've returned starters like Draymond Green and Kalin Lucas and still have not produced. There's no doubt that the dismissal of Korie Lucious has really hurt the Spartans and with a 4-10 record against the top 50, the Spartans may have a chance to squeak in along with the Illini.

Michigan, a team that every basketball insider thought was dead-in-the-water before the season started, have managed to stick around. They came up 1-second short against the Badgers a few weeks back and they suffered another last second loss to Kansas earlier in the season. It will take a lot for the Wolverines to get a bid. But in all honesty, they will probably get the nod as a 12 seed from the committee and participate in a play-in game.

For Penn State the formula can't get much easier. Beat Minnesota. Get a 4 or 5 seed in the Big Ten tournament and win at least two games, otherwise they're NIT bound...again. And according to Doug Gottlieb - Ed Dechellis is gone.

We'll see what ends up happening these last few weeks and how many teams the Big Ten manages to send to the Big Dance.

Originally published on Wednesday, March 2 at 10:42 p.m.