With the NCAA Tournament unofficially underway (does anyone really count the First Four?) and the madness set to start tomorrow, it’s finally time to stop agonizing over your bracket and start watching nonstop hoops. The Big Ten is well represented in the field this year with nine teams participating. As one last act of bracket analysis, we took a look at which Big Ten teams received the most favorable draws.
Purdue Boilermakers
The Big Ten Tournament champions somewhat shockingly jumped all the way up to a 2-seed when
the bracket was revealed. Matt Painter’s squad had a rough finish to the regular season, losing four of their last six. However, they seem to have figured something out with an incredibly impressive showing in the conference tournament with wins over Northwestern, Nebraska, UCLA and Michigan.
As a 2-seed, Purdue faces 15-seed Queens in the first round. Should the Boilermakers win, they would face either former Wolverine and now Miami point guard Tre Donaldson or 10-seed Missouri. Purdue would be heavily favored over both potential opponents. Purdue’s potential Sweet Sixteen opponents are why I personally love the Boilermaker’s path, as they would likely face either 3-seed Gonzaga or 6-seed BYU, both of which have major flaws.
Things get more difficult from there, as 1-seed Arizona stands in the way of a Final Four run, but Purdue certainly has a favorable path to the Elite Eight.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois fans were likely disappointed at receiving a 3-seed and not the final 2-seed. However, they shouldn’t be disappointed in their draw. The Fighting Illini drew 14-seed Penn in the Round of 64, and despite Penn forward TJ Power dropping 44 points in the Ivy League Championship, the Quakers just don’t have the size to match up with Illinois.
Next, Illinois would get either 6-seed North Carolina or 11-seed VCU. UNC is missing its best player as freshman phenom Caleb Wilson is out for the year due to injury. VCU would not have made the NCAA Tournament had it not won its conference tournament championship, per the head of the committee during the Selection Show.
Things get tougher after that, as Illinois could potentially have to face the Houston Cougars in Houston, Texas. However, I’m more confident in Illinois than I am in any other Big Ten team that it will be in the Sweet Sixteen.
Michigan Wolverines
Reviews have been mixed from Michigan fans regarding the toughness of their draw. The 1-seed Wolverines will face a 16-seed in the Round of 64, followed by the winner of 8-seed Georgia and 9-seed Saint Louis. While both stylistically aren’t great matchups for the Wolverines, neither team is playing particularly well at the moment. Georgia lost its first SEC Tournament game against Ole Miss, 76-72, while Saint Louis lost three of its last six regular-season games before losing their second A-10 Tournament game.
After that, Michigan would likely face either 4-seed Alabama or 5-seed Texas Tech. The Red Raiders lost superstar JT Toppin to injury but are still playing well. Alabama likes to shoot threes in buckets but is a bad rebounding team.
The Wolverines’ path is more difficult than Purdue’s and Illinois’s, but I’d still take it over the path of the other six Big Ten programs in the Big Dance.
