The main stories of the week came from the teams in the state of Michigan. The Wolverines clinched the conference title with two wins this week, while the Spartans made a push to improve their seeding by sweeping a road trip through the state of Indiana. Elsewhere in the conference, the bubble teams seem to be trying to play their way out of a spot in the tournament by losing some very winnable games.
Michigan – No. 1 Seed (No. 2 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 1 Seed (No. 2 overall)
The Wolverines had a very up-and-down week. To start
the week, Michigan clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season title with a 77-67 win against Minnesota at home. Later in the week, the Wolverines went on the road to take on Illinois, and absolutely dominated the Illini, leaving with an 84-70 win and clinching an outright Big Ten title in the process. Unfortunately, Michigan’s celebration was cut short as it was announced the next morning that backup point guard LJ Cason tore his ACL in that game and will be out for the rest of the season. Cason’s injury is a huge blow to the Wolverines’ title hopes as he and starter Elliot Cadeau have taken on the lion’s share of ball-handling duties this season. Without Cason, Michigan will likely increase Cadeau’s minutes, and have Yaxel Lendeborg and the other three guards in the rotation – Nimari Burnett, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Trey McKenney – handle running the offense when Cadeau is on the bench.
Illinois – No. 2 Seed (No. 8 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 2 Seed (No. 7 overall)
The Fighting Illini had just one game this week, but it was definitely an emotional one. Illinois took on Michigan at home in Morez Johnson Jr.’s first game against the Illini, with the Wolverines looking to clinch an outright Big Ten title. Illinois lost that game 84-70 with an inefficient offensive performance becoming the storyline for the day. The Illini had won their previous nine games against Michigan before the loss on Friday night. Illinois still kept its No. 2 seed as the large majority of the teams in a similar seed range lost this weekend as well.
Nebraska – No. 3 Seed (No. 9 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 3 Seed (No. 10 overall)
The Cornhuskers rebounded from their loss to Iowa last week by getting back to their winning ways. Nebraska defeated Maryland 74-61 at home, then embarked on its trip out west for the season. The ‘Huskers defeated USC 82-67 to start the trip, picking up a Quad 1 win in the process. Nebraska will presumably have two Quad 1 opportunities to finish the season, as it faces UCLA to finish the West Coast road trip and then faces Iowa at home to end the season. If the Cornhuskers go 2-0 in those games, they could definitely end up with a strong enough resume to finish the season as the final No. 2 seed.
Michigan State – No. 3 Seed (No. 10 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 4 Seed (No. 14 overall)
Aside from Michigan’s 2-0 week to wrap up the conference title, the Spartans had the best week in the B1G based solely on results. Michigan State started the week by going on the road and handing Purdue another loss at Mackey Arena, this time by a score of 76-74. The Spartans stayed in the state of Indiana for their second game of the week, and they handled the Hoosiers for the second time this season, winning 77-64 against a hungry bubble team. Michigan State surges up the seed list to a solid No. 3 seed and is yet another team that definitely remains in the mix for the final No. 2 seed.
Purdue – No. 3 Seed (No. 11 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 2 Seed (No. 8 overall)
The Boilermakers had a rough week. Purdue narrowly fell at home to Michigan State 76-74, despite shooting 12-for-25 from behind the arc and outrebounding the Spartans 27-25. The Boilermakers couldn’t successfully rebound from that loss against Ohio State either, as they fell 82-74 on the road to the Buckeyes. Although Purdue was able to bounce back from the loss to Michigan with a win against Indiana last week, the Boilermakers have now lost three of their last four games. The preseason AP No. 1 team that was at some point a near lock for at least a No. 2 seed has now fallen to the three-seed line and is closer to a No. 4 seed than a No. 2 at the moment.
Wisconsin – No. 7 Seed (No. 26 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 7 Seed (No. 28 overall)
The Badgers embarked on their West Coast trip for the season this week, hoping to string together a winning streak. However, Wisconsin fell in the first game of the road trip to Oregon, 85-71. The Badgers responded by knocking down 17 threes against Washington en route to a 90-73 victory. Wisconsin will close the season with a home game against Maryland and a road trip to Purdue, and even with a loss in both games (which is incredibly unlikely), the Badgers would still be in a good position to make the NCAA Tournament. Wins in both games would almost certainly lead to a No. 6 seed, barring shocking results in the conference tournament.
Iowa – No. 8 Seed (No. 31 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 8 Seed (No. 30 overall)
The Hawkeyes had two matchups this week where they entered as comfortable favorites, but only came out of the week with a 1-1 record in those games. Iowa defeated Ohio State 74-57 at home to claim a quality win over another team that should be in the NCAA Tournament. But the Hawkeyes weren’t so lucky when they took on Penn State on the road, falling 71-69 to the conference standings’ cellar dweller. Iowa could have moved up to a No. 7 seed with a clean, 2-0 week, but instead remains a No. 8 seed.
UCLA – No. 10 Seed (No. 40 overall, Last Four Byes)
Previous seeding: No. 10 Seed (No. 41 overall, Last Four Byes)
UCLA narrowly hung on to a spot in the projected NCAA Tournament field with two results that were almost complete opposites of each other. The Bruins trounced USC 81-62 in the first clash between the two Los Angeles rivals this season, but then fell 78-73 on the road to Minnesota over the weekend. UCLA will finish the season with two Quad 1 opportunities against Nebraska at home and USC on the road. If the Bruins can go 1-1 in those two games, they should make the big dance, but a 0-2 week could put UCLA in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons.
Ohio State – No. 11 Seed (No. 43 overall, Last Four In)
Previous seeding: No. 11 Seed (No. 45 overall, Last Four In)
It might have taken them more than 10 tries, but the Buckeyes finally got the signature win they were looking for this season. Ohio State started the week by falling 74-57 to Iowa on the road, leaving one final opportunity for another Quad 1 win this season. The Buckeyes capitalized on that opportunity yesterday afternoon, defeating Purdue 82-74. Since the main knock on Ohio State is a lack of good wins this season, beating the Boilermakers at least does some work to patch up that weak spot on the resume, and the rest of Ohio State’s metrics should be good enough to make the NCAA Tournament, barring some shockingly bad results this week against Penn State and Indiana.
Indiana – First Four Out
Previous seeding: No. 10 Seed (No. 39 overall, Last Four Byes)
It was a very disappointing week for Indiana, which has completely played itself out of the NCAA Tournament picture for the time being. The Hoosiers lost two straight home games this week, falling in shocking fashion to Northwestern 72-68, before failing to keep the game competitive enough against Michigan State in a 77-64 loss. After the Hoosiers won five of six games at the end of January and beginning of February, Indiana has now lost four games in a row. Indians will now play two must-win games against Minnesota at home and Ohio State on the road to close out the regular season, and without a 2-0 week, the Hoosiers will definitely need a win or two in the conference tournament to have a chance to make the big dance.
USC – Next Four Out
Previous seeding: First Four Out
What a weird week for the Trojans. USC lost to UCLA 81-62 on the road and 82-67 to Nebraska at home. While the Trojans lost both of their games by double digits this week, the bigger story came off the court with Chad Baker-Mazara. He left the game against Nebraska, returned to courtside seats (near, but not in the actual bench area), but didn’t play for the rest of the game, and then USC announced he was no longer with the team on Sunday night. The locker room issues are yet another problem for the Trojans, as the team on the court has also unraveled with three straight losses.
Washington – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Huskies went 1-1 for another week. Washington beat Rutgers 79-72 on the road at the beginning of the week, but got blown out at home by Wisconsin 90-73. The Huskies will close out the season against USC and Oregon.
Minnesota – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Golden Gophers continued their stretch of good basketball with a 1-1 week against two likely NCAA Tournament teams. Minnesota predictably fell 77-67 to Michigan on the road, but returned home and beat UCLA 78-73, putting a dent in the Bruins’ bubble hopes. The Golden Gophers will finish the season with games against Indiana and Northwestern.
Northwestern – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Wildcats have caught fire towards the end of the season. Northwestern beat Indiana 72-68 on the road to start the week in a big upset, then returned home and beat Oregon 63-62 thanks to Nick Martinelli’s game-winner in the final seconds. The ‘Cats have won three games in a row, their longest winning streak since the 4-0 start to the season. Northwestern will have a chance to really shock the conference against Purdue on Wednesday, before closing out the season against Minnesota on the road.
Oregon – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Ducks went 1-1 for the second week in a row, and they did it in a similar fashion to last week. Oregon played another likely NCAA Tournament team (Wisconsin) and won 85-71, but then fell on the road 63-62 to Northwestern. The Ducks have specialized in ruining NCAA Tournament resumes recently, and they will have one more opportunity to do that this week when they face Illinois before capping off the season against rival Washington.
Penn State – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Nittany Lions were on the wrong side of two blowouts last week, but Penn State bounced back in a massive way after a full week off. The Nittany Lions beat Iowa 71-69 at home in one of the more shocking upsets of the conference season. Penn State still sits at the bottom of the conference standings and will take on Ohio State and Rutgers in the final week of the season.
Maryland – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Terrapins have looked somewhat competitive in recent weeks when their offense gets going, but this week was a cold one offensively. Maryland fell 74-61 to Nebraska on the road and lost 69-65 to Rutgers in a very winnable game at home.
Rutgers – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Scarlet Knights went 1-1 for the second straight week. Rutgers lost 79-72 at home to Washington in a mid-week matchup, but did turn things around over the weekend, going on the road and defeating Maryland 69-65. The Scarlet Knights’ final chances to improve their Big Ten Tournament seeding will come against Michigan State on the road and Penn State at home.
