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Forum nameOkay Sports
Topic subjectBig Ten in the Dance:
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=2712927&mesg_id=2712936
2712936, Big Ten in the Dance:
Posted by Frank Longo, Wed Mar-04-20 01:41 PM
Safely in:

Maryland
MSU
Penn State
OSU
Iowa

Probably in, but vulnerable if they choke:

Wisconsin
Michigan
Illinois

On the right side of the bubble, but very vulnerable:

Rutgers
Indiana

On the wrong side of the bubble, not impossible they get in:

Purdue

The problem is gonna be that these teams down at the bottom will likely cannibalize one another. Rutgers is playing at Purdue. If Purdue wins (they're favored), and then both Purdue and Rutgers lose early in the Big Ten tourney? Both are gone. A win on the road over Purdue would get Rutgers more breathing room but would be a death punch for Purdue, really. Same for Indiana-- they play Wisconsin, but if they beat Wisconsin, the Badgers become more bubbly, yet Indiana still wouldn't be safe.

I think the most likely scenario is 9, as I assume one of Rutgers or Indiana will win out and win a Big Ten tourney game against a definitely NCAA Tourney team (Rutgers being far more likely than Indiana, who has the tougher rest of regular season and the tougher Big Ten Tourney game). I'd say the top eight, assuming no major collapse occurs, are in.