Big Ten Tournament 2013: Wisconsin Upsets Indiana 68-56
By Josh Hill
The up-and-down season for the Indiana Hoosier continues — sort of. The Hoosiers are locks for the NCAA Tournament, but their season technically ended today when the Wisconsin Badgers whooped up on them in the Big Ten semifinals on Saturday, knocking off the Big Ten regular season champs 68-56 to advance to the Big Ten Championship game.
Some are brushing the loss off as strategy, since the Hoosiers may not have been interested in playing three games in three days right before heading out to March Madness, but there have been plenty of cases in the past where teams that ended up as conference champions had good runs once in the tournament. The question now becomes whether or not the loss to Wisconsin when coupled with other losses this season hurts the Hoosiers chances of securing a No. 1 seed in the Madness.
Speaking of seeding, the win by Wisconsin can only help their standing in the tournament, as they too are locks to make it to the dance. But with another big time win over a high ranking school under their belt, and a big time conference win no less, it will be interesting to see where the Badgers end up when the seed are handed out on Sunday.
There is still drama all over the place, especially with Indiana and their chances at locking down a No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Miami Hurricanes are running red hot at the moment and are making a serious case for a No. 1 seed to head their way, but a upset loss by Duke in the ACC tournament may mean the Hoosiers won’t be passed over for a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday.
Still, the madness of March isn’t waiting until the NCAA tournament to rear it’s head. Indiana may catch a break by not having to play three games in three days, but you’re insane if you think they didn’t want to win the Big Ten title to couple with their regular season crown. As for the Badgers, this is what March is all about, and they’re aiming to ride this wave of momentum as far into the tournament as possible and at the very lest come out of things with a Big Ten title to boost their seeding.