Fansided

Big Ten basketball bubble watch: Who is in and who is out?

By Rees Woodcock

Nov 23, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; General view of the Big Ten logo at the Bryce Jordan Center prior to the game between the Colgate Raiders and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State defeated Colgate 72-59. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 23, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; General view of the Big Ten logo at the Bryce Jordan Center prior to the game between the Colgate Raiders and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State defeated Colgate 72-59. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 5, 2017; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Fren McCaffery talks to the official during their game with the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2017; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Fren McCaffery talks to the official during their game with the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports /

There is a clear divide in the Big Ten between teams who have a shot at the NCAA Tournament and teams that aren’t even close. Iowa is the first team you get to who isn’t even close. They are 14-12 overall and 6-7 in the Big Ten.

The non-conference is what killed this team. They were only 8-5 before the Big Ten season started and this doomed them. Iowa also dealt with injuries this season as well. Tyler Cook missed seven games with a broken finger and Peter Jok has dealt with a back issue that has hampered his play and kept him out for two games. Health really got the better of the Hawkeyes this season.

No one really expected Penn State to compete for the postseason this year and they didn’t disappoint. They are 14-13 on the season and 6-8 in the Big Ten. But, despite being the usual doormat of the Big Ten, they are still competitive this year.

Penn State swept Illinois and they have beaten No. 21 Maryland and No. 24 Minnesota this season. This team isn’t terrible and they have some nice pieces to build on for the future. What really killed the Nittany Lions this season is their depth. They just don’t have the personnel to compete in the Big Ten yet, and I sound like a broken record when I say, maybe next year.

One team that started the Big Ten season off hot and everyone thought could contend for the postseason was Nebraska. They were 9-6 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten at one point, but that is now 11-14 overall and 5-8 in the Big Ten. This team just went off the rails in a hurry.

Nebraska was playing well until Ed Morrow went down with a foot injury. He missed seven games and the Cornhuskers lost six of those contests. That is really what put Nebraska behind the eight ball this season. I think they would have had a chance to make it into the tournament.

The most surprisingly bad team this year in the Big Ten is the Ohio State Buckeyes. They are usually a perennial NCAA Tournament team but this season is a different story. I thought it was going to be another good season when they started the non-conference off 10-3 and almost beat No. 6 Virginia on the road.

Things went south in a hurry for the Buckeyes, though. They started conference play 0-4 and haven’t recovered since. Ohio State is now 15-12 overall and 5-9 in the Big Ten. One of the main reasons for the Buckeyes losing this year has been the injury of Keita Bates-Diop. He went down with a stress fracture in his left leg one game into the Big Ten season, forcing him to miss the entire year.

The hot pick by experts to make the NCAA Tournament this season was the Illinois Fighting Illini.  That ended pretty quickly once they saw what the Illini were bringing to the table in Big Ten play.  This team has experience in two sixth-year seniors and they also have some youth that was supposed to develop.

Illinois’ season went off the rails and they have dropped seven of their last eight to fall to 14-12 overall and 4-9 in the Big Ten. This season has not only got fan morale at an all-time low, but it has also put head coach John Groce directly on the hot seat. There aren’t any injury excuses for this team, they just haven’t performed.

Next: College Basketball Big Ten Power Rankings: Week 15

Rutgers wasn’t supposed to be a team that did anything this season but after an 11-1 start to the year, some thought maybe this was going to be a different team. That all came crashing down when the Scarlet Knights went on a seven-game losing streak after that great start.

Rutgers now sits at 13-14 overall and 2-12 in the Big Ten. This team just doesn’t have the talent and depth that the other Big Ten programs have. They have a few solid wins this season and I think they will get better with time, but for now, this program has a long way to go to be relevant.