March. March. March.
Sorry, brain short-circuited a bit there. It is March, though, and we don't need to wait until the NCAA Tournament — or even conference tourneys — fot things to get nutty. They've gotten nutty.
Tuesday featured some conference matchups with massive March implications — and they looked like it. Ohio State outlasted Nebraska, 116-114 in 2OT in a game that might boost the Buckeyes onto the right side of the bubble — and might push Nebraska off of it.
Oregon beat Indiana in another huge bubble game, and now the Cornhuskers likely need to do some extra work to make sure they hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
Plenty is still to be decided, but here's how the conference is shaping up with just a few days before the conference tourney gets underway.
Big Ten standings update
Team | Record |
|---|---|
Michigan State Spartans | 24-5 (15-3) |
Michigan Wolverines | 22-7 (14-4) |
Purdue Boilermakers | 21-9 (13-6) |
Maryland Terrapins | 22-7 (12-6) |
Wisconsin Badgers | 22-7 (12-6) |
UCLA Bruins | 21-9 (12-7) |
Illinois Fighting Illini | 19-11 (11-8) |
Oregon Ducks | 22-8 (11-8) |
Indiana Hoosiers | 18-12 (9-10) |
Ohio State Buckeyes | 17-13 (9-10) |
Minnesota Golden Gophers | 15-14 (7-11) |
Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 14-16 (7-12) |
Nebraska Cornhuskers | 17-13 (7-12) |
Northwestern Wildcats | 16-14 (7-12) |
USC Trojans | 14-15 (6-12) |
Iowa Hawkeyes | 15-14 (6-12) |
Penn State Nittany Lions | 15-15 (5-14) |
Washington Huskies | 13-16 (4-14) |
Did Ohio State punch its ticket?
Potentially. The Buckeyes had four players score at least 20 points on Tuesday in a marathon against Nebraska, and now Ohio State — which was part of Joe Lunardi's "Last 4 In" in Tuesday's Bracketology — is looking pretty good with just one game before Big Ten tourney play.
That one game is pretty massive too, though; the Buckeyes play Indiana on Saturday, and the Hoosiers are in nearly the exact same spot as the Buckeyes on the bubble. It's not a "winner gets in" game this weekend, because either team making a run in the Big Ten Tournament will likely get the job done... but if both teams bow out early in the conference tourney, the Selection Committee might look at Saturday's game as the tiebreaker.
Nebraska might need a miracle to get in
Or a few wins in the conference tournament. The Cornhuskers have lost two straight now, but a win on Sunday and two wins in the conference tourney should... should be enough to get them in. This team is No. 53 in KENPOM and has five Quad 1 wins.
It's hard not to root for Nebraska, the last Big 5 team that has never won a game in the NCAA Tournament. They could change that this season, but there's more work to be done to be given the chance.
Oregon is heating up at the right time
It wasn't that long ago that Oregon was a bubble team. Now clearly a tourney team, the Ducks have won six straight, including a crazy comeback against Wisconsin and on Tuesday, a victory against an Indiana team playing for its life.
The only question remaining is what seed the Ducks will earn in the NCAA Tournament. If you think the Ducks from the beginning of the year are the real Ducks, they might deserve a No. 4 seed. If you think the Ducks in the middle of the season are the real Ducks... a six-seed? Maybe? If you think the Ducks of the past weeks are the real Ducks, then maybe a five-seed is appropriate.
Purdue crushes Rutgers in much-needed confidence boost
Things were starting to get a little concerning for Purdue after four straight losses, but back-to-back wins against UCLA and Rutgers might have the Boilermakers getting back on track, now 21-9 on the season and with just Illinois remaining on the regular season schedule.