1. USC (16-1)
2. UCLA (16-1)
3. Ohio State (13-4)
4. Maryland (12-5)
5. Illinois (11-6)
6. Michigan (10-7)
7. Oregon (10-7)
8. Michigan State (10-7)
9. Indiana (9-8)
10. Iowa (9-8)
11. Nebraska (9-8)
12. Washington (8-9)
13. Minnesota (8-9)
14. Wisconsin (4-13)
15. Purdue (3-14)
16. Northwestern (2-15)
17. Rutgers (2-15)
18. Penn State (1-16)
Assuming a win for Iowa in the final game (vs Wisconsin), the range of finishes for Iowa would be between 6 and 11.
remaining games:
Michigan: at ILL
Oregon: at WAS
Michigan State: vs MIN
Indiana: vs PUR
Iowa: vs WIS
Nebraska: at NW
The biggest problem for Iowa is that they don't have favorable tiebreakers against many of these teams. They went 1-0 against Michigan, 1-1 against Nebraska and 0-1 against the rest. That's going to make it harder to climb higher than 10th or 11th...
What that means in terms of the Big Ten Tournament:
There is a pretty significant difference in terms of the 9 seed and the 10 seed -- the 9 seed gets a bye on Day 1 of the BTT, while the 10 seed plays on Day 1 of the BTT.
TUE, MAR 5
12-seed vs 13-seed (2:30 PM CT, Peacock)
10-seed vs 15-seed (5 PM CT, Peacock)
11-seed vs 14-seed (7:30 PM CT, Peacock)
If Iowa is the 10/11 seed, they'd face the 14/15 seed, which would probably be either Wisconsin or Purdue, or possibly Northwestern or Rutgers.
WED, MAR 6
8-seed vs 9-seed (11 AM CT, BTN)
5-seed vs 12/13 seed (1:30 PM CT, BTN)
7-seed vs 10/15 seed (5:30 PM CT, BTN)
6-seed vs 11/14 seed (8 PM CT CT, BTN)
If Iowa is the 10/11 seed, they'd see the 6/7 seed in the second round. The 6-7 seeds are likely to come from Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, or Indiana. Iowa didn't have the most success against those teams, but I think they'd probably enjoy getting another crack at MSU, Oregon, or Indiana...
Anyway, some food for thought headed into the final weekend of the Big Ten season.
2. UCLA (16-1)
3. Ohio State (13-4)
4. Maryland (12-5)
5. Illinois (11-6)
6. Michigan (10-7)
7. Oregon (10-7)
8. Michigan State (10-7)
9. Indiana (9-8)
10. Iowa (9-8)
11. Nebraska (9-8)
12. Washington (8-9)
13. Minnesota (8-9)
14. Wisconsin (4-13)
15. Purdue (3-14)
16. Northwestern (2-15)
17. Rutgers (2-15)
18. Penn State (1-16)
Assuming a win for Iowa in the final game (vs Wisconsin), the range of finishes for Iowa would be between 6 and 11.
remaining games:
Michigan: at ILL
Oregon: at WAS
Michigan State: vs MIN
Indiana: vs PUR
Iowa: vs WIS
Nebraska: at NW
The biggest problem for Iowa is that they don't have favorable tiebreakers against many of these teams. They went 1-0 against Michigan, 1-1 against Nebraska and 0-1 against the rest. That's going to make it harder to climb higher than 10th or 11th...
What that means in terms of the Big Ten Tournament:
There is a pretty significant difference in terms of the 9 seed and the 10 seed -- the 9 seed gets a bye on Day 1 of the BTT, while the 10 seed plays on Day 1 of the BTT.
TUE, MAR 5
12-seed vs 13-seed (2:30 PM CT, Peacock)
10-seed vs 15-seed (5 PM CT, Peacock)
11-seed vs 14-seed (7:30 PM CT, Peacock)
If Iowa is the 10/11 seed, they'd face the 14/15 seed, which would probably be either Wisconsin or Purdue, or possibly Northwestern or Rutgers.
WED, MAR 6
8-seed vs 9-seed (11 AM CT, BTN)
5-seed vs 12/13 seed (1:30 PM CT, BTN)
7-seed vs 10/15 seed (5:30 PM CT, BTN)
6-seed vs 11/14 seed (8 PM CT CT, BTN)
If Iowa is the 10/11 seed, they'd see the 6/7 seed in the second round. The 6-7 seeds are likely to come from Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, or Indiana. Iowa didn't have the most success against those teams, but I think they'd probably enjoy getting another crack at MSU, Oregon, or Indiana...
Anyway, some food for thought headed into the final weekend of the Big Ten season.
