Aside from Nebraska and Northwestern, the Wisconsin Badgers are NOT in the worst position among Big Ten teams relative to the NCAA Tournament. Among the 12 teams with a modest-to-great chance of going to the Big Dance, the two Big Ten schools in the greatest amount of trouble are the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Purdue Boilermakers.
Both Minnesota and Purdue are barely above .500, and they don’t have the same favorable schedule Wisconsin has in the next few weeks. (The Badgers will be spending most of the next three weeks at home, and they won’t be facing the top three teams in the Big Ten.) Those are significant concerns in their own right. Yet, what’s even more conspicuous and alarming about the Gophers’ and Boilemakers’ position is that they have very few road wins.
It is true that Rutgers has only one win away from home this season, but the Scarlet Knights are perfect at home, which serves as a strong counterbalance to their road woes. Minnesota and Purdue have both been blown out at home this season and have lost multiple times on their home floor. In order to make the 2020 NCAA Tournament, the Gophers and Boilermakers will have to pick up a decent amount of road wins.
Right now — heading into play on Saturday, Feb. 8 — Minnesota has only one win away from home while Purdue owns only two such wins. The Gophers are 1-7 outside of The Barn, and Purdue is 2-6 away from Mackey Arena.
When Minnesota goes to Happy Valley to play Penn State, and Purdue ventures to Assembly Hall to face Indiana on Saturday, we will see two Big Ten bubble teams go on the road with a lot of pressure resting on their shoulders. Wins for Minnesota and Purdue would noticeably boost their resumes, especially the Gophers at Penn State. The Nittany Lions are solidly in the NCAA Tournament. Beating them is a quality win. Indiana isn’t as valuable as Penn State, but Purdue winning in Bloomington would allow Matt Painter to breathe a lot more easily.
Minnesota and Purdue are sitting on the bubble. With road wins on Saturday, they could dramatically increase the odds that the Big Ten will put 12 teams into the next NCAA Tournament.