The Big Ten is likely to be the conference with the most representation in this year’s NCAA Tournament, with some projections slating the conference for nine teams this season. And while the conference isn’t top heavy, there is certainly a lot of depth here.
In the ESPN BPI (Basketball Power Index), there are 10 Big Ten teams currently in the top 60 programs.
For those who don’t follow college basketball closely, BPI “measures a team’s true strength going forward; expected point margin per 70 possessions vs an average opponent on a neutral court.”
Of the 68 teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament field, 32 will be automatic qualifiers via their conference championship. This puts 36 at-large bids of which may projections have the Big Ten sending seven if not eight teams for this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Here are the 10 teams from the Big Ten in the top 60 of the ESPN BPI (as of the March 2 update):
- No. 6 Purdue
- No. 17 Indiana
- No. 18 Maryland
- No. 20 Rutgers
- No. 30 Iowa
- No. 31 Illinois
- No. 35 Michigan State
- No. 39 Ohio State
- No. 42 Northwestern
- No. 53 Penn State
- No. 56 Michigan
This is a sign of strength from the Big Ten, showing that the conference could have eight or nine teams called out on Selection Sunday.
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It might be eye-opening for fans to see No. 20 Rutgers ranked so highly, given the volatility of the team’s performance over the past three weeks. In addition No. 39 Ohio State, is the only team in the BPI top 50 with a losing record.
If the Buckeyes can close out the regular season with two wins and then somehow get three wins in the Big Ten Tournament, it will be interesting to see if they can sneak into the NCAA Tournament field.
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It is a tall ask for sure of Ohio State, but they do have the talent to pull off this type of a run. The Buckeyes check in at No. 59 in the latest NET Rankings update.
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