Bracketology 2020: Virginia, DePaul and Washington among week’s losers

BIG TEN

1. Penn State

Much like DePaul, the Nittany Lions have captured the heart of the nation as a lovable loser trying to finally turn things around, even for just one season.

And while we love a good underdog story around here, Penn State poked some holes in their profile this past week, losing twice to fall to 2-3 in the Big Ten. Their first opponent was Rutgers, another member of the cellar-dweller club, and the Scarlet Knights defended their home court. The Nittany Lions also fell at home to a Wisconsin team that has started turning things around.

Pat Chambers is still on track for the NCAA Tournament at the moment, but with a number of Big Ten teams making moves in the right direction, the margin for error is extremely thin for Penn State.

2. Michigan

Another team that grabbed the nation’s attention at one point was Michigan, but the Wolverines might want the audience to look away for a moment. After besting Gonzaga to win the Battle 4 Atlantis, it looked like the state’s best team might reside in Ann Arbor.

But since that magical start, Juwan Howard’s first Wolverines team is just 4-5, including a mediocre 2-2 mark in Big Ten play. Michigan was able to survive two overtimes against Purdue, but couldn’t stave off a second upset bid on the week from a feisty Minnesota squad.

Michigan isn’t in any danger of missing the tournament yet, but they don’t look anywhere near the #1 seed that some folks were penciling them in for back around Thanksgiving. In fact, at this point, they are falling quickly out of the protected top-4 seed territory.

3. Ohio State

The Buckeyes’ rise to the top of the polls was much slower than the moonshot that Michigan launched back in November, but Ohio State was also considered one of—if not the—best team in the nation for a brief moment in time.

Ah, how quickly things can change in college basketball.

Chris Holtmann’s team has now lost four straight games after last week’s defeats by Maryland and Indiana. In a stunning turn of fate, a team that was #1 in the nation just a few weeks ago is now sitting at 1-4 in the Big Ten.

The talent is absolutely there for Ohio State. They have wins over Kentucky, Villanova, and Cincinnati that will serve them well alongside whatever they pick up in the Big Ten to go along with their sole conference victory over Penn State. But they will definitely be much happier when they can finally get to the softer part of their league schedule.

Until then, they have to sit with an ugly mark in the win-loss column.