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Big Ten Basketball: What the top 12 teams need to do to get a 2020 tourney bid

By Austin Walther

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 30: Anthony Cowan Jr. #1 of the Maryland Terrapins in action against the Iowa Hawkeyes during at Xfinity Center on January 30, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 30: Anthony Cowan Jr. #1 of the Maryland Terrapins in action against the Iowa Hawkeyes during at Xfinity Center on January 30, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OH – JANUARY 14: CJ Walker #13 of the Ohio State Buckeyes handles the ball against Dachon Burke Jr. #11 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – JANUARY 14: CJ Walker #13 of the Ohio State Buckeyes handles the ball against Dachon Burke Jr. #11 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

3. Don’t lose to Nebraska or Northwestern

There’s no getting around the fact that Nebraska and Northwestern are not good teams. The Committee doesn’t separate conference losses from non-conference losses. Both the Cornhuskers and Wildcats are outside the NET top-100. Losing to one of these teams puts a big-time negative in the loss column. The Cornhuskers and Wildcats have big-time potential, but as for this season goes, it wouldn’t be good to lose to them.

Iowa and Purdue are the only two to suffer losses to one of these two teams. Both lost to Nebraska as Northwestern’s only win came against the Cornhuskers. The Boilermakers are a tough evaluation because they have five top-50 wins, but the loss against Nebraska brings them down. The Hawkeyes are basically a lock, but they’re having a little trouble getting to the five seed line because of their loss to the Cornhuskers. Then there’s Indiana and Minnesota. Both aren’t falling off the bubble because they don’t have a loss outside the top-100. Same reason why Wisconsin and Michigan aren’t falling outside a 10 seed.

The Big Ten is loaded with quality wins. There are more opportunities than most conferences to pick up Q1 wins. Those 12 teams are very favorable in all of the metrics so it isn’t just a NET thing. The Hoosiers are falling just outside the NET top-50 after their home loss to Purdue. But the Hoosiers are still inside the top-50 in the KenPom. KPI though has Minnesota and Indiana in the mid-50’s. Either way, having a conference’s 11th and 12th ranked team inside the top-60 is pretty darn good.

Losing to any of those 12 teams isn’t bad. But losing to Nebraska and Northwestern is. The best thing to do is just take care of business against the Cornhuskers and Wildcats. Don’t lose focus and think sleep-walk through those two. Because they’re playing to gain experience for next season. The Cornhuskers and Wildcats have nothing to lose. They will be playing loose and having fun. Don’t go into those games thinking it’ll be easy because you might just slip up and get a loss outside the top-100 on your resume.

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