Big Ten Basketball: 2023 conference tournament preview and predictions
By Joey Loose
Bracketology
A plethora of Big Ten teams will dance as per usual, but what kind of noise are these teams going to make in the NCAA Tournament? Purdue is looking pretty for a 1 or 2 seed, with the former likely if they can win the Big Ten Tournament. Beyond that, there’s a sea of potential but it’s hard to get super excited about any of these teams.
Right now, Indiana has the best chance to make a serious as they’re projected around a 4-seed even though their NET is only 29. Maryland’s NET is actually higher at 26 but they’re just 3-9 against Quad 1 opposition and should be a few spots lower on the seed lines.
There’s then a pack of teams vying for seeding that are firmly in the Tournament already. Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, and Northwestern all have NET figures in the 30’s and all figure to be seeding somewhere in the 6 to 8 range, with the potential for movement. These four teams are all pretty talented and can all maneuver up and down based on what they do in Chicago.
Rutgers’s NET figure is up there too, but their recent substandard play has them firmly on the bubble and they aren’t alone. Penn State is one of the last teams in the field right now while Michigan is on the wrong side of the bubble. Wisconsin has been a bubble team but theirs might have popped barring a miracle run through the Big Ten Tournament, with the Badgers needing five wins in five days.
With everyone else needing a Big Ten Tournament title to dance, it looks like it might be close to the 9 teams that got into the NCAA Tournament last season; though only two of them reached the second weekend and nobody made the Elite Eight. Can this season end better for the league?