With the Big Ten tournament just a week away, the seeding of teams is still completely up in the air.
Just four teams in the league – Wisconsin, Maryland, Penn State, and Rutgers – know when they will be playing. The Badgers clinched a double-bye by securing a piece of the regular season conference championship with a win on Sunday. Maryland also earned a double-bye after defeating Rutgers last night. Penn State and Rutgers are both guaranteed to play first round games after finishing in the bottom two spots in the league.
As the conference expanded to 14 teams, a new tournament format was adopted. Play will begin Wednesday of next week at the United Center in Chicago, Ill., and for the first time in tournament history, the bracket will span over five days.
The top four teams in the final standings will earn double-byes, meaning that those teams won’t play their first game until Friday. Teams finishing fifth to eighth will earn a first-round bye, meaning they won’t play until Thursday.
For MSU (19-10 overall, 10-6 Big Ten), clinching a double-bye hinges on winning its final two games against Purdue and Indiana. If the Spartans can finish out with those two wins, they could earn either a three or four seed in the Big Ten tournament.
With a win in one of the final two games, MSU is guaranteed to get no lower than a six seed. With two losses, however, MSU could drop to an eight seed.
Purdue, Iowa, Ohio State, and Indiana all have the opportunity to clinch a double-bye with two wins in the final two games as well.
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