The calendars have been flipped to March which can only mean one thing, March Madness is on its way. While Selection Sunday is less than two weeks away, there is still significant work to be done for several teams around the country. The Ohio St. Buckeyes may be cruising to a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, but several other teams in the Big Ten have work left to do.
Wisconsin and Purdue are certainly locks for the Big Dance, along with OSU. The conference, however, has the opportunity to have as many as 6 teams in the tournament. Illinois looks to be in good shape, and a win over Purdue would certainly solidify a tournament bid. Meanwhile, Minnesota has fallen completely out of the conversation and the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan St. Spartans are both vying for a coveted spot. It gets personal this Saturday when the Spartans visit Ann Arbor for the season finale before the conference tournament. The winner will likely be in good shape, while the loser finds itself back in the mess that is the bubble.
At the end of the day, it appears that 6 teams from the Big Ten will take part in the Madness, but as we know, anything can happen. The Cleveland St. Vikings may also have a legitimate claim to being on the bubble with their 25-7 record but a lack of quality wins probably rules them out. In all likelihood CSU will have to win their conference tournament to gain a berth in the NCAA tournament. The Vikings continue their pursuit when they play Wright State in the Horizon League tournament, Friday at 6 PM ET.