Conference tournaments get under way in earnest today and for some teams playing well this week will determine exactly where they are playing next week. In his latest look at the Field of 68, ESPN's Joe Lunardi has one well-known Big Ten team on a serious bubble - a letdown in the Big Ten Tournament this week could just burst it.
Lunardi has Michigan State as one of the last four teams in, along with Boston College, Virginia Tech and Colorado. If MSU would, say, get beat by Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, Tom Izzo's group may not get to make their annual run to the Final Four - unless we're talking about the NIT.
As for the rest of the Big Ten teams, Here is who Lunardi has making the Big Dance:
No. 1 Ohio State - Obviously a lock, and likely a lock for a No. 1 seed as well.
No. 2 Purdue - Lunardi has the Boilermakers at a No. 3 seed right now, but that could change with a win in the Big Ten Tournament
No. 3 Wisconsin - A blowout loss to the Buckeyes damaged their resume a bit, and Lunardi has the Badgers as a No. 4 seed.
No. 4 Illinois - Lunardi as the up-and-down Ilini as a No. 9 seed heading into this week's action
No. 5 Michigan - Are the Wolverines safe? Just to be sure, they had better win at least one game this weekend.
No. 6 - Michigan State - The Spartans may be in a bit of trouble. Iowa is coming off a huge win over Purdue and is playing with a bunch of confidence.