Final Big Ten men’s basketball tournament bracket projection (March 9)

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The final day of the 2024-25 Big Ten basketball regular season has arrived.

While the Big Ten title is already decided (Michigan State clinched the outright crown with its win over Iowa on Thursday), conference tournament seeding is up in the air, pending Sunday’s results.

The top four teams are set: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Maryland and No. 4 UCLA. The order is still subject to change, as Maryland and Michigan would flip places if the Wolverines fall to the Spartans on Sunday. Still, those four teams are guaranteed to receive double byes in the upcoming tournament and play their first games on Friday.

UCLA snuck into the final double-bye slot after its blowout win over USC on Saturday improved it to 13-7 on the season. That result tied it in the standings with Purdue and Wisconsin. That finish was made possible by the Boilermakers and Badgers suffering significant closing losses to Illinois and Penn State, respectively. UCLA edged those tied teams due to the tiebreaker of record against Big Ten teams in order of conference finish, as it was the one to defeat first-place Michigan State during the regular season.

Seeds No. 5 through No. 10 are all decided. Sunday’s drama will occur with slots No. 11 through No. 15. Entering the day, Minnesota, Rutgers and Nebraska are tied for 11th at 7-12. Northwestern and USC are then tied for 14th at 7-13. Iowa, No. 16 in the conference at 6-13 on the season, still has hope. It can clinch the No. 15 seed with a win over Nebraska, plus could rise to as high as No. 13 with some help from Minnesota in its game against Rutgers.

Iowa vs. Nebraska is a win-and-in game for both teams. Past that, there are numerous seeding scenarios from No. 11 to No. 15. We’ll return to update this piece after each of Sunday’s results go final.

With the Big Ten Tournament bracket still up in the air entering the final day of the regular season, here is an updated look at how that bracket stands after Saturday’s games:

Note: Michigan State (16-3…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/final-big-ten-mens-basketball-125508391.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2025-03-09 12:55:00

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