Big Ten Bracketology, Week 5: One conference battle after another

Big Ten conference play is officially in full swing, but that doesn’t mean that only intra-conference games were played this week. Many teams played important non-conference games as well with some mixed results. With larger sample sizes for all the metrics at the NCAA Tournament Committee’s disposal, it’s time to break down the bracket once again.

Michigan – No. 1 Seed (No. 1 overall)

Previous seeding: No. 1 Seed (No. 1 overall)

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The Wolverines took over a week off after winning the Players Era Championship to gear up for conference play. In its first matchup in conference play, Michigan trounced Rutgers 101-60 at home. The Wolverines have now scored 100+ points in their last three games, and the last time a Michigan team did that (1989), the Wolverines went on to win a national championship. Next up for Michigan is a home game against Villanova and a road matchup with Maryland.

Purdue – No. 2 Seed (No. 8 overall)

Previous seeding: No. 1 Seed (No. 2 overall)

The Boilermakers’ dominant run to start the season came to an end over the weekend, but not before Purdue started conference play. The Boilermakers easily defeated Rutgers 81-65 on the road in an arena that has been some form of a haunted house for No. 1 Purdue teams of the past. But in Mackey Arena – which has been a painful trip for Boilermaker opponents for years – it was then-No. 10 ranked Iowa State who came out with an 81-58 victory. Purdue likely won’t have too many games where it shoots less than 25% from three-point range this season (it shot 22% on Saturday), however, and the Cyclones are the second-best defense in the country according to KenPom, meaning the Boilermakers should be able to bounce back from this one pretty easily.

Michigan State – No. 3 Seed (No. 10 overall)

Previous seeding: No. 2 Seed (No. 8 overall)

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The Spartans, much like the Boilermakers, cruised to a conference win in the middle of the week, but couldn’t stay undefeated in a very high profile…

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Publish date : 2025-12-08 17:58:00

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