14) Rutgers Scarlet Knights – The Knights are last in the Big Ten for the fourth consecutive season. Defensively they were a very good team this season but on the offensive side, they were one of the worst teams in the country.
13) Minnesota Golden Gophers – A lot was expected from the Gophers at the beginning of this season, and they started the season 13-3. From there it was strictly downhill for the Gophers.
12) Illinois Fighting Illini – The Illini started out conference play 0-8, but finished somewhat strong, winning 4 of their last 10 games.
11) Iowa Hawkeyes – Iowa is the opposite of Rutgers, they can score but they can’t stop anyone.
10) Northwestern Wildcats – The Wildcats have been a huge disappointment this season, but they could be a dangerous team at least early in the Big Ten tournament.
9) Maryland Terrapins – The record is decent because their non-conference schedule was weak.
8) Wisconsin Badgers – The Badgers have played well enough lately to cause any team that draws them in the tournament to be at least a little worried.
7) Indiana Hoosiers – The Hoosiers had the season most would expect with a first-year coach in Archie Miller. The Hoosiers are talented but can’t seem to get over the hump in close games against top teams.
6) Penn State Nittany Lions – The Lions had played very well up until the disaster in Lincoln.
5) Nebraska Cornhuskers – The Cornhuskers will probably have to make the semi-finals of the Big Ten tournament to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament.
4) Ohio State Buckeyes – The Buckeyes have been a surprise team this season but they have not played as well lately.
3) Purdue Boilermakers – I know having the Boilermakers slotted this low will make people scratch their heads, but I think the Boilermakers have plateaued recently and a quarterfinal matchup awaits against Indiana, and that could be a hard game to get past for the Boilermakers.
2) Michigan Wolverines – The Wolverines as of late have just been better than Purdue and I think they are a team that could make a surprise run in the NCAA Tournament.
1) Michigan State Spartans – The Spartans removed all doubt in the last month of the season that they were the best team in the conference.
