February upsets show depth of talent in Big Ten

Michigan State’s upset loss to Illinois on Tuesday illuminated just how deep the Big Ten is this season.

The Illini are one of four teams that aren’t in the mix for at-large bids, but the overall depth of the league means there are no easy outs, which the Spartans learned the hard way in dropping from the No. 2 line to a No. 3 seed in the latest bracket projection.

Taking a look at the Big Ten as a whole, Michigan (projected No. 2 seed), Michigan State (No. 3), Purdue (No. 3), Wisconsin (No. 4), Iowa (No. 5), Maryland (No. 6), Minnesota (No. 9), Ohio State (No. 9), Indiana (No. 10) and Nebraska (No. 11) all would be in the field of 68 if the season ended today.

Three of those teams are well below .500 in their conference, with the Cornhuskers 3-8 in Big Ten play. Yet take a closer look at their résumé and see that their non-conference schedule speaks volumes and they’re No. 33 in the NCAA’s new metric replacing the RPI, the NET. It just goes to show how the Big Ten stacks up out of conference.

On the other side of the spectrum, Purdue struggled in non-conference action, starting the season 6-5. But none of the Boilermakers’ losses was a complete resume stain and they’ve used a 9-2 Big Ten stance to climb to No. 11 in the NET.

For teams hovering around the bubble, the Big Ten’s strength could prevent a muchneeded winning streak. But there’s also plenty of room to bulk up the profile each week, a luxury Big Ten bubble teams haven’t had in recent years.

The record for teams to go dancing from one conference is 11, set by the Big East in 2011. Last year, the Big Ten sent six teams to the tournament, so it’s clearly a better year for the league, ranking second only to the Big 12 in conference NET.

Mast has been projecting the field since 2005 on his website, Bracket W.A.G. He joined USA TODAY in 2014. Follow him on Twitter @BracketWag.