B1G duo battle for last 1

In a battle between two projected NCAA Tournament No. 1 seeds, Ohio State fell to Michigan 92-87 Sunday at home.

The Buckeyes (18-5, 12-5) and top No. 2 seed Illinois are so close that Ohio State would have dropped from its 1 seed with a loss to any other Big Ten men’s basketball team besides Michigan.

The Fighting Illini (16-5, 12-3) haven’t lost since Jan. 16, a head-tohead meeting with the Buckeyes that is the difference-maker right now.

When applying a blind résumé test, Ohio State has eight Quadrant 1 (top-25 home, top-75 away) victories compared to Illinois’ seven. But the Illini have a better NET score of 4 compared to OSU’s 7, partially due to playing two fewer games, which included a postponement of their scheduled Feb. 11 clash with Michigan (now slated for March 2).

Ohio State has a better strength of schedule, but Illinois could shorten the margin by playing four of its last five on the road – with all those Quad 1 opportunities. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, have only three games in Big Ten play remaining.

Gonzaga, Baylor and Michigan are close to solidifying No. 1 seeds.

Should this battle for the final top seed remain tight, a March 6 meeting between Ohio State and Illinois – the Big Ten regular-season finale for both teams – could be a crucial outcome for the NCAA selection committee entering Selection Sunday, which is March 14.

The NCAA Tournament is scheduled to tip off March 18.

Note: Most statistical data is used from WarrenNolan.com. The NET rankings (NCAA Evaluation Tool) also are a reference point.

About our bracketologist: Shelby Mast has been projecting the field since 2005 on his website, Bracket W.A.G. He joined USA TODAY in 2014. In his eighth season as our national bracketologist, Mast has finished as one of the top three bracketologists in the past seven March Madnesses. He has predicted for The Indianapolis Star and collegeinsider.com and is an inaugural member of the Super 10 Selection Committee. Follow him on Twitter @BracketWag.