Nebraska’s loss to Michigan this evening (as of this writing Nebraska is down 30 with 10 minutes left) sealed the deal. Iowa will play Indiana in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, which is taking place in Washington DC this year, for some reason.
The full BTT bracket can be found below:
Nebraska is down 30 with 11:26 to play. Here is your Big Ten Tournament bracket barring NCAA record comeback pic.twitter.com/ssh1mkNwBg
— Jon Miller (@hawkeyenation) March 6, 2017
It would have been nice to play Nebraska over Indiana, but I think drawing the Skers is more preferable than the other teams that have just one bye. Also Michigan’s win over the Bug Eaters tonight keeps the Wolverines in the top 50 for RPI or something, so that’s better for Iowa’s tourney chances.
If Iowa beats Indiana Thursday, we take on Wisconsin. It’s a tough choice between Minnesota, Maryland, Purdue and the Badgers any way you slice it. (Though personally I would rather play any of those teams instead of Wisconsin!)
I should remind you—because I hate happiness and nice things—that Iowa would have a double bye right now if the referees did their job back when the Hawkeyes played the Gophers.
If not for the Minnesota screw-job Iowa would be 11-7 in Big Ten and have a double-bye to the quarters pic.twitter.com/nBRDB6oaBW
— Chris Hassel (@hasselESPN) March 5, 2017
Anyway, the path to the Tourney is clear: just win, baby.