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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: Who's In And Who's Out?

For the best coverage of Gophers basketball. . .and all the other Gopher sports. . .be sure to check out The Daily Gopher.

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14 Total Updates since March 3, 2011
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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: Final Predictions From SB Nation

Chris Dobberteam's final NCAA prediction bracket is out, as we sit about 45 minutes away from the NCAA Selection Show on CBS.

So where does SB Nation's bracket guru have the Big Ten teams located on his bracket? Here's the full list.

Ohio State Buckeyes - No. 1 seed in the East bracket
Purdue Boilermakers - No. 4 seed in the Southwest bracket
Wisconsin Badgers - No. 4 seed in the West bracket
Michigan Wolverines - No. 10 seed in the West bracket
Illinois Fighting Illini - No. 11 seed in the Southeast bracket
Michigan State Spartans - No. 11 seed in the Southwest bracket
Penn State Nittany Lions - No. 11 seed in the East bracket

All seven Big Ten entries are firmly in the field, according to Dobberteam. No play-in games for the conference. Each of the brackets has two Big Ten teams in it except for the Southeast, where Illinois is the lone conference representative.

We don't have much longer until the NCAA Selection Show takes place, and we'll know what the brackets look like for sure. We'll have all your coverage of the selection show right here.

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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: CBS Sports Makes Final Prediction

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports has his final bracket prediction posted, and while he doesn't specify which brackets he has each of the teams going to, he does have all of the teams grouped according to seeds. What does he see for the Big Ten Conference?

Well, he does have seven Big Ten teams in the field, which seems to be becoming the prevailing logic with Penn State's performance in the Big Ten Tournament.

Parrish has the Ohio State Buckeyes as a number one seed, which is where everyone has them, since it appears that they're going to be the top overall seed in the tournament. The Purdue Boilermakers clock in as a number three seed, according to Parrish, while the Wisconsin Badgers check in as a number four seed.

The rest of the Big Ten consists of two number ten seeds and two number 11 seeds, according to Parrish. In the former category, we find the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans. The Penn State Nittany Lions and the Illinois Fighting Illini fall into the latter category.

Pretty good year for the Big Ten Conference, as it appears that they're going to get seven teams into the field of 68. We'll know for sure when the Selection Sunday show airs at 5 PM Central time on CBS.

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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: Joe Lunardi's Sunday Morning Update

Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com has put together his bracket update for this Selection Sunday morning, and he has also placed seven Big Ten teams into the field for the 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament. Let's see how his brackets stack up for the teams of the Big Ten.

Ohio State Buckeyes - #1 seed in the East bracket
Purdue Boilermakers - #4 seed in the West bracket
Wisconsin Badgers - #4 seed in the Southeast bracket
Illinois Fighting Illini - #11 seed in the East bracket
Michigan Wolverines - #11 seed in the West bracket
Michigan State Spartans - #11 seed in the Southeast bracket
Penn State Nittany Lions - #12 seed in the Southwest bracket

Once again, all seven Big Ten representatives are firmly into the NCAA tournament, according to Lunardi, with none of them being stuck in any of the "First Four" games that will be done for play-in purposes.

The final brackets will be announced at 5:00 PM Central time, and you can be sure we'll have all of the excitement right here for you at SB Nation Minnesota.

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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: Chris Dobberteam Updates Again

It's Selection Sunday morning, and Chris Dobberteam of SB Nation has put out his most recent bracket projection. After Penn State's victory in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, he now has seven Big Ten teams in the NCAA Tournament field. Here's where those seven teams are all seeded, according to his projections.

Ohio State Buckeyes - #1 seed in the East bracket
Purdue Boilermakers - #4 seed in the Southwest bracket
Wisconsin Badgers - #4 seed in the Southeast bracket
Michigan Wolverines - #10 seed in the West bracket
Illinois Fighting Illini - #11 seed in the Southwest bracket
Penn State Nittany Lions - #11 seed in the East bracket
Michigan State Spartans - #11 seed in the Southeast bracket

No play-in games for any of these teams. . .all of them are firmly set in the field of 68. Penn State would certainly improve their standing today if they could pull an upset of the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Tournament title game, but that's a pretty tall order, even for a team on the kind of roll the Nittany Lions are on.

We'll have a few more updates before the brackets are announced at 5 PM Central time.

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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: Joe Lunardi Says Penn State Is In. . .For Now

We wondered earlier if the Penn State Nittany Lions could find their way into the NCAA Tournament field, and according to one of America's leading bracketologists, they're already there. . .for the moment. (Link courtesy of E$PN In$ider.)

Here's what Lunardi has to say about the Nittany Lions.

It's going to take some good fortune for our last two at-large teams -- the USC Trojans and Penn State Nittany Lions -- to stay in the field. For one, the Alabama Crimson Tide and/or UTEP Miners (or even the Boston College Eagles, more on that later) could pass them. For another, the bubble could very easily squeeze them out, given pending events in the WAC and Atlantic 10 tournaments.

So, for right now, Lunardi thinks that the Big Ten does, indeed, get seven teams into the Big Dance. Here's where he has them all ranked. . .right now, Lunardi is putting the teams on what is called an "S-curve," which basically ranks the teams all the way from 1 to 72, with teams from 69-72 being the first four teams out of the field.

Ohio State Buckeyes - #1 on the curve (which would make them a #1 seed)
Purdue Boilermakers - #13 on the curve (#4 seed)
Wisconsin Badgers - #16 on the curve (#4 seed)
Michigan State Spartans - #36 on the curve (#9 seed)
Michigan Wolverines - #39 on the curve (#10 seed)
Illinois Fighting Illini - #43 on the curve (#11 seed)
Penn State Nittany Lions - #49 on the curve (#13 seed, although I would wager they'd wind up in a play-in game for a 12-spot instead)

In a little more than 24 hours, we'll know what the entire field looks like, and we'll have the field right here for you at SB Nation Minnesota.

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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: Another Bracket Update From SB Nation

Chris Dobberteam from SB Nation has his latest NCAA Tournament bracket projection out, and there are six Big Ten teams now firmly in the field of 68 with no need for a play-in game.

Here's where everyone in the Big Ten is currently sitting, according to Dobberteam.

Ohio State Buckeyes - #1 seed in the East bracket
Purdue Boilermakers - #4 seed in the West bracket
Wisconsin Badgers - #4 seed in the Southeast bracket
Michigan Wolverines - #9 seed in the Southwest bracket
Michigan State Spartans - #10 seed in the Southeast bracket
Illinois Fighting Illini - #11 seed in the West bracket

You can see that the losses by Purdue and Wisconsin were significant ones, as they were previously listed as a #2 seed and a #3 seed, respectively.

As far as Penn State, Dobberteam says that their victory over Wisconsin last night got them "closer," but that they're not in the field yet. It will be interesting to see what their projection will become if they should knock off Michigan State this afternoon. Obviously if the Nittany Lions win the whole Big Ten Tournament, they're in automatically, but will one more win be enough to get them an at-large bid and give the Big Ten seven NCAA Tournament teams?

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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: No Change From Chris Dobberteam

Chris Dobberteam did his most recent update to his bracket projections yesterday, and things are stable for the Big Ten, as nothing has changed for them from the previous projection. To review, here's where Dobberteam has the Big Ten teams seeded as of right now.

Ohio State Buckeyes - #1 in the East bracket
Purdue Boilermakers - #2 in the Southwest bracket
Wisconsin Badgers - #4 in the Southeast bracket
Illinois Fighting Illini - #9 in the Southwest bracket
Michigan Wolverines - #10 in the West bracket
Michigan State Spartans - Playing the Virginia Tech Hokies for the right to be the #12 seed in the Southwest bracket.

Things could seriously change for the Big Ten today, in both directions, as the Big Ten Tournament gets underway in Indianapolis. Two teams in particular, Penn State and Michigan State, can change their fates based on their tournament performance. An early loss by Michigan State could bump them out of the tournament all together, while Penn State could find themselves dancing if they beat the bottom-ranked Indiana Hoosiers this afternoon and pull of an upset of the Wisconsin Badgers in the second round.

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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: Blogging The Bracket Updates Their Picks

With just six days to go before Selection Sunday, you can probably imagine that Chris Dobberteam and the folks at Blogging the Bracket are pretty busy. They've just released their newest bracket projections, and things look a little bit different than they did the last time around.

Here is where everyone from the Big Ten is listed now:

Ohio State Buckeyes - #1 seed in the East bracket (no change from previous projection)
Purdue Boilermakers - #2 seed in the Southwest bracket (no change from previous projection)
Wisconsin Badgers - #4 seed in the Southeast bracket (no change from previous projection)
Illinois Fighting Illini - #9 seed in the Southwest bracket (was #10 in the East in previous projection)
Michigan Wolverines - #10 seed in the East bracket (involved in play-in game in previous projection)

Last time, it was Michigan that was playing for the right to get into the main field of 64. This time, however, it's their rivals, the Michigan State Spartans, that are playing for that right. SB Nation has the Spartans taking on the Clemson Tigers for the right to be the #12 seed in the West bracket. In the previous projection, Michigan State was the #11 seed in the West.

The Gophers? Nope, still not in the tournament. Still not going to be in the tournament. Sorry about that.

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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: Joe Lunardi Updates His Brackets

We had an earlier update about what Joe Lunardi had to say about the NCAA Tournament Brackets, and he has released new brackets that we want to give you an update on.

Here's the latest from Lunardi about where the Big Ten teams are currently situated in his eyes.

Ohio State Buckeyes - #1 seed in the East bracket (same as previous bracket projection)
Purdue Boilermakers - #2 seed in the Southwest bracket (same as previous projection)
Wisconsin Badgers - #3 seed in the Southeast bracket (same as previous projection)
Illinois Fighting Illini - #10 seed in the West bracket (previously #10 seed in the East)
Michigan State Spartans - #10 seed in the East bracket (previously #12 seed in the West)

Lunardi still has the Michigan Wolverines playing for the right to be a #12 seed in the East bracket, the same as he did last time, but now has them taking on the Boston College Eagles rather than the Baylor Bears.

Keep in mind that Lunardi's most recent projections are dated March 4, which means they took place before the Wolverines completed a season sweep of the Spartans. One would think that that victory would solidify Michigan's tournament chances (i.e. they wouldn't have to play a play-in game to get into the field) while dealing a significant blow to those of the Spartans. . .possibly pushing them out of the field all together. It also doesn't take into account Purdue getting bumped off by the Iowa Hawkeyes last night, a loss that could potentially knock the Boilermakers out of a #2 seed.

Oh, and the Gophers? Yeah. . .still not in. But I'm guessing you knew that already.

We'll have further updates on your NCAA Tournament Bracket projections as they continue to become available.

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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: Six Is A Magic Number For CBS, Too

CBS Sports has their most recent NCAA Tournament Bracket predictions as well, and they are following the trend of having six Big Ten teams in the big dance. A few of those teams are on the bubble, but we all know that at this point that the Big Ten only has three real locks for the tournament at this point anyway.

Here is where CBS has the six Big Ten tournament teams slotted.

Ohio State Buckeyes - #1 seed in the East bracket
Purdue Boilermakers - #2 seed in the Southeast bracket
Wisconisn Badgers - #3 seed in the Southwest bracket
Illinois Fighting Illini - #9 seed in the Southwest bracket
Michigan State Spartans - #10 seed in the West bracket

And. . .sing along with me. . .the Michigan Wolverines are in one of the tournament's "play-in" games. Although CBS has them against a fourth different opponent, this time being the Colorado State Rams, for the right to be the #12 seed in the West bracket. The other "play-in" game that doesn't involve #16 seeds is for the right to be the #11 seed in the Southwest, and according to CBS would be contested between the Butler Bulldogs and the Virginia Tech Hokies.

CBS has Illinois, Michigan State, and Michigan all as being "on the bubble." The Wolverines and Spartans still have a game against each other coming up, and that could possibly serve as an elimination game to knock one of those teams off of the bubble and into the INT.

But, as of now, six is still the number that the Big Ten is looking at as far as teams in the NCAA Tournament at this point in time.

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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: Bracketology 101 Puts Six Big Ten Teams In The Dance

Bracketology 101, a site that touts itself as the most reliable on the web, has posted their most recent NCAA Tournament field, and they follow the trend of having six Big Ten teams in the tournament.

Here's where Bracketology 101 has all of the Big Ten entries seeded:

Ohio State Buckeyes - #1 seed in the East bracket
Purdue Boilermakers - #2 seed in the Southwest bracket
Wisconsin Badgers - #3 seed in the West bracket
Illinois Fighting Illini - #9 seed in the Southeast bracket
Michigan State Spartans - #10 seed in the East bracket

They, like our first two entries in this search, have the Michigan Wolverines in one of the "play-in" games for the right to be a number 12 seed, this time in the West bracket. In this case, the Wolverines would battle the Colorado Buffaloes for the right to play the University of Kentucky in the first round of the tournament.

It looks like, barring something strange, the Big Ten will be getting six teams into the Big Dance, but we'll keep looking at other sources for different projections.

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Big Ten Bracketology 2011: Joe Lunardi's Take On The NCAA Tournament Field

ESPN's Joe Lunardi is considered the foremost expert on "bracketology." Honestly, I think he might even be the guy that invented the term bracketology, although I can't verify that. But, since he's the guy, it would be prudent for us to get a look at who he has seeded where in the NCAA tournament at this moment in time.

Like the folks at the mothership, Lunardi has six Big Ten teams in the field of 68. Here's who they are and where they're currently sitting at.

Ohio State Buckeyes - #1 seed in the East bracket
Purdue Boilermakers - #2 seed in the Southwest bracket
Wisconsin Badgers - #3 seed in the Southeast bracket
Illinois Fighting Illini - #10 seed in the East bracket
Michigan State Spartans - #12 seed in the West bracket

Much like SB Nation, Lunardi has the Michigan Wolverines playing a play-in game for the right to be a #12 seed, and he also has them taking on Baylor, but it's for the right to be the #12 seed in the East bracket rather than the Southeast. The other non-16 seed play-in game that Lunardi has is actually a battle to be a #11 seed rather than a #12, and that match-up is in the West bracket between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Richmond Spiders.

But, that's two different sources that have six Big Ten teams in the NCAA tournament.

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Photographs by Micah Taylor, clairity, and Fibonacci Blue used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.