Minn v ILL
Minn lost 6 of last 9, while Ill won 6 of last 9, they both upset Indiana, they both beat the other on the others home floor...game is in Chicago, I will go with Illinois
PSU v Blue
Should be a blow out, but as you know Penn St was 0-14 in B1G until they upset Michigan...still I'll go maize & blue
Neb v Pur
Purdue is playing really well right now, beat Wisconsin by 13 in Wis, lost to Michigan but had a chance to tie at the end, then beat Minny. Nebraska has showed me nothing, 5 B1G wins with 2 against PSU. I will pick Purdue, but I am hoping Nebraska can pull an upset, since the winner of this game plays OSU.
NW v Iowa
Iowa is also playing well coming into the tourney and is now a "bubble" team, they won 6 of their last 8. One talking head said they will probably be in if they beat Northwestern and then upset Mich St...that would help OSU also because they would play the winner of that game, assuming the Bucks win their 1st game.
My first thought was to pick against at least one of the favorites since there always seems to be upsets, but looking back 4 years the chalk has won 12 of the 13 games in the first round. The only upset being last year when #10 Minny beat #7 NW.
Your thoughts???
Illinois. Blue. Purdue. Iowa.
The 2012 National Champions.
I agree that 'sota will likely upset the Illini in Round 1, unless B. Paul decides to go off from 3-point range.
I actually like the Buckeyes' chances/path as the #2 seed, instead of Indiana's path as the #1 seed.
Sometimes being a #2 seed can be better than being a #1 seed. I thought this last year, when the Buckeyes landed the #2 seed in a good region (Pittsburgh bracket), with Jim Boehslime's Syracuse team as the #1 seed. That was a great draw for us to reach the Final Four.
The year before, however, we were the #1 overall seed and got "rewarded" with UNC as our 2 seed, Syracuse as our 3 seed, and Kentucky as our 4 seed. All were arguably the top teams in their seedings! THANKS, GENE SMITH! (Overcompensated for fear he'd look biased.) Weak leadership skills(?)
Anyways, assuming the good guys perform/show well in this B1G tourney, (and they usually do under Thad), I see us sticking as a #2 seed, and getting a good draw. Please give us Gonzaga as the #1 seed in our bracket, NCAA Selection Committee. It's all about the path. The Bucks are hot at the end of the season, too. Don't count us out...we could win it all. Win a few games, maybe somebody upsets a favorite in our path, and you never know.
Go Bucks!
"You win with people." - Woody Hayes
The number 1 overall seed typically has a really tough bracket though. I'd say they've had an early exit more often than they've had a waltz to the final four. I think right now Bracketology is projecting Duke as the number 1 overall. They have the Bucks as the number 2, a very good Marquette as the 4. Florida as the 3.
Where he has Louisville projected as a 1 in another bracket and they get Wisconsin as the 4, Kansas as the 2(and I don't think Kansas is that good they have lost some BAD games). MSU as the 3, and that's a good 3, but the 4 is Wisconsin and the 5 is St Louis.
These are projections I realize, but I think Louisville in this scenario has a much more favorable draw. Kansas overall not sure if their resume is better than the Bucks, but is there a 2 seed projection playing hotter than the Buckeyes right now?
Minn (close), PSU loses, Purdue, Iowa
"Success - it's what you do with what you got" - Woody Hayes
It will be interesting to see if the loser of the ill minn games the tourney. I would guess yes but you never know
OSU defintely got the best spot in the Tourney. I wouldn't want to play Minny or Illinois in first round because both can be really good with momentum, definitely not Michigan in first round, Iowa and NW both scare the hell out of me, NW especially gives OSU problems. Nebraska and Purdue are the two teams I have most confidence that OSU will handle.
Minnesota, Missagain, Purdue, Iowa
Battles are sometimes won by generals; wars are nearly always won by sergeants and privates. Football is no different, the guys down in the trenches win the games, not the coach.
minn, aacc, purdue, iowa