The simulation of the revelation by the NCAA tournament selection committee on Saturday did not bring many surprises, with the 16 teams mostly matching the consensus among the top 16 over the weekend. But it raised an interesting point of conversation that will be worth considering the rest of the season: the hierarchy at the top of the Big Ten. Michigan, Ohio State and Illinois were 3-4-5 in the mock reveal and 3-4-5 in these Power Rankings in the past two weeks. But I can’t imagine it ending like this, and who knows how much space there will be for the league in the 1-seed line or in the top five.
Michigan has the advantage now, and the Wolverines started to look like their pre-break in the second half against Wisconsin. Ohio State has the best cutting edge of the group, with eight wins in Quadrant 1 and the head-to-head advantage over Illinois, while Fighting Illini has the group’s best talent on paper and perhaps the highest ceiling.
This will resolve itself, however. Michigan could get a few more games to make up for the delays, but now, the Wolverines have yet to go to Ohio and host Iowa. The Buckeyes must face Michigan and Illinois, as well as Iowa. The Illini have four of their last five games (from now) on the road, but they are likely to have the most friendly stretch in terms of opponents.
The top of the Big Ten and the appearance of these three teams in a few weeks will have a big impact on the appearance of the top of the bracket in a month.