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The Iowa Hawkeyes made a statement on Tuesday night as they marched into Assembly Hall and took care of Indiana without a problem, but that wasn't the game of the day. That took place in Evanston. Thanks to incredible performances from Tre Demps (20 points and two separate game-tying shots) and Alex Olah (25 points and 12 rebounds), Northwestern managed to defeat Michigan in a thrilling double-overtime game. Rutgers also gave No. 10 Maryland a bit of a scare, but the Terps hung on for a 10-point victory.
Current Standings: 3/4/14
Conference | Overall | Remaining Games | ||
1 | No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers | 14-2 | 26-3 | @MINN, @OSU |
2 | No. 10 Maryland Terrapins | 13-4 | 25-5 | @NEB |
3 | Purdue Boilermakers | 11-5 | 19-10 | @MSU, IL |
4 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 11-6 | 20-10 | NW |
5 | Michigan State Spartans | 10-6 | 19-10 | PU, @IU |
5 | No. 23 Ohio State Buckeyes | 10-6 | 21-8 | @PSU, WIS |
7 | Indiana Hoosiers | 9-8 | 19-11 | MSU |
8 | Illinois Fighting Illini | 8-8 | 18-11 | NEB, @PU |
9 | Michigan Wolverines | 7-10 | 14-15 | RUT |
10 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | 6-10 | 17-12 | WIS, PSU |
11 | Northwestern Wildcats | 6-11 | 15-15 | @IOWA |
12 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | 5-11 | 13-15 | @IL, MD |
13 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 3-13 | 15-14 | OSU, @MINN |
14 | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 2-15 | 10-20 | @MICH |
Current Bracket (after 3/3 games):
Seed Possibilities:
(Chart from Daniel Borup, @daniel_borup)
Iowa, Purdue, Michigan State, and Ohio State are still battling for the last two double-byes. As of now, the Hawkeyes have the best chance of securing one of those spots (55%), but there's still a long way to go. Keep an eye on Wednesday night's game between the Spartans and Boilermakers because that'll have a pretty big impact on the top of the standings.
With some help from Michigan State, Illinois could still become the No. 7 seed and avoid the dreaded 8/9 game. The Illini need to finish the season 2-0 (wins over Nebraska and Purdue) and the Spartans need to win at Indiana; if that were to happen, Illinois would jump ahead of the Hoosiers in the standings.
The Big Ten Network will be airing a triple-header on Wednesday night. The first game tips off at 5:00pm CT when No. 23 Ohio State travels to Happy Valley to face Penn State; Purdue at Michigan State will follow that contest at 7:00pm CT. Finally, Nebraska will take on Illinois in Champaign for the nightcap at 9:00pm CT.
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