While the Big Ten will safely send Michigan State, Illinois, Purdue, and Ohio State to the NCAA tournament, there are teams fighting for their right to party postseason style: Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, and Wisconsin.
Current standings through Feb. 22:
Big Ten, Conf, All, RPI
(9) Michigan State, 11-3, 21-5, 5
(16) Purdue, 9-4, 20-6, 23
(20) Illinois, 10-5, 22-6, 16
Penn St., 8-6, 19-8, 62
Ohio St., 7-7, 17-8, 43
Minnesota, 8-7, 20-7, 37
Wisconsin, 8-7, 17-10, 27
Michigan, 7-8, 17-11, 56
Northwestern, 5-9, 14-11, 78
Iowa, 4-10, 14-13, 103
Indiana, 1-12, 6-19, 194
In part two of this blog we're going to take a look at the Big Ten's bubble teams. Today we will look at the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Penn State: Big Ten (8-6), Overall (19-8), RPI (62).
- Key wins: Purdue, Michigan State, Illinois
- 3-3 against teams ranked in top 25 at the time.
- Strength of schedule: 85
Remaining Schedule:
Tue, Feb 24 - at Ohio St., 7:00 p.m.
Sat, Feb 28 - Indiana, 6:00 p.m.
Thu, Mar 5 - (20) Illinois, 9:00 p.m.
Sat, Mar 7 - at Iowa, 2:05 p.m.
Penn State is the most difficult choice to pick for whether they'll squeeze into the NCAA tournament. First and foremost, Penn State doesn't have a great RPI and their SOS is awful. They played the weakest non-conference schedule in the Big Ten, going 11-2 (losses to Rhode Island and Temple at home). The combined record between their non-conference opponents as of Feb 22 is 138-349 (a .0395 winning percentage). Only four of those 13 non-conference teams boast winning records.
The Nittany Lion's ugly win, in what I call the worst basketball game in the history of the world (hyperbolic?), was essential for boosting their RPI from 70 to 62 this week, and gave them a third quality win. That being said, they MUST beat Ohio State on the Buckeyes' home court if they want to earn an NCAA bid.
In or Out: Out
You can't spell Nittany Lions without NIT. An awful SOS and RPI, along with their non-conference schedule will keep Penn State out of the NCAA tournament again. I believe that they would have to beat Ohio State on the road AND Illinois at home to earn the bid, and I don't think they can. Not to mention, Iowa very may very well be more than a handful for Penn State when they finish the conference schedule in Iowa City. However, don't be shocked if they earn a bid by winning the Big Ten tournament.
Who can help lead them into the NCAA tournament field: Stanley Pringle
- Pringle is shooting 37.1 percent from the floor in Big Ten play. When Pringle shoots better than his average, Penn State is 6-2 in conference play, and when he shoots under his average, the Nittany lions are just . When Pringle is on top of his game, it takes pressure off of potential Big Ten player of the year, Talor Battle, and Jamelle Cornley, making Penn State a dangerous team.
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*Source for RPI and SOS: CollegeRPI.com (released Feb. 22).
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