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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Evan Bachman

ESPN Bracketology Update: Ohio State, six other Big Ten teams in pre-Christmas update

The college basketball season is off to an exciting start. Through six weeks we have seen many intriguing matchups and down to the wire games.

Early in the season it’s apparent that the Big Ten has at least one national title contender. Purdue has looked fantastic as evidenced by its 92-84 victory over Arizona on Saturday and reclaiming of the No. 1 ranking.

The Boilermakers are the clear frontrunners in the Big Ten currently but the conference projects to be very competitive with 12 of the 14 teams currently sitting in the top 100 of the Basketball Power Index (BPI). Seven of those teams are currently projected to be amongst the field of 68 in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in March by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and his venerable “Bracketology.”

Lunardi has been one of the go-to analysts in college basketball for many years and on Tuesday he updated his predictions for who would make the big dance from the Big Ten.

Purdue Boilermakers (10-1)

Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

Bracketology Breakdown

Seeding | No. 1 – Midwest Region (Indianapolis)
Opponent | No. 16 seed (winner of Southern vs. Merrimack)

The season so far

Loss(es) | at Northwestern
Best Win(s) | Arizona, Marquette, Tennessee, Gonzaga

Illinois Fighting Illini (8-2)

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Bracketology Breakdown

Seeding | No. 3 – South Region (Memphis)
Opponent | No. 14 seed Colgate

The season so far

Loss(es) | Marquette, at Tennessee
Best Win(s) | FAU, at Rutgers

Wisconsin Badgers (8-3)

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Bracketology Breakdown

Seeding | No. 4 – East Region (Brooklyn)
Opponent | No. 13 seed Akron

The season so far

Loss(es) | Tennessee, at Providence, at Arizona
Best Win(s) | Virginia, Marquette, at Michigan State

Ohio State Buckeyes (9-2)

USA TODAY SMG

Bracketology Breakdown

Seeding | No. 7 – Midwest Region (Indianapolis)
Opponent | No. 10 seed Mississippi State

The season so far

Loss(es) | Texas A&M, at Penn State
Best Win(s) | Alabama, UCLA

Northwestern Wildcats (8-2)

USA TODAY SMG

Bracketology Breakdown

Seeding | No. 9 – West Region (Salt Lake City)
Opponent | No. 8 seed Texas

The season so far

Loss(es) | Chicago State, Mississippi State
Best Win(s) | Purdue, Dayton

Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-2)

Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Bracketology Breakdown

Seeding | No. 11 – East Region (Charlotte)
Opponent | No. 11 seed Nevada (Winner plays No. 6 Alabama)

The season so far

Loss(es) | UConn, Auburn, Kansas
Best Win(s) | Maryland, at Michigan

Losses: Creighton, @ Minnesota
Best Wins: Michigan State, @ Kansas State

Indiana Hoosiers (8-3)

USA TODAY SMG

Bracketology Breakdown

Seeding | No. 12 – West Region (Spokane)
Opponent | No. 5 seed Gonzaga

The season so far

Loss(es) | UConn, Auburn, Kansas
Best Win(s) | Maryland, at Michigan

Michigan State (6-5) - First team out

USA TODAY SMG

Bracketology Breakdown

The season so far

Loss(es) | James Madison, Duke, Arizona, Wisconsin, at Nebraska
Best Win(s) | Baylor, Butler

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Evan Bachman on X.

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