Question for our bracketology majors.
If Nebraska won out and snuck our way into #2 in the big 10 then let’s say lost in the semis of the Big10 tourney. Could we get up to a 5 or 6 seed?
Here's how I see it:
Purdue is all but locked into the #1 seed.
ILL finishes the year with MN, @WI, Purdue, and @IA. Nebraska is 1.5 games back from ILL and they own the tiebreaker. We would need to win out and have ILL drop two games. ILL owns the head to head tiebreaker.
WI ends with @IN, ILL, RU, and @Purdue. They are only a .5 game up with Nebraska. If we win out and WI drops a game that represents our best chance at a double bye. In the event, it goes to tiebreaker -
We split the series with WI and the next tiebreaker is the record versus the top seed which will likely be Purdue. We own the tiebreaker in this scenario.
NW is a .5 up on Nebraska and ends the year with @MD, IA, @MI ST, and MN. If NW drops a game and we win out I think we secure a double bye. I think this is our second most likely option to gaining a double bye.
Again we split the series with NW. If Purdue ends as the #1 we are 1-0 and NW is 1-1. I think the next layer is winning percentage versus that team which we would then own.
Overall, I think the likelihood of Nebraska sneaking into a #2 seed in the BIG 10 tourney is unlikely, but we have a good chance of receiving a double bye. If that happens we could rise to a #7 seed.
I'm not an expert by any means so take this with a grain of slaw.