Penn State basketball remained off of ESPN’s “Bracketology” following two straight losses on the road to Iowa and Michigan.
PSU is now 2-6 in January with one final game against Ohio State before February. With only ten games left, there isn’t much room for error, if there’s any, for Penn State’s NCAA Tournament hopes. But is Penn State’s spot in the Big Ten Tournament even a guarantee?
PENN STATE’S PATH TO THE TOURNAMENT(S)
A glance at the Big Ten standings shows that PSU is 16th in the conference with a 3-7 league record. The two teams below Mike Rhoades’ are the 2-7 Nebraska Cornhuskers and the 1-8 Washington Huskies. With its at-large bid hopes more than likely gone, the only probable way for Penn State to make it to the National Tournament would be by winning the Big Ten Tournament. The Nittany Lions, as of Tuesday, are tied for the 12th-best odds (+50000) to win its conference championship. But if January is any indication of how Penn State will close the season, it might not get a chance to compete for the league crown.
Despite having the easiest remaining schedule in the Big Ten, Penn State has struggled with putting games away that were winnable. For example, in three of its last four losses, PSU either had the lead or had multiple chances to win in the end, but couldn’t get it done. The Michigan loss was the most egregious of those three. Penn State led by five with two minutes and eight seconds left. So, even though PSU’s remaining nine opponents have a combined conference record of 37-47, if PSU can’t put the metaphorical nail in the coffin down the stretch, there’s a real chance that March 8 is the last time this team takes the court until November.
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The SEC projects strong in Joe Lunardi’s updated bracket, holding 13 potential bids come Selection Sunday. The Big Ten trails with nine:
- No. 2 seed Purdue
- No. 3 seed Michigan State
- No. 4 seed Illinois
- No. 4 seed Oregon
- No. 5 seed Michigan
- No. 5 seed Wisconsin
- No. 7 seed Maryland
- No. 7 seed UCLA
- No. 11 seed Ohio State
Lunardi will update his bracket again Friday.
