LAST CALL: Big Ten Basketball Previews, BTT Scenarios, Open Thread

Sorry about no game thread yesterday. I think Daylight Savings Time messed with me.

As my apology, here are some hastily-written previews, along with updates on each team’s bracketology odds. Lots of calculus for the Big Ten Tournament, though, here are your scenarios (minus Nebraska, which is locked into the 13 seed, I think) based on the winners of the other three games, courtesy of http://bball.notnothing.net/big10.php?sport=mbb:

• wisc, PSU, Indiana win: Minn 7, OSU 8, Indiana 9, PSU 10, Illinois 11, Rutgers 12
• wisc, PSU, Rutgers win: Minn 7, OSU 8, Rutgers 9, Indiana 10, PSU 11, Illinois 12
• wisc, Illinois, Rutgers win: Minn 7, Illinois 8, OSU 9, Rutgers 10, Indiana 11, PSU 12
• wisc, Illinois, Indiana win: Minn 7, Indiana 8, OSU 9, Illinois 10, Rutgers 11, PSU 12
• OSU, PSU, Indiana win: OSU 7, Minn 8, Indiana 9, PSU 10, Illinois 11, Rutgers 12
• OSU, PSU, Rutgers win: OSU 7, Minn 8, Rutgers 9, Indiana 10, PSU 11, Illinois 12
• OSU, Illinois, Indiana win: OSU 7, Minn 8, Indiana 9, Illinois 10, Rutgers 11, PSU 12
• OSU, Illinois, Rutgers win: OSU 7, Minn 8, Illinois 9, Rutgers 10, Indiana 11, PSU 12

Illinois Fighting Illini at Penn State Nittany Lions

IL: 11-19 (7-12) | PSU: 13-17 (6-13)
11am | FS1 | PSU -7 | O/U 149

I’m exhausted from doing that math. This one will be fun, fast, and bad. Enjoy.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Indiana Hoosiers

RU: 14-15 (7-12) | IU: 16-14 (7-12)
11am | BTN | IU -7.5 | O/U 132.5

A win keeps Indiana top-side in its quest for the NCAA Tournament, though Temple knocking off UCF in the owlish Fran Dunphy’s final home game didn’t help matters. Rutgers can climb to .500 (!!!) with a win here, setting them up to have a really good case at getting an NIT call (or maybe getting an alumnus to shell out a hundred thousand for the CBI).

Lunardi Bracketology:

Indiana: First Four Four (second, behind TCU)

Iowa Hawkeyes at Nebraska Cornhuskers

IA: 21-9 (10-9) | UNL: 15-15 (5-14)
1pm | BTN | IA -1.5 | O/U 150

Gross.

Lunardi Bracketology:

Iowa: 9 (S) vs. UCF

#21 wisconsin badgers at Ohio State Buckeyes

wi: 21-9 (13-6) | OSU: 18-12 (8-11)
3:30pm | CBS | wisc -3.5 | O/U 123.5

I think I do this enough that this can qualify as “amusing”: I love when ESPN lists games on their “scores” page and will put “FS1” or “BTN” above the games I’ve already listed...but it just won’t list a TV provider when the game is on CBS. Such a petty little fuck-you.

Anyways, absent Kaleb Wesson, Ethan Happ should score a lot of points against the Buckeyes. And I still might take the under in this one.

Lunardi Bracketology:

wisc: 4 (W) vs. Hofstra
OSU: 11 (W) vs. Auburn—LAST team with a bye

Women’s BTT Championship

[2] Iowa Hawkeyes vs. [1] Maryland Terrapins

5pm | ESPN | ESPN2

The Hawkeyes, despite some dicey moments, got through the Rutgers press and managed to hold off a furious comeback by the Scarlet Knights. Michigan choked away a huge upset of the Terrapins. Here we are. Tune in for some damn good basketball between two teams who ESPN’s CHarlie Creme has on a 2- and 3-line, respectively. And, it bears noting, that’s with Maryland winning the Big Ten.

Could an Iowa win push the Hawkeyes higher? Could a Maryland win swap the two squads’ places? We’ll have to see.

Anything else on?

Of course there is! My recommendations, things you may have missed yesterday, and a full schedule of today’s games:

• Summit Insanity: Down go the Jackrabbits! Down go the Jackrabbits! The usual suspects from the Summit League, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, took a positively confounding loss to the 8th-seeded Western Illinois Leathernecks on their home turf in the Denny Sanford Center in Sioux Falls. This means either 2-seed Omaha Mavericks or 3-seed Purdue Ft. Wayne Mastodons, both of which are in the Never Made the Tourney Club, could go dancing. Oral Roberts-PFW could be worth a watch tonight, on ESPN+ late.
• Patriot League Predictability: Stupid BucknellBucknell beat my Holy Cross Crusaders, meaning they’ll play a banger of a game with Lehigh at 1pm on CBSSN. It will, I must begrudgingly admit, be entertaining basketball. Bison C Nate Sestina is a damn good player inside and out.
• Arch Madness doesn’t disappoint: Unless you’re a Loyola-Chicago or Drake fan, that is. The top-seeded Ramblers fell in the MVC semis to Bradley, and MY Bulldogs, seeded 2nd but down to six scholarship players due to injuries to key contributors C Nate McGlynn and G DJ Wilkins, fell to the Northern Iowa Panthers on a late coast-to-coast layup by Wyatt Lohaus. The Braves and Panthers go for the title at 1:05 on CBS, so those of you tuning in for wisconsin-Ohio State can get a head start and watch some good hoops early.

This is a gamethread. Do with it what you will.