With Maryland loss, door is open for Badgers — and others — to win Big Ten title
Maryland just left the door open for the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team.
Well, the door’s open for the Badgers, Michigan State and Illinois all to end up on top of the Big Ten Conference standings when everything is said and done.
The ninth-ranked Terps lost 78-67 to Rutgers on Tuesday to really hurt their ability to win the conference outright.
| TEAMS | Conf | GB | Ovr |
| 9 Maryland | 13-6 | – | 23-7 |
| 16 Michigan State | 13-6 | – | 21-9 |
| 23 Illinois | 12-6 | 0.5 | 20-9 |
| 24 Wisconsin | 12-6 | 0.5 | 19-10 |
| 20 Penn State | 11-8 | 2 | 21-9 |
| 18 Iowa | 11-8 | 2 | 20-10 |
| 19 Ohio State | 10-8 | 2.5 | 20-9 |
| Rutgers Scarlet | 10-9 | 3 | 19-11 |
| 25Michigan | 9-9 | 3.5 | 18-11 |
| Purdue | 9-10 | 4 | 16-14 |
| Indiana | 8-10 | 4.5 | 18-11 |
| Minnesota | 7-11 | 5.5 | 13-15 |
| Northwestern | 2-16 | 10.5 | 7-21 |
| Nebraska | 2-16 | 10.5 | 7-22 |
It was Maryland’s third loss in the past four games. Its only win during that stretch came on a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining to cap off a 16-point comeback at Minnesota.
No. 16 Michigan State was nearly bounced — perhaps not mathematically — from Big Ten title contention Tuesday, as well, but came back to beat 20th-ranked Penn State 79-71.
Wisconsin and Illinois sit a half-game back. The Badgers appear to have a gimme with Northwestern at the Kohl Center tonight but this is college basketball — there are no gimmes, only upsets.
Illinois plays Thursday at No. 19 Ohio State and finishes the regular season at home Sunday against No. 18 Iowa.
The Badgers wrap up at 11 a.m. Saturday at Indiana. Also Sunday, Maryland hosts No. 25 Michigan, while Michigan State plays home against Ohio State.
If there’s a tie for the Big Ten title, that’s how it ends. There are no tiebreakers.
As for the Big Ten tournament seeding, feel free to try and figure it out here, or just wait until Sunday.