Big Ten Picture Just Got Cloudier

What a difference a night can make. Going into last evening the Big Ten looked like it was pretty much a lock in terms of who was going to the dance and who was out and who was riding the bubble.

Then last night happened and now everything is turned on its head. Northwestern goes into West Lafayette and knocks off the Boilermakers in stunning fashion and suddenly the Wildcats are, take a breath, polishing up their NCAA tournament resume.

It is hard to believe this once doormat of the Midwest, who was off the radar much of the season could now be crawling its way on to the bubble but they certainly deserve to be in the discussion. With wins over top conference teams like Purdue and Michigan State along with an out of conference victory against Florida State, Northwestern can certainly make the case.

The Wildcats not only have those wins but have knocked off fellow Big Ten bubble teams Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota.

But don’t be surprised by the Wildcats improbable run this season, Bill Carmody is too good of a coach with too good of a system not to find success. This year, the talent has finally caught up with the program and Northwestern is reaping the benefits.

Another team that may have played itself into the NCAA tournament is Minnesota. The Gophers came into last night losing 5 of its last 8 games and faced fellow bubble team Wisconsin.

In a low scoring game, Minnesota appeared to blow a double digit lead late in the game but rallied to score the last 10 points to earn a much needed four-point win.

The loss severely cripples Wisconsin but many experts think a win this weekend over Indiana will lock up the Badgers bid to the big dance.

With all of the parody in this league, however, it appears the first day of the Big Ten tournament may be key as well.

Michigan State, Illinois and Purdue are locks and it doesn’t look like the Big Ten will garner more than six bids this season. That means that Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Minnesota and long-shot Northwestern will be vying for those three remaining spots.

If any of these teams (and four of them will have to) play a Thursday game in the Big Ten tournament, it becomes a must win.