The Big Ten is certainly an improved conference from where it was a year ago, when it only sent four teams to the NCAA tournament. But it appears the lofty projections set earlier in the season may have been a reach. While the Big Ten still contains several of the top teams in the country, it seems unlikely that 9-10 teams will go to the Big Dance.
Still, there’s a reasonable case that the Big Ten is the strongest conference in college basketball. Here’s how it stacks up right now:
14. Penn State (1-11, .945 PPP, 1.