March is upon us, and with it comes the NCAA Tournament. The Big Ten only sent eight teams to the Big Dance in 2025. Thus far in the bracket projections, some have had the possibility of ten or eleven teams. With only a handful of regular-season games left, the teams in the Big Ten currently on the bubble for March Madness are running out of chances. Especially with how tough every Big Ten game can be.
Upsets can happen on any given night, and if some of the teams flirting with the bubble aren’t careful, they could find themselves very upset on Selection Sunday.
Big Ten Bubble Teams Running Out of Chances
There are at least five teams that have put themselves in the bubble conversation. Two have records that put them in a good place, while there are three teams that need to find a significant win, and fast. That is the scary thing in the Big Ten, you never know which team could sneak up and beat someone else.
Hoosiers and Bruins Need to Tread Carefully
The Indiana Hoosiers have built up a nice resume this season, especially with a home win against No. 8 Purdue.
However, some of their losses are starting to make things a little shaky. Another high-level scoring performance from Lamar Wilkerson, his ninth-straight game with 18 or more points, was enough, as the Hoosiers coughed up an ugly home loss against Northwestern, which is fighting to avoid the bottom four of the conference. That loss marked Indiana’s 11th of the season. They have three regular-season games left, with the biggest being a home game against No. 13 Michigan State this Sunday. They can’t slip up, especially with their season finale against an Ohio State, desperate for a resume win.
Like Indiana, UCLA has also had some costly efforts. After losing both games in the state of Michigan by over 25 points apiece and a messy night from head coach Mick Cronin, the Bruins returned home to Los Angeles. They were rewarded with a massive overtime upset of No. 10 Illinois, as Donovan Dent made an incredible layup in the final seconds to secure their tenth conference win of the season. They have to rival USC twice, along with a ranked Nebraska team, over the next week and a half.
The Window is Closing for the Buckeyes
Ohio State thought it had its resume win when it knocked off a then 24th-ranked Wisconsin team on February 17th. However, despite it being a ranked victory, the Badgers fell in Quad 2 of the NET Rankings, which only adds to the misery the Buckeyes might be feeling. Thus why they played their guts out on Sunday at Michigan State.
Despite a 32-point game from Bruce Thornton, the Buckeyes’ lack of depth on Sunday doomed them in a 66-60 loss. It further took away a chance for Ohio State to finally secure its first Quad 1 win of the season. They have a couple more prove-it games left, with Iowa and Purdue both on their way to the NCAA Tournament, but the window for Ohio State, which is clearly on the wrong side of the Bubble, with four games left in the regular season, is closing fast.
Thornton is a phenomenal player and will likely leave as the all-time leader in scoring at Ohio State by the end of the season. However, there is a chance he never plays in the Big Dance, as the Buckeyes haven’t made the NCAA tournament in over four years.
Rivals Could Doom Tourney Hopes
There is nothing worse than a rival having the chance to barry a team’s hope at the postseason. USC faces a dilemma. The Trojans have two games against UCLA over the next four games. Not to mention the Trojans also play Washington. All these teams have to face off, and have the potential to end each other’s NCAA chances.
USC is coming off a debilitating one-point loss against the 10-17 Oregon Ducks, who are 17th out of 18 teams in the Big Ten. That loss is not doing the Trojans any favors, as they slip closer and closer to the bubble. They certainly seemed to have a better shot than Washington, which is 14-14 on the season after a 1-1 East Coast trip. The Huskies have had plenty of exciting players, including a potential lottery pick in Hannes Steinbach, but that isn’t getting them into March Madness.
The Big Ten might only send nine teams if the league does what it has been known to do, and eat itself alive at the end.
Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
