Big Ten women's basketball bubble watch

The Big Ten has been unpredictable this season, with several teams failing to meet preseason expectations and a few dark horses earning a top-25 ranking. On3 takes a look at the conference’s tournament outlook, including four teams that remain on the bubble.

Locks: UCLA, USC, Maryland, Ohio State, Nebraska

UCLA and USC are among the best teams in the country. Maryland is, too, albeit the Terps have faced some injury trouble lately. Ohio State’s upset loss to Penn State shouldn’t do too much damage to its otherwise unblemished record, and Nebraska has built a solid resume for itself. These five teams are near-locks for the NCAA Tournament – although the order for seeding is still wide open. 

Should be in: Michigan, Illinois, Oregon, Michigan State

Michigan, Illinois, Oregon and Michigan State have been in and out of the top 25 as the season has progressed. While none have stood out as dominant competition, they’ve each made their case to be among those in tournament play. I think they’ll each continue to slide in and out of contention, but ultimately deserve a spot in the postseason.  

Work to do: Minnesota, Washington, Indiana, Iowa

Minnesota has accumulated an impressive 17-3 record but doesn’t have a large resume to show for it. With the Gophers’ best win coming against another bubble team in Illinois, they’ll have to earn a couple of signature wins in their upcoming stretch. Key games remaining for the Gophers include Iowa, Indiana, Oregon and Washington. 

Washington doesn’t have the flashiest wins either, but what the Huskies do have is a handful of close results against tournament locks. They suffered a one-point loss to LSU on a neutral court, a 10-point loss to Utah and an 11-point falter against UCLA. They took down Illinois on the road, but they still have some work to do. They’ve fallen to Michigan State, Michigan and Iowa, which certainly hurt their outlook. Key games remaining for the Huskies include Indiana, Oregon, Minnesota and Nebraska. 

Indiana has shown flashes of tournament potential but suffers from a lot of inconsistency. The Hoosiers’ neutral site win over Baylor is beginning to gain traction, but otherwise, their best victory is over fellow bubble team, Iowa. There are plenty of opportunities for the Hoosiers to up their resume, though, with key games against Oregon, Washington, Nebraska, Minnesota, Michigan and Michigan State all on the schedule.

Iowa suffered five consecutive losses after a strong start to its season but bounced back with a dominant win over Washington. The Hawkeyes’ postseason outlook plummeted over that losing stretch, but there’s still time. They’ll have key opportunities against Minnesota, Nebraska and Michigan to help build their stock back up.