Big Ten gets little love on Selection Sunday

Outside of the committee's decision to include Michigan in the First Four, the Big Ten didn't get a ton of respect on Selection Sunday, and the Spartans dropping to a No. 2 seed was the biggest doozy. The good news for Tom Izzo and Big Green? The Midwest appears to be MSU's for the taking. Don't be surprised if Big Ten player of the year Denzel Valentine and Sparty trot right back to the Final Four — if not beyond.

The Hoosiers' upset loss to Michigan in the conference tourney helped knock them down to a No. 5 seed, but there's still plenty to like about the Big Ten regular-season champs. If its shots are falling — and often they are — IU can zip past anyone, and Tom Crean's bunch no longer is handicapped defensively. Chattanooga, the No. 12 seed, comes first, but all anyone can think about is a potential matchup with No. 4 seed Kentucky in the round of 32.

The Boilermakers have not been great away from home, but they're probably playing their best ball at the moment. That surge earned them a No. 5 seed and a date against Arkansas-Little Rock, the regional's resident Cinderella, which likely won't be able to handle the Boilermakers' towering frontcourt of A.J. Hammons, Isaac Haas and Caleb Swanigan. If Iowa State advances, though, Georges Niang might have something to say about it in the second round.

With five NBA prospects in the starting lineup, the Terrapins have as much talent as any team in the tournament. But so far, lofty expectations haven't panned out for the South's No. 5 seed, a squad that was dubbed a national title contender in October. Melo Trimble will have to emerge from his shooting slump and Maryland will have to be more consistent if it wants to escape two strong matchups (first South Dakota State, then Cal or Hawaii) in Spokane.

Tenth-seeded Temple isn't exactly the scariest first-round matchup, but Iowa is so out of sorts that an upset seems possible — likely even. The Hawkeyes, after dropping five of their past six and bowing out of the league tournament in their first game for the third straight year, are just trying to avoid another epic collapse as the No. 7 seed in the South. But first things first: Iowa has to fix its turnover problem to defeat Temple.

The No. 7-seeded Badgers already have completed one major turnaround this year, and now they'll have to repeat that in mini-form after ending the season with a pair of defeats, including an upset by Nebraska in the league tournament. Will facing an uninspiring offensive and defensive-minded opponent like No. 10 seed Pittsburgh in the East be a boon for Wisconsin or invoke another sleepwalking performance?

If not for the leaked bracket that ruined the second half of the selection show (some might argue it already had ruined itself), there might have been more than a little shock about the Wolverines' bid when it was announced. But after seizing two buzzer-beating wins in the league tournament, Michigan will battle with Tulsa — an even bigger surprise, here — in a First Four matchup for the right to the East's No. 11 seed.