After this weekend’s Big Ten matches, five of the seven teams have finished their Big Ten regular seasons. The one remaining game is a match-up between the two last-placed teams, Ohio State and Northwestern.
The Buckeyes are currently at 2-3-0, and the Wildcats are at 0-5-0. Although the matchup has no significance for the Wildcats regarding their Big Ten standing, the game holds a great deal of importance for the Buckeyes.
Behind runaway Big Ten champion Indiana, there is a four-team tie for second place; all teams have records of 3-3-0. Ohio State would have the second best overall in the conference if it were to win against Northwestern.
With five teams tied, the computers would have to separate all the teams, but seeds won’t mean much as the second-placed teams will have to face each other in the first round. For the Buckeyes, if they were to lose, then they would have to face Northwestern again in what would become a qualifier for the first round. That first-round game, of course, would be against the number-one seed, Big Ten and national power Indiana.
A win against Northwestern and the path for a deep tournament run becomes easier by way of avoiding Indiana. Getting a few wins in the tournament for the Buckeyes is exactly what they need to get attention to receive an at-large NCAA tournament bid.
Intrastate rivals
UW wraps up its regular season Saturday against intrastate rival Marquette University in an away game at Marquette.
This match marks the third and final game of the season for the UW team against other Wisconsin universities.
Its first match, against UW-Green Bay early in the season, ended with a 1-0 overtime loss. Its second match, against UW-Milwaukee, a top-10, nationally ranked opponent, also ended in a disappointing 1-0 overtime loss.
Marquette currently holds an 8-7-1 record thus far this season, and although its record is not too impressive it has managed to beat some extremely good opponents, including national-title contender St. Louis.
A win for UW would not only keep it from going winless against other Wisconsin opponents, but the game is the last warm up the team will have before traveling to Penn State for the Big Ten tournament. In addition to being a good warm up, a win would be important for the Badgers who, after losing four straight games in mid-October, have rebounded to post two consecutive wins against Big Ten opponents.
A team of Marquette’s caliber such as Michigan State or Penn State will most likely be the Badgers first-round opponent in the tournament.
With all of the team’s Big Ten responsibilities taken care of, the only remaining obstacle in its regular-season play is to get a win against a Wisconsin team and not be left as the only Division I Wisconsin team to go winless in intrastate games.
