I think Purdue is the best team in the Big - that's undisputable. I don't think any other teams have differentiated themselves enough in the national picture. The Big will not be seeded well. But it will be underestimated. What the national press refuses to learn year after year is that this conference beats up so much on each other that individual teams' potential is disguised by their record. It's not that we don't have a couple standout teams, it's that there are a lot of very good teams. It's probably less true that Wisconsin, MSU, and Maryland are playing down to the Minnesota/Michigan/Iowa/Northwestern level, than that those latter teams overperformed more than normal. All one has to do is look at conference RPI to see that we're only a fraction of a point below the three conferences above us, after having a bad November. And that consistently high level of competition prepares these teams like no top-heavy conference ever could.
Look at the team ranked one higher than Purdue - SMU. Only four losses this year. Impressive, right? But then look at their schedule. I bet they would have 8 or 9 losses and be unranked if they played in the Big. Games against Iowa or IU would be a toss up, and they'd lose their share while also dropping one or two to a bottom of the conference foe that they underestimate, just as nearly every good team with a Big schedule does.
Nobody can say which Big teams will make it to the 16, but history shows there will be multiple - and in the sweet sixteen it's likely that a couple or three will advance, with a very good chance one will make the final four. From there, it's a battle of matchups, X's and O's, and determination. I don't know how this conference will do, but I would bet a thousand dollars they significantly outplay their seeding and shock everyone with a couple big upsets - everyone that is, except for anyone who has payed attention to how the conference does year after year in the tourney.
