It's about that time of year to look at the playoff picture. The Pairwise ranking is the only thing that matters, as it directly mimics the quantitative formula used by the NCAA. At this point the B1G sits in these spots:
#2 Notre Dame - Safely in as a 1 or 2 seed
#6 Ohio State - Safely in. Could land anywhere from a 1 to a 3 seed
#8 Minnesota - Would require a total meltdown to fallout. Im too lazy to do the Pairwise predictor, but I would assume any win or tie in the Penn State series or B1G tourney should lock them in. Probably will land on the 2 or 3 line.
#11 Michigan - Huge sweep against Notre Dame. Safely in at this point. Any hiccups against lowly Arizona State could really drop them though, given how low they sit in the Pairwise. A sweep against ASU is a likely clincher.
#17 Penn State - out right now. Has significant work to do. Needs a weekend sweep against MN at home, and a deep run in the B1G tourney. The need to move up 3 to 4 spots to get above the line, and account for auto bids.
There are some big names on the outside looking in right now. BC, BU, Miami, and Colorado College. North Dakota and Western are also on the cusp. Should be an interesting 2-3 weeks.
