Could the road to a National Championship be easier than winning the Big Ten Tournament?

Today we will look at the question, Could the road to a National Championship be easier than a Big Ten Tournament Championship?

For this example the current BIG 10 standings will be used. Indiana ranks as the Number 1 seed because of a tie break win over Michigain State. MSU, Wisconsin, and Michigain round out the first round byes respectively. Therefore a pre-season National Championship contender, Ohio State, would not receive a first round bye in their conference tournament.

The first round matchups would be as follows (higher ranked team first)
Ohio State vs. Penn State
Minnesota vs. Nebraska
Illinois vs. Northwestern
Purdue vs. Iowa

With the unpredictability of this year's College Basketball of course any team could go down at any moment. But for example's sake let's assume the top teams take care of business in the first round.

Last years NCAA tournament was crazy with two #2 seeds falling in the opening room but the chances that one falls again this season are extremely slim. Looking past those upsets the top 4 seeds could potentially receive Number 1 or 2 seeds equaling a first round bye.

The Quarterfinal matchups in the BIG 10 tourney would then be:
Indiana vs. Purdue
Michigain State vs. Illinois
Wisconsin vs. Minnesota
Michigain vs. Ohio State

The quarters are where things would get interesting. The Kentucky Wildcats were National Champions last season and I would argue that UK's second round matchup, Iowa State, is somewhat of an equal to the Boilermaker squad. Obviously, the other matchups would be a College Basketball fan's dream with games like upset ready Illinois vs a well coached Sparty squad. An underrated Badger team against Minnesota who is prone to heat up. And of course another matchup between the Buckeyes and Wolverines.

Again assuming the top seeds advance the semi-final matchups would be:
Indiana vs. Michigan
Michigain State vs. Wisconsin

Those matchups rights there could potentially be the National Semi-Final yet they could be in the Semis of a Conference. Kentucky faced a worse Indiana squad, Baylor, and Louisville on their championship run. All 4 teams remaining in the BIG 10 tournament would be better than that Baylor team and the Louisville team. To think Indiana would have to face a National Championship contender in a game not named the Championship would be unforeseeable in a conference tournament. And we aren't done.

The BIG 10 title game would be a hot Michigan State squad against projected National Champion, Indiana. I think it's a valid argument to say that Michigan State could rank amongst Duke and Miami the other top teams in the nation. As a cause of this, I definitely believe that it is a fair question to ask which title run will be tougher. While I've stated exactly all the reasons why a BIG 10 title would be harder, I'm going to stick with the Big Dance and say this. When it comes to March, you don't want to play the team that is hot. For example, Uconn 2 years ago. In addition, you are playing an extra game. And finally, the tournament is where upsets happen. The NCAA tournament is such a great event because you never know what is going to happen. So my closing decision would be the BIG 10 title run is almost equal to a National Championship run.

Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan Wolverines

Final Score: Michigan-38 Northwestern-31

This will definitely be the most thrilling game of the day unless Alabama comes back from their 20-0 deficit against Texas A&M on a Hail Mary pass. If you didn't watch the game or haven't seen the replay, I highly suggest you take a look. 

Recap:

With 3 minutes remaining in the game the score was 31-28 Northwestern. They had the ball at the Michigan 41 on a 4th down and 1. Michigan had zero timeouts remaining and Northwestern was trying to put a nail in the coffin. A Colter, QB, run appeared short but after the chain measurement, Northwestern had gotten a first down by one half of an inch. Unable to stop the clock this game appeared over. 

After 3 running plays, Northwestern had to put with 25 seconds remaining. A poor punt was returned by Jeremy Gallon to the Michigan 37 still with only 18 seconds left. On first down replacement QB, Devin Gardner, could not find an open receiver so he looked to utilize his legs. After noticing the QB spy, Gardner back tracked and flung the ball 55 yards down the field. There he found Roy Roundtree who made a spectacular catch after the ball had been tipped up by the Northwestern defender. The clock stopped because of the first down and Michigan clocked the ball with 7 seconds remaining. Brady Hoke elected to kick the game tying 25 yard field goal and was correct. This sent the game to overtime. In overtime, Gardner had a 1 yard run counting as his 4th total TD of the game. On the ensuing possession, Michigan made an excellent play on 4th and 2 to seal the game. 

Implications:

Northwestern and Michigan both are now sitting at 7-3. The major difference though is that the Wolverines are 5-1 in the Big 10 while the Cats are only 3-3. This game kept alive Michigan's Rose Bowl hopes. Now up on Nebraska by half a game, a Cornhusker loss would push Michigan to the top of their division. Penn State and Nebraska are currently tied at 20 apiece. Northwestern is bowl eligible and should be in a pretty solid bowl. These last few games should be interesting. I think that Nebraska will lose a game but the game at the Horseshoe will be the deciding factor whether Michigan or Nebraska plays Wisconsin in the Big 10 championship.