This is an exciting session. The Nos. 2, 3 and 4 teams in the conference are all in this session, which is one of the entertaining quirks of the fact that these sessions are set almost ten months in advance. All three of these teams are more than capable of winning today. Note that while Minnesota has the lowest peak score, it does have the highest road score of this group. Also keep in mind that Michigan State is coming off an unexpected bye week after gun violence rocked East Lansing last week. No one would begrudge the Spartans a little shakiness this week, but it would be a mistake to underestimate them.
Meanwhile, home team Nebraska was only selected as the host a few weeks ago, so this is an unexpected delight for the Huskers and local fans. Some teams might be bummed to lose an opportunity for a NQS road score, but Nebraska has actually been better on the road this year, so a great score today will allow the Huskers to drop their outright low score. Rutgers has one low score sitting on its NQS and can rocket up into the regionals ranks today if all goes well.
Don’t forget that seeding—and session assignment—at the Big Ten Championships is determined by head to head within the conference, not by NQS. Figuring that out is way above my pay grade,…
