
B1G West title scenarios: How these 3 teams can win the division
There are 5 teams still alive to win a share of the Big Ten West title heading into the final week of the regular season. But due to tiebreakers, only 3 teams still have a shot at reaching the Big Ten Championship Game: Iowa, Purdue and Illinois.
The winner of the Wisconsin-Minnesota game could potentially land in a 3- or 4-way tie for first. But because of their head-to-head showings against the other teams in the mix, neither the Badgers nor Gophers have a tiebreak advantage and therefore can’t get to Indianapolis.
Here are the division title scenarios for the 3 remaining contenders.
Iowa
- Beat Nebraska, clinch the division title on Friday.
- Lose to Nebraska to finish 5-4. Illinois must lose to Northwestern to finish 4-5. Purdue must lose to Indiana to finish 5-4. Iowa has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Purdue, as well as the Minnesota-Wisconsin winner.
Purdue
- Beat Indiana AND Iowa loses to Nebraska.
Illinois
- Beat Northwestern AND Iowa loses to Nebraska AND Purdue loses to Indiana. Since the Illini have beaten Wisconsin and Minnesota, Illinois would own the 4-team tiebreak thanks to a 2-1 record against the other 3 teams tied for the title. Iowa would also have a 2-1 record against those teams, but a head-to-head loss to Illinois.