We have 20+ Q1 / Q2 games. We’ll be fine
I guess it depends on your definition of "fine," but I don't entirely disagree. Personally, I think making it to the Sweet Sixteen this year is essential for the image of this program and Underwood, so anything less than a #5 seed is just setting yourself up to have to beat the odds. To achieve that given we'll take some expected losses in Big Ten play, I do think we need to secure a signature non-conference win out of our three chances of Marquette, FAU and Tennessee. We missed on Marquette, and I do think if go 0-3, it will be an uphill battle to get a top 5 seed unless we catch fire in Big Ten play ... and I don't want to have to count on that.
Also, RE: the Big Ten's current rankings, it is probably deserved and expected. With that said, the conference will have many opportunities to start to improve its image over the next few weeks...
#2 Arizona at #1 Purdue (Indianapolis, IN)
Wisconsin at #2 Arizona
#3 Marquette at Wisconsin
#5 Kansas at Indiana
#9 Baylor at Michigan State (Detroit, MI)
#24 Illinois at #10 Tennessee
#24 Illinois vs. #13 FAU (New York, NY)
#15 Creighton at Nebraska
#22 Mississippi State at Rutgers (Newark, NJ)
#23 Alabama vs. #1 Purdue (Toronto, Canada)
Indiana vs. Auburn (Atlanta, GA)
Iowa at Iowa State
Maryland at UCLA
Nebraska at Kansas State
UCLA vs. Ohio State (Atlanta, GA)
Purdue has already done more than enough to carry the conference (wins over #4 Marquette, #7 Tennessee, #11 Gonzaga and Xavier), but there are some really golden opportunities for the Big Ten coming up. While I know it can be fun to laugh at our rivals, it would be really nice if we could win some of these ranked matchups and get the NET ranking of our conference foes higher once they come out.