Moving this to the bracketology thread.
There have obviously been a few total flops (lookin' at you, Iowa, losing to Eastern Illinois!), but the other non-conference results (Illinois over UCLA/Texas, Purdue over Gonzaga/Duke/Marquette, Indiana over Xavier, etc.) point to the Big Ten cannibalizing itself at least as much as it being "overrated," IMO.
Once conferences hit league play, they are pretty much just moving around rating points. No one is going to move much if they all play near .500, or even 12-8 w/narrow wins and losses. Any losses to MN will really hurt the league. Losing to NB is only slightly better. Either effectively throwing rating points out of the pool.
Predictions - time to get flamed:
6 Big10 teams are seeded 6-11 this year.
If IL loses today, they get a 10-11 seed (10-10 in conference), and have a non-trivial chance of missing the tourney at 9-11.
If IL wins today, they get a 7-10 seed. (12-8 to 10-10 in conference, my bet is on 11-9 and a 8-9 seed.)
I was expecting better until I took off my glasses and looked at the remaining schedule. I don't see this changing unless there is a major improvement in the offensive schemes and execution. The ball needs to bounce less, and pass at a higher velocity. The few possessions where they passed, and put some snap in it resulted in good looks. Other things that would help are becoming elite at hitting our MF free throws and layups, and taking the open 3 pt looks. Pardon the coach speak.