College hoops: Big Ten shut out so far in NCAA top 16 seeds

The first preliminary bracket reveal of the top 16 teams for the NCAA tournament was quite, uh, revealing. The power conferences were well represented - the ACC with five teams, the Big 12 with three, the Pac-12 with three.

And the Big Ten had, well, no one. The committee determined that the conference with Wisconsin and Purdue ranked in the top 16 of last week's Associated Press poll was not worthy of a top-four seed in any region.

One figured the Badgers, the highest ranked Big Ten team for much of the season, could at least grab a No. 4 seed. But their only wins over Top 50 RPI opponents have come against Minnesota and Tennessee, and they've posted five wins over teams ranked from 272 (Central Arkansas) to 348 (Florida A&M).

Purdue, a 4 seed in the latest bracket projections of CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm, has played a stronger schedule, having played eight Top 50 teams thus far (5-3), with wins over Wisconsin, Maryland and Notre Dame. The Terps are 17th, the highest RPI of any Big Ten team, and are 3-1 against Top 50 opponents.

The Big Ten is a conference that's lacking depth this season, with perennial contenders Michigan State, Indiana and Ohio State struggling. The Hoosiers are particularly puzzling after being ranked 11th in the preseason and rising to No. 3 early. They currently are 15-12 overall and 5-9 in the Big Ten with a four-game losing streak.

"We don't play both ends of the floor with the same purpose that we have to play when our shots aren't going," Indiana coach Tom Crean said. "And we've had injuries. But that's got to change."

Villanova will play Saturday in front of the largest crowd to see a Seton Hall basketball game at the Prudential Center. University officials decided to open up the arena's upper deck for only the second time ever in the Pirates' 10th season in downtown Newark.

There was talk the upper level would be opened last year, but the idea was scratched, reportedly over concern that Villanova supporters would buy up the extra tickets. Wildcats fans who came out in droves for Villanova's game there in December against Notre Dame certainly will have more than adequate representation Saturday.

Seton Hall athletic director Pat Lyons acknowledged the concern.

"We certainly did not do this with the intention of ruining our homecourt advantage," Lyons told the Asbury Park Press. "We knew demand would be high, and the place would be rocking. This is going to be on [the Fox Network]. Why wouldn't you want to showcase 16,000 people in your building?"

The only other time Seton Hall opened the upper level, a crowd of 13,569 turned out for a 2012 game against Syracuse.

"Not looking good."

Wright said junior guard Phil Booth, who has not played since the third game of the season in November because of pain and inflammation in his surgically repaired left knee, still hasn't practiced and the possibility of his return is "not looking good at all."

"He's working out individually but he has not practiced," Wright said. "If he said to me, 'I want to play,' then I'd have to make a decision. But we're not even close. It's not looking good at all.

"I'm disappointed for him. I feel bad for him, but it's just one of those things. I'm not going to deal with it unless I have to, and I probably won't have to."

Starting with its game at the Wells Fargo Center where Villanova won on a tip-in at the buzzer, Virginia has found itself struggling to get a win. The Cavaliers lost at Syracuse by four and at Virginia Tech by two in double overtime after squandering a 14-point lead. Virginia also blew leads of 13 points to Villanova and 12 points to Syracuse.

"You really want to win, but it's a fine line, and we are in so many close games," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said after his team dropped a 65-55 decision at home to Duke to drop to 8-5 and two games out of the ACC race.

"This ball club has some limitations in certain areas, and we are fighting like crazy."

The Big 12 has a lot of strength at the top with Kansas, Baylor and West Virginia, but the conference could get five and as many as seven teams in the NCAA tournament.

Iowa State's best win of the season came at Kansas, so the Cyclones have a terrific chip in their favor. Oklahoma State has won seven of eight and own a road win at West Virginia. Then there are two more worthy teams - Texas Christian and Kansas State - that normally would be looking good if not for the fact that they are unable to put any winning streaks together. But strong finishes will help them both.

John Davis, a former Neumann-Goretti High star who was shot in the leg last weekend after playing for Towson against Drexel, ends his collegiate career as one of six players in school history to finish with at least 1,000 points and 700 rebounds. Davis scored 1,114 points and pulled down 713 rebounds in his career and finished with 23 double-doubles, including a 14-point, 10-rebound performance against Drexel. This season, the 6-foot-5 senior forward averaged 11.8 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds.

jjuliano@phillynews.com

@joejulesinq