I just took a glance at the schedule...the rest of January is brutal for IU. Will have to pick it up asap or they're be lucky to be above .500 on Feb 1.
Here was a post I made on 12/19 (my assumption on minny/nw being bottom 5 may be a little off, but directionally accurate, MSU/IU have toughest conference schedule if you agree with bottom 5 premise). Michigan obviously deserves consideration for winning conference vs my IU comparison at that time
12/19
It seems pretty clear the bottom 5 teams in the conference are (Neb, NW, Minn, Mary, PSU).
The unbalanced schedules in the conference lead to some discrepancies against these "Bottom 5" as well as one-time matchups, on paper seems to benefit certain teams vs. others?
(# of games vs. Bottom 5) and 1-time matchups
Illinois (9): @MSU, Iowa, Mich.
Wisconsin (9): @MSU, IU, @OSU
Michigan (9): Rut, @Ill, Iowa, @OSU, @PU
Purdue (9): Mich, @Iowa, Wisc
Rutgers (8): @Mich, Ill
OSU (7): Mich, Wisc, IU
Iowa (7): @Ill, @Mich, PU
MSU (6): Ill, Wisc
IU (6): @Wisc, @OSU
Illinois/Wisconsin seem to have a clear advantage over MSU/Iowa
Michigan seems to have an advantage over Indiana (in the middle tier)
Rutgers and OSU seem to have favorable home/away for their non-bottom 5 matchups
Since, predictions for conference standings/records will likely be happening over the next few days, thought this would be helpful information (recognizing a few