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Tate | Illini project for mid-tier Big Ten, but could reach NCAA level

A season of the bubble is the projection for the 2019-20 Big Ten basketball campaign.

The conference won't slip to the level of 2014, when only four quintets enjoyed the season-ending shootout, but it won't be as uplifting as last March when eight league members made the 68-team NCAA tournament field.

This has been an offseason of extreme instability, and overall slippage.

Take Nebraska as an example. The Cornhuskers ousted their head coach (Tim Miles), graduated their top three scorers, saw Isaiah Roby turn pro, had five subs transfer out before new coach Fred Hoiberg settled in, landed Delano Banton from Western Kentucky, added two graduate transfers and junior pickup Cam Mack and retained two of three recruits who had committed to Miles.