Late Friday night, it was announced that No. 4 Ohio State vs Illinois would be canceled. This came just hours after OSU head coach Ryan Day announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19, and would not be making the trip.
Ohio State is the lone unbeaten team in the Big Ten East division. Why does this matter for Indiana?
The Hoosiers, sitting at No. 12 in the country and 4-1 in the Big Ten, have just received a bit of help in potentially making a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship later this year.
The Big Ten's rules state that for a team to be eligible for the Big Ten Championship game, it must play at least six games. Ohio State (4-0) has now had two games canceled, with just two weeks left.
The Buckeyes will play at Michigan State next week and then at home against Michigan in the final week.
Indiana is second in the Big Ten East with three weeks left against Maryland, at No 18 Wisconsin and home against Purdue. Obviously, Indiana does have its sights set on playing in the Championship game, but it is just focusing on winning out, ending the year with just one loss.
For the Big Ten, division winners are determined by the team's winning percentage, unless there is an difference in schedule due to canceled games.
Indiana has yet to reach a Big Ten Championship game since the conference's inaugural title game in 2011. The Hoosiers are coming off of a 42-35 loss to Ohio State last week.
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