Iowa men’s basketball team will participate in the Big Ten Tournament regardless of how it finishes the rest of this season. The Hawkeyes have three games left, including two at road albatrosses Illinois and Michigan State. The regular-season finale is at home against likely league runner-up Purdue.

Even if Iowa loses its final three games, the Hawkeyes are destined for the Big Ten Tournament’s No. 10 seed unless Indiana wins another game. The Hoosiers have a difficult stretch — vs. Purdue, at Ohio State, vs. Wisconsin, at Illinois — so four straight losses aren’t difficult to imagine.

Here’s the league’s current standings:

1. Ohio State 12-2 25-2
2. Purdue 11-3 22-5
3. Wisconsin 10-4 20-6
4. Illinois 7-7 17-10
5. Michigan State 7-7 15-11
6. Michigan 7-8 17-11
7. Penn State 7-8 14-12
8. Minnesota 6-8 17-9
9. Northwestern 6-9 16-10
10. Indiana 3-11 12-15
11. Iowa 3-12 10-17

And here’s how I see the Big Ten ending up …

1. Ohio State 16-2 29-2
2. Purdue 14-4 25-6
3. Wisconsin 12-6 22-8
4. Michigan State 10-8 18-12
5. Illinois 9-9 19-12
6. Minnesota 9-9 20-10
7. Michigan 8-10 18-13
8. Northwestern 8-10 18-11
9. Penn State 7-11 14-15
10. Iowa 3-15 10-20
11. Indiana 3-15 12-18

If those projections become reality, 10th-seeded Iowa will play seventh-seeded Michigan for the fourth straight season to open the Big Ten Tournament. That game is slated for about 4 p.m. March 10 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (ESPN2).

Iowa has played Michigan five times in the Big Ten Tournament and lost them all. I will talk about Big Ten Tournament seeding on today’s version of “The Sports Desk.” Vote below on who you think Iowa will play in the Big Ten Tournament first round.