The final lineup for the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament this week in Indianapolis went right down to the buzzer, at least in schedule terms — Illinois’ win over Iowa to finish the regular-season slate determined the top five slots, and, on the bottom of the seed list, Northwestern’s win over Minnesota set the bottom four. In the end, the Illini grabbed a share of the regular-season title (their first since 2005), along with Wisconsin, and the No. 1 seed in Indianapolis.
Seeds 6-10, however, locked into place with Michigan State basketball’s 77-67 victory over Maryland in East Lansing. Combined with Michigan basketball’s 75-69 upset of Ohio State a few hours earlier, the two second-round games on Thursday not involving first-round winners are set. At 11:30 a.m., the No. 8-seeded Wolverines will face No. 9-seed Indiana, with the winner advancing to face No. 1 seed Illinois sat 11:30 a.m. Friday. The Wolverines beat the Hoosiers, 80-62, on Jan. 23 in Bloomington, Indiana. Hunter Dickinson was dominant for Michigan, with 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting, including three 3-pointers in four tries, and nine rebounds; freshman Caleb Houstan chipped in 19 points and six rebounds.
WOLVERINES:DeVante’ Jones guides Michigan to upset of Ohio State, 75-69, without Hunter Dickinson
SPARTANS:Michigan State gives seniors a fitting sendoff with 77-67 win over Maryland
Michigan State is the No. 7 seed; their reward is a rematch against the same Terrapins, as a 10-seed, they beat on Sunday afternoon. It was the second win for MSU over Maryland this season; the Spartans also eked out a 65-63 win on Feb. 1 in College Park behind 16 points from Malik Hall off the bench and 10 points apiece from Joey Hauser and Marcus Bingham Jr. The game was decided on a layup by Hall with just four seconds left, in a finish much tighter than Sunday’s affair, which saw MSU jump out to a 14-0 lead. The winner of Round 3 between the Spartans and Terrapins faces No. 2-seed Wisconsin at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Both Michigan and Michigan State are long shots to take the tournament title; MSU last won it all in 2019, while U-M last triumphed in 2018. Illinois took the tournament crown last season, beating Ohio State in overtime. Wisconsin, this year’s No. 1 seed, last won the conference tournament in 2015; the Badgers then went all the way to the Final Four and the national championship game.
Here’s how the conference tournament schedule breaks down:
Big Ten men’s basketball tournament schedule
All games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis.
Wednesday: First round
Game 1: No. 12 seed Northwestern (14-15, 7-13 Big Ten) vs. No. 13 Nebraska (10-21, 4-16), 6 p.m., BTN.
Game 2: No. 11 Penn State (12-16m 7-13) vs. No. 14 Minnesota (13-16, 4-16), approximately 8:30 p.m., BTN.
Thursday: Second round
Game 3: No. 8 Michigan (17-13, 11-9) vs. No. 9 Indiana (18-12, 9-11), 11:30 a.m., BTN.
Game 4: No. 5 Iowa (22-9, 12-8 vs. Game 1 winner, approximately 2 p.m., BTN.
Game 5: No. 7 Michigan State (20-11, 11-9) vs. No. 10 Maryland (15-16, 7-13), 6:30 p.m., BTN.
Game 6: No. 6 Ohio State (19-10, 12-8) vs. Game 2 winner, approximately 9 p.m., BTN.
Friday: Quarterfinals
Game 7: No. 1 Illinois (22-8, 15-5)vs. Game 3 winner, 11:30 a.m., BTN.
Game 8: No. 4 Rutgers (18-12, 12-8)vs. Game 4 winner, approximately 2 p.m., BTN
Game 9: No. 2 Wisconsin (24-6, 15-5)vs. Game 5 winner, 6:30 p.m., BTN.
Game 10: No. 3 Purdue (25-6, 14-6)vs. Game 6 winner, approximately 9 p.m., BTN.
Saturday: Semifinals
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 1 p.m., CBS.
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, approximately 3:30 p.m., CBS.
Friday: Final
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 3:30 p.m., CBS.
Contact Ryan Ford at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @theford.
