Big Ten tournament bracket, scores, schedule update, semifinal matchups

We’re onto the semifinals of this year’s Big Ten tournament.

And Friday’s nightcap gave us the first real big surprise of this year’s event as UCLA knocked off Michigan State, 88-84. The Bruins get Purdue next.

Purdue may be the No. 7 seed, but the Boilers were ranked preseason No. 1 and seem to have found something in the Big Ten tournament with back-to-back impressive performances against Northwestern and Nebraska.

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No. 1 Michigan gets No. 5 seed Wisconsin in the other semifinal. The Wolverines have all but locked up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

There’s no doubting the Big Ten’s depth of possible tournament teams. But we’ll see this helps snap the league’s long run without a national title. The last Big Ten team to win it all was Michigan State in 2000.

Big Ten tournament schedule, bracket, scores

All times Eastern

Play-in round

Tuesday, March 10

Game 1: No. 17 Maryland 70, No. 16 Oregon 60
Game 2: No. 15 Northwestern 76, No. 18 Penn State 66

First round

Wednesday, March 11

Game 3: No. 9 Iowa 75, No. 17 Maryland 64
Game 4: No. 12 Washington 83, No. 13 USC 79
Game 5: No. 15 Northwestern 74, No. 10 Indiana 61
Game 6: No. 14 Rutgers 72, No. 11 Minnesota 67

Second round

Thursday, March 12

Game 7: No. 8 Ohio State 72, No. 9 Iowa 69
Game 8: No. 5 Wisconsin 85, No. 12 Washington 82
Game 9: No. 7 Purdue 81, No. 15 Northwestern 68
Game 10: No. 6 UCLA 72, No. 14 Rutgers 59

Quarterfinals

Friday, March 13

Game 11: No. 1 Michigan 71, No. 8 Ohio State 67
Game 12: No. 5 Wisconsin 91, No. 4 Illinois 88, OT
Game 13: No. 7 Purdue 74, No. 2 Nebraska 58
Game 14: No. 6 UCLA 88, No. 3 Michigan State 84

Semifinals

Saturday, March 14

Game 15: No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 5 Wisconsin, 1 p.m., CBS
Game 16: No. 7 Purdue vs. No. 6 UCLA, 3:30 p.m., CBS

Championship game

Sunday, March 15

Game 17: Semifinal winners, 3:30 p.m., CBS

March Madness bracketology: NCAA tournament bubble picture gets shakeup

How to watch Big Ten tournament

The first round and the first two games of the second round will be streaming on Peacock.

The second half of the second round, the third round and the quarterfinals will air on the Big Ten Network. CBS will carry the two semifinals and Sunday’s championship game.

Big Ten basketball tournament favorite

Michigan is the favorite after dropping just one Big Ten game and winning the regular-season title by four games over Nebraska, Michigan State and Illinois.

The Wolverines head into the quarterfinals having taken 14 of their past 15 games, with the loss coming in non-conference play against Duke on Feb. 21.

UM also went 4-0 against the Cornhuskers, Spartans and Illini, winning all but one matchup by a double-digit margin. It leads the Big Ten in scoring (88.4 ppg), field-goal percentage (51%) and field-goal defense (38%), ranking second nationally in the final category.

Big Ten basketball tournament top players

Lamar Wilkerson, G, Indiana — IU will need Wilkerson to get hot to make a run in Chicago. He’s topped 20 points 16 times, 12 times in Big Ten play.

Jaxon Kohler, F, Michigan State — The second-year starter has evolved into a 3-point threat (39.5% from deep) and become a more capable scorer (12.8 points per game). Kohler posted 12 double-doubles during the regular season.

Braden Smith, G, Purdue — One of this week’s subplots involves Smith’s push to set the NCAA career assist record. He’s currently averaging 8.7 per game, tying his career high, and is 48 away from breaking former Duke guard Bobby Hurley’s record.

Sam Hoiberg, G, Nebraska — Hoiberg is the glue behind the Cornhuskers’ record-setting regular season after setting new career bests in scoring (9.4 points per game), rebounding (5.2), assists (4.4) and steals (2.1).

Yaxel Lendenborg, F, Michigan — The Alabama-Birmingham transfer has met lofty expectations by stuffing the box score: Lendenborg leads Michigan in scoring (14.7 points) while adding 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game.

March Madness bubble storylines for Big Ten

The Big Ten has six locked-in tournament teams in Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan State, Illinois, Wisconsin and Purdue. Another three teams are in very good shape in UCLA, Iowa and Ohio State, though the Buckeyes could stand to add a win against the Hawkeyes in the second round to officially secure their place in the field.

For nearly every team outside the top nine of the standings, the only possible ticket to March Madness will come via a conference title. The one exception is Indiana, which has spent most of the season on the tournament bubble.

What’s holding the Hoosiers back is a 3-11 mark in Quad 1 games. They’ll have chances to improve that record by advancing to the third round to face UCLA. With a win there, the Hoosiers will take on Michigan State in the quarterfinals. IU needs at least three wins this week to get back into at-large consideration.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Big 10 basketball tournament bracket, semifinals, scores, schedule update

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