2022 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament Preview
March has returned and Championship Week is upon us. The Big Ten Tournament is set after a wild weekend of basketball. All 14 teams have wrapped up their respective seasons and are looking to make their mark in this year’s Big Ten Tournament as well as the NCAA Tournament.
After a chaotic final day of regular season basketball, the Big Ten standings were shaken up and set the tone for a hectic conference championship.
Purdue is looking to do some damage in this year’s conference tournament after being ranked in the top 25 for the whole season.
The Michigan Wolverines may need to secure a win or two this week to earn their right to an NCAA Tournament bid. The Wolverines had a solid performance against Ohio State on Sunday evening, downing the Buckeyes in Columbus, 75-69.
Michigan State’s resumé is equally impressive. The Spartans prove to be in a great position for an NCAA Tournament appearance, as they took down Maryland at home on Sunday, 77-67.
Illinois secured the No. 1 seed after a thrilling 74-72 victory over Iowa on Sunday night, ultimately giving the Illini a share of the championship and the top overall seed in the conference tournament.
The Big Ten’s bottom four teams will kick things off on Wednesday, with No. 12 Northwestern matching up against No. 13 Nebraska. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Nebraska is looking to play spoiler this year, as they secured wins over Penn State and No. 23 Ohio State late in the season.
Shortly after the Northwestern and Nebraska match concludes, No. 11 Penn State will face No. 14 Minnesota.
Both of these teams had inconsistent seasons, with the Nittany Lions splitting the season series with the Golden Gophers. Penn State finished 12-16 this season but has earned wins over Indiana, Michigan State, and Iowa. The Nittany Lions are looking to shake things up and possibly receive a berth to the NIT Tournament.
The second round begins Thursday morning, with No. 8 Michigan battling No. 9 Indiana. Shortly after, No. 5 Iowa faces the winner of the first-round game between Northwestern and Nebraska.
No. 7 Michigan State will play No. 10 Maryland for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off while No. 6 Ohio State looks to take on the winner of Penn State-Minnesota once Michigan State-Maryland concludes.
The Quarterfinals will take place on Friday, with No.1 seed Illinois battling the winner of Michigan-Indiana. Twenty-five minutes after the conclusion, No. 4 Rutgers will face the winner of game two on Thursday which will either be Iowa, Northwestern, or Nebraska.
Game three of the quarterfinals will feature No. 2 Wisconsin vs. the winner of Michigan State-Maryland.
Wrapping things up on Friday, No. 3 Purdue will battle the winner of game four on Thursday, either being Ohio State, Penn State, or Minnesota.
The Semifinals will be held on Saturday, March 12 with the Friday afternoon winners kicking things off at 1 p.m. The Friday evening winners will play 25 minutes after the conclusion of the 1 p.m. game.
All games will be televised on the Big Ten Network, with the Big Ten Championship being held on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
Connor Fenix is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email cjf5726@psu.edu
