Many pundits think that the Big Ten was down this year, and as a huge Maryland Terrapins fan, I definitely agree that the conference was pretty weak. But if there’s one good thing about most of these teams being mediocre, it’s that it makes the 2017 Big Ten Tournament wide open. There’s potential for total chaos in this 14-team field, which could more than make up for the fact that none of these teams appear to be true National Championship contenders.
The 2017 Big Ten Tournament is set to run from Wednesday, March 8 through Sunday, March 12 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The top four teams during the regular season (#1 Purdue, #2 Wisconsin, #3 Maryland, and #4 Minnesota) received double byes, while #5 Michigan State and #6 Northwestern earned single byes.
Michigan State won the 2016 Big Ten Tournament, and then they promptly lost to #15 seed Middle Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. I still think that Tom Izzo should send me a check for all of the money I lost in March Madness pools last year, as that bullshit was totally unacceptable.
Now that the stage has been set, let’s breakdown the bracket and schedule for the 2017 Big Ten Tournament.
2017 Big Ten Tournament Bracket
Big Ten2017 Big Ten Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, March 8 (First Round)
Game 1 – #12 Nebraska vs. #13 Penn State at 4:30 P.M. ET on ESPN2
Game 2 – #11 Ohio State vs. #14 Rutgers at 7:00 P.M. ET on BTN
Thursday, March 9 (Second Round)
Game 3 – #8 Michigan vs. #9 Illinois at 12:00 P.M. ET on BTN
Game 4 – #5 Michigan State vs. Game 1 Winner at 2:30 P.M. ET on BTN
Game 5 – #7 Iowa vs. #10 Indiana at 6:30 P.M. ET on ESPN2
Game 6 – #6 Northwestern vs. Game 2 Winner at 9:00 P.M. ET on ESPN2
Friday, March 10 (Quarterfinals)
Game 7 – #1 Purdue vs. Game 3 Winner at 12:00 P.M. ET on ESPN
Game 8 – #4 Minnesota vs. Game 4 Winner at 2:30 P.M. ET on ESPN
Game 9 – #2 Wisconsin vs. Game 5 Winner at 6:30 P.M. ET on BTN
Game 10 – #3 Maryland vs. Game 6 Winner at 9:00 P.M. ET on BTN
Saturday, March 11 (Semifinals)
Game 11 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner at 1:00 P.M. ET on CBS
Game 12 – Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner at 3:30 P.M. ET on CBS
Sunday, March 12 (Championship)
Game 13 – Game 11 Winner vs. Game 12 Winner at 3:00 P.M. ET on CBS
