Big Ten tournament brackets for 2016 begin on March 9. The Big Ten has the schedule and game times already set, even as several teams battle it out for the top seeds this weekend. With a win over Iowa on March 1, the Indiana Hoosiers clinched the No. 1 seed. Indiana is now 24-6 (14-3) with just a game against Maryland (March 6) left until the Big Ten tournament schedule gets started on March 9.
The top four schools in the Big Ten tournament brackets get a double-bye, meaning no postseason games until Friday, March 11. It’s a bit of a mess in the Big Ten standings, with three teams at 12-5 and three more teams at 11-6 in conference games. It means that quite a few tie-breakers could come into play when deciding which schools take those top four seeds.
If the Big Ten tournament brackets don’t change over the weekend, they would finish with No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Maryland, and No. 4 Wisconsin. The Michigan State Spartans already beat both Maryland and Wisconsin in the regular season, earning the school tie-breakers should all the teams finish tied at 13-5 in the final standings. Maryland has to play Indiana on March 6, Michigan State plays a really good Ohio State team on March 5, and Wisconsin plays Purdue on March 6.
Purdue (No. 4) and Ohio State (No. 7) are two of the schools in the next part of the Big Ten tournament brackets with 11-6 conference records. It shows how the teams could potentially move up with wins over the weekend. Iowa is also 11-6 this season, with a game against Michigan on March 5 to close out the season. Iowa had been leading the Big Ten conference but is currently on a four-game losing streak that has dropped the team to a No. 5 seed.
The Michigan Wolverines 20-10 (10-7) also finish the regular season with a very important game. The team plays Iowa with a shot to not only move up the Big Ten standings but to show the NCAA Selection Committee it is a strong candidate for an at-large bid. The school is at serious risk of getting left out of the field if it doesn’t beat Iowa and then secure several wins in the Big Ten tournament schedule. It raises the stakes even further for the final weekend of conference play. The team is currently ranked No. 8 but can move up by beating Iowa.
The seeding for the rest of the Big Ten tournament brackets has Northwestern at No. 9, Penn State at No. 10, Nebraska at No. 11, Illinois at No. 12, Minnesota at No. 13, and Rutgers at No. 14. In the Big Ten tournament, the bottom four schools play against each other to determine which teams play in the round-of-12 on March 10. The winners of the second-round games advance to play in the quarterfinals on March 11.
In the current Big Ten tournament schedule, first-round games would be No. 12 Illinois vs. No. 13 Minnesota at 4:30 p.m. ET on March 9 and No. 11 Nebraska vs. No. 14 Rutgers at 7 p.m. ET. Second-round games on March 10 would be No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Northwestern at 12 p.m. ET, the Illinois/Minnesota winner vs. No. 5 Iowa 25 minutes later, No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Penn State at 6:30 p.m. ET, and the Nebraska/Rutgers winner vs. No. 6 Wisconsin 25 minutes later. Indiana, Michigan State, Maryland, and Purdue would be waiting in the quarterfinals.
Current Big Ten teams projected to makethe 2016 NCAA Tournament are Indiana, Michigan State, Maryland, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Purdue. Ohio State and Michigan are considered to be bubble teams and need to do really well in the Big Ten Tournament to get invites. Northwestern at 19-11 (7-10) might need to win the tournament to get an invite. The 2016 Big Ten tournament brackets are just about set, but fans can start taking a hard look at the schedule and game times in Indianapolis next week. Will a basic home court advantage for the Hoosiers play out?
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