Big Ten Tournament Brackets: Results Dominated By Upsets In Big Ten Tournament

Big Ten tournament brackets head to the quarterfinals on March 11. The 2016 Big Ten tournament results have been pretty shocking so far, with two huge second-round upsets on Thursday, March 10. Both double-digit seeds that won in the first-round games also came away with wins in the second-round to keep hopes of winning the Big Ten Tournament alive.

No. 12 Illinois made it look easy against No. 5 Iowa, beating the Hawkeyes 68-66 to advance in the Big Ten tournament brackets. Those weren’t the only surprising Big Ten tournament results from day two, as No. 11 Nebraska beat No. 6 Wisconsin 70-58. Illinois and Nebraska are each 2-0, but will need to actually win the Big Ten Championship Game to get an invite to the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

The other two Big Ten tournament results from day two had No. 7 Ohio State beat No. 10 Penn State 79-75 and No. 8 Michigan beat No. 9 Northwestern 72-70. Both games were close to being upsets, with Michigan needing an overtime period to beat Northwestern. These results did make it possible for the Big Ten to have eight schools get invites for the NCAA Tournament, especially with Michigan and Ohio State advancing.

The Big Ten tournament brackets resume with No. 1 Indiana vs. Michigan at 12 p.m. ET on Friday, March 11. That game is followed by No. 4 Purdue vs. Illinois about 25 minutes later. The later games have No. 2 Michigan State vs. Ohio State at 6:30 p.m. ET and then the day ends with No. 3 Maryland vs. Nebraska about 25 minutes later. The Big Ten quarterfinals are stacked with intriguing games, but the second-round upsets may have made the road a bit easier for several top seeds.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com updated his latest bracketology report to reveal that six Big Ten schools are projected to receive invites to the 2016 NCAA Tournament. He now feels that Michigan State (26-5), Indiana (25-6), Purdue (24-7), Maryland (24-7), Iowa (21-10), and Wisconsin (20-12) are going to make the field. Ohio State and Michigan are considered to be on the bubble, requiring at least one more win for either school to get serious consideration from the NCAA Selection Committee.

As the Big Ten tournament brackets resume on Friday, the Ohio State Buckeyes are 20-12 and just need to beat Michigan State to have a good chance at making the NCAA tournament field. Upsetting the No. 2 ranked Spartans would certainly give the Buckeyes a huge resume boost. Likewise, the 21-11 Michigan Wolverines are in an important position during the quarterfinals. Michigan plays the No. 10 ranked Indiana Hoosiers, which could also serve as a huge resume boost with a victory.

The other two quarterfinal games could yield some intriguing Big Ten tournament results. Purdue (24-7) goes up against Illinois (15-18) in a game that seems extremely one-sided on paper. The Purdue Boilermakers are favored by 11 points in this game, which is a huge spread for a tournament quarterfinals match-up. Illinois is playing with “house money” after knocking off Minnesota and Iowa.

On the other side of the Big Ten tournament brackets, Maryland (24-7) now gets to play Nebraska (16-17). Maryland is ranked No. 18 nationally, but now has a “trap game” placed in front of them. Winning against Nebraska could lead to a semi-final game against Michigan State, which may be what the coaches are already thinking about. Nebraska already beat Rutgers and Wisconsin and would like to add the Spartans to that list.

ESPN will be providing coverage for the Indiana vs. Michigan and Purdue vs. Illinois games on March 11. Then, the Big Ten Network takes over for the two night games. The winners advance to play in the Big Ten semi-finals at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 12. The Big Ten Championship Game is then at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 13. Will the surprising Big Ten tournament results continue to yield upsets on day three?

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