The Michigan Wolverines have won five straight games entering the 2014 Big Ten Tournament at Indianapolis’ Bankers Life Fieldhouse. They finished the season 23-7 overall and 15-3 in conference play, earning the top seed and a first-round bye. In the second round, they will face either Indiana or Illinois, who happen to be the last two teams that Michigan faced in the regular season. The Wolverines blew out the Fighting Illini by a score of 84-53 on March 4, then beat the Hoosiers 84-80 four days later. Nik Stauskas, the Big Ten player of the year, scored 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including 7-for-9 from beyond the arc, in the win against Illinois that clinched the team’s first outright Big Ten Title since 1986. The Wolverines have the nation’s third-best offense, using Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency rating.
Big Ten Tournament 2014 bracket: Michigan on top to start tourney
Thursday marks the start of the Big Ten Tournament, with the top four seeds to play Friday.
The Wisconsin Badgers are ranked three spots higher nationally than Michigan, but will enter the tourney as a No. 2 seed. They’re 25-6 overall on the season. The Badgers started the season 16-0, then finished it winning eight of nine. They are coming off a 77-68 loss to Nebraska, however. Wisconsin’s offense is ranked sixth nationally in Pomeroy’s efficiency rating, and the Badgers almost never turn the ball over or send their opponents to the line.
If it comes down to Michigan and Wisconsin in the final, it’s hard to tell what will happen. The Wolverines won the first game on the strength of 23 points from Stauskas, and the Badgers won the second thanks to 25 points from leading-scorer Frank Kaminsky.
Michigan State won its first seven conference games, but finished the season 12-6 in the Big Ten and 23-8 overall. The Spartans limped to the finish line, losing three of their last four games. They’ll face the winner of Iowa/Northwestern. A third bout with Iowa could be fascinating. Michigan State beat the Hawkeyes by 10 on March 6, but earlier in the season the Spartans needed overtime to pull out a wild win in Iowa.
Six weeks ago, it looked like Nebraska was having a nightmare of a Big Ten season. Since then, it has turned into their best in a long time. The Cornhuskers lost five of their first six games in conference play, then finished the season by winning 10 of 12, including a 77-68 win over Wisconsin in which Terran Pettaway and Shavon Shields scored 26 points apiece and the Badgers shot 42.9 percent to the Huskers’ 52 percent. Fourth place is the highest Nebraska has finished in conference play since 1997-1998.
All four of the top seeds will get things going on Friday against the winners of Thursday’s first round.
Here is the full schedule:
Road to the Title
Thursday:
No. 8 Indiana vs. No. 9 Illinois, noon p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Purdue, 2:30 p.m. ET (estimated), Big Ten Network
No. 7 Minnesota vs. No. 10 Penn State, 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
No. 6 Iowa vs. No. 11 Northwestern, 9 p.m. ET (estimated), ESPN2
Friday:
No. 1 Michigan vs. Indiana/Illinois, noon ET, ESPN2
No. 4. Nebraska vs. Ohio State/Purdue, 2:30 p.m. ET (estimated), ESPN2
No. 2 Wisconsin vs. Minnesota/Penn State, 6:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
No. 3 Michigan State vs. Iowa/Northwestern, 9 p.m. ET (estimated), Big Ten Network
Saturday:
Semifinals Game 1 1:40 p.m. ET, CBS
Semifinals Game 2, 3:10 p.m. ET (estimated), CBS
Sunday:
Championship Game, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Here is a link to the full tournament bracket.
