How to Watch Wednesday's Big Ten Tournament Games; Gametime, TV, Point Spread

The Big Ten Tournament gets underway at Lucas Oil Stadium on Wednesday night, with two first-round games against the bottom four seeds in the loaded tournament.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The best conference in the starts its 2021 tournament on Wednesday night when the Big Ten begins play with two first-round games at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The bottom four teams in the league play the two lone first-round games. The night starts with No. 12 seed Northwestern taking on No. 13 seed Minnesota in the opener and No. 11 seed Penn State playing No. 14 Nebraska in the nightcap. 

The Northwestern-Minnesota winner gets No. 5 seed Ohio State in the second round on Thursday. The Penn State-Nebraska winner plays No. 6 seed Wisconsin on Thursday.

Here's a breakdown on the two first-round matchups, with the complete schedule and pairings for all five days below:

No. 12 Northwestern vs. No. 13 Minnesota

Here's everything you need to know about Wednesday night's first-round game between Northwestern and Minnesota:

• Who: No. 12 seed Northwestern Wildcats (9-14, 6-13 in the Big Ten) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-14, 6-14 in the Big Ten).
• When: 6:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, March 10.
• Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Latest Line: Northwestern is a 2-point favorite according to the DraftKings.com website as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The over/under was 140.5.
• Nugget to know: Minnesota has been the worst team in the league in the past month. They've lost seven straight games – and have also FAILED TO COVER the spread in all seven games.
• Poll rankings: Neither team is ranked.
• Kenpom.com rankings: Northwestern is ranked No. 69, and Minnesota is ranked No. 62.
• Last time out: Northwestern beat Nebraska 79-78 on a put-back from Ryan young with 2.7 seconds to go on Saturday. It was a cap to the strangest season in Big Ten history. The Wildcats were the first team to win their first  three games and their last three games, but lose EVERY game (13) in between. Minnesota lost to Northwestern on a last-second shot on Saturday. Minnesota lost to Rutgers 77-70 in overtime on Saturday, and it was their seventh consecutive loss. Minnesota is just 2-10 in its last 12 games. 
• Series history: Minnesota leads the all-time series 108-72.
• Last meeting: The two teams last played on Feb. 25, with Northwestern snapping that 13-game losing streak with a 67-59 win over the Gophers in Minneapolis. Boo Buie had 25 in the win for Northwestern. 
• The winner gets ...: No. 5 seed Ohio State in the second game of Thursday's afternoon session, at approximately 2 p.m. ET. 
• TV: Big Ten Network
• Announcers: Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play) and Shon Morris (analyst).

No. 11 Penn State vs. No. 14 Nebraska

Here's everything you need to know about Wednesday night's first-round game between Penn State and Nebraska:

• Who: No. 11 seed Penn State Nittany Lions (10-13, 7-12 in the Big Ten) vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-19, 3-16 in the Big Ten).
• When: 9 p.m. ET, Wednesday, March 10.
• Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind. 
• Latest Line: Penn State is a 6.5-point favorite according to the DraftKings.com website as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The over/under was 146.
• Nugget to know: For as bad as Nebraska's season has been, the Cornhuskers actually match up very well against Penn State. They won outright in Happy Valley despite being an 11-point underdog, and lost only 86-83 despite being a 6-point underdog in Lincoln. 
• Poll rankings: Neither team is ranked. 
• Kenpom.com rankings: Penn State is ranked No. 34, and Nebraska is ranked No. 92. 
• Last time out: Penn State won at Maryland 66-61 on Sunday night in the final regular season game on the conference calendar, helping them move up one seed. Nebraska lost 79-78 to Northwestern on a last-second shot on Saturday
• Series history: Penn State leads the overall season 12-10.
• Last meeting: The two teams last played on Feb. 23 in Lincoln, with Penn State winning 86-83.  They had met in Happy Valley nine days earlier, and Nebraska won there, 62-61. That was Nebraska's first conference  win of the season after nine straight losses to open the season. It ended a 25-game conference losing streak for the Huskers.
• The winner gets ...: No. 6 seed Wisconsin, in the second game of Thursday's evening session, at approximately 9 p.m. ET
• TV: Big Ten Network
• Announcers: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Stephen Bardo (analyst). 

Big Ten Tournament

Here is the complete Big Ten Tournament schedule, with game times and television information:

Wednesday, March 10 (First Round)

• Game 1 – Minnesota 51, Northwestern 46
• Game 2 – No. 11 seed Penn State vs. No, 14 seed Nebraska 25 minutes later (TV: Big Ten Network)

Thursday, March 11 (Second Round)

• Game 3 – No. 8 seed Maryland vs. No. 9 seed Michigan State  – 11:30 a.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• Game 4 – No. 5 seed Ohio State vs. No. 13 seed Minnesota – 25 minutes later (TV: Big Ten Network)
• Game 5 – No. 7 seed Rutgers vs. No. 10 seed Indiana) – 6:30 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• Game 6 – No. 6 seed Wisconsin vs. Game 2 winner) – 25 minutes later (TV: Big Ten Network)

Friday, March 12 (Quarterfinals)

• Game 7 (No. 1 seed Michigan vs. Game 3 winner) – 11:30 a.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• Game 8 (No. 4 seed Purdue vs. Game 4 winner) – 25 minutes later (TV: Big Ten Network)
• Game 9 (No. 2 seed Illinois vs. Game 5 winner) – 6:30 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• Game 10 (No. 3 seed Iowa vs. Game 6 winner) – 25 minutes later (TV: Big Ten Network)

Saturday, March 13 (Semifinals)

• Game 11 (Game 7 vs. Game 8 winner) – 1 p.m. ET (TV: CBS)
• Game 12 (Game 9 vs. Game 10 winner) – 25 minutes later (TV: CBS)

Sunday, March 14 (Championship)

Game 13 (Game 11 vs. Game 12 winner) – 3:30 p.m. ET (TV: CBS)

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