Indiana Gets Rutgers in First Big Ten Tournament Game on Thursday
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The regular season is now complete, and it's time for everyone to hit the reset button. That's really appealing for Indiana, which enters postseason play on a five-game losing streak.
That's all forgotten now, and it's time to zero in on the Big Ten Tournament, which starts Wednesday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Late Sunday night, the No. 10-seed Hoosiers finally got their opponent, and it will be Rutgers, which secured the No, 7 seed after Maryland lost to Penn State in the final game of the regular season.
They'll square off on Thursday in the first game of the evening session in the second round, with tipoff set for 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
The top four seeds all get double byes and won't play until the quarterfinals on Friday. Michigan is the No. 1 seed, followed by Illinois, Iowa and Purdue.
The first round starts Wednesday night at Lucas Oil Stadium, with the bottom four seeds squaring off.
Purdue is the second game in the afternoon session on Friday, following No. 1 seed Michigan. Tickets are being sold in a very limited number, and through the member schools only.
Indiana (12-14 overall, 7-12 in the Big Ten) has played Rutgers twice this season, and lost both times. Rutgers (14-10 overall, 10-10 in the Big Ten) won 74-70 in Bloomington on Jan. 24, and won again on Feb. 24 in Piscataway, N.J., winning 74-63 in a game that wasn't really that close.
Rutgers has won three in a row in the series and five of the past seven meetings. Here's the recent history:
- Feb. 24, 2021: Rutgers 74, Indiana 63
- Jan. 24, 2021: Rutgers 74, Indiana 70
- Jan. 15, 2020: Rutgers 59, Indiana 50
- March 10, 2019: Indiana 89, Rutgers 73
- Jan. 30, 2019: Rutgers 66, Indiana 58
- March 1, 2018: Rutgers 76, Indiana 69
- Feb. 5, 2018: Indiana 65, Rutgers 42
The winner of the Rutgers-Indiana game will face No. 2 seed Illinois in the quarterfinals on Friday.
There were several seeds that were determined on Sunday. Iowa beat Wisconsin to lock up the No. 3 seed. Maryland could have grabbed the No. 7 seed, but lost to Penn State on Sunday night to fall to No 8. Northwestern beat Nebraska to move up to No. 12.
Michigan State stunned Michigan, but it didn't affect either seed. It did likely secure a 23rd straight NCAA Tournament bid for the Spartans, though. The two teams played twice in four days, each winning once. It's very possible they could meet again on Friday, if Michigan State can beat Maryland in its opener on Thursday afternoon.
Big Ten Tournament
Here is the complete Big Ten Tournament schedule, with game times and television information:
Wednesday, March 10 (First Round)
- Game 1 – No. 12 seed Northwestern vs. No. 13 seed Minnesota – 6:30 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
- 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. Game 1 winner) – 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)
Related stories in Indiana basketball
- WHY RUTGERS IS BAD MATCHUP: Prior to the second meeting between Indiana and Rutgers this season, HoosiersNow publisher broke down the reasons why the Scarlet Knights are such a bad matchup for the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE
- JAN. 24 GAME STORY: Rutgers beat Indiana 74-70 in Bloomington on Jan. 24, and they did it by attacking Indiana off the dribble and ending its own five-game losing streak. CLICK HERE
- FEB. 24 GAME STORY: Indiana jumped out to a fast 15-point lead but then got outscored by 35 in a blowout loss at Rutgers. CLICK HERE
