Purdue Has No. 4 Seed in Big Ten Tournament, For Now

The all-important seedings for the Big Ten tournament might change every day during this final week of the season, but things are looking good for Purdue if it takes care of business in its final two home games against Wisconsin and Indiana.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- There are only six days left in the Big Ten regular season, and there's still plenty of juggling that could go on the affect the seedings for the conference tournament. 

There was some movement in the pairings on Monday night after Rutgers was blown out at Nebraska, 72-51. With the upset loss, Rutgers falls from the No. 7 seed to No.8, and would now have to play a red-hot Michigan State team instead of an Indiana team that is staggering to the finish line.

Purdue (11-6 in the Big Ten, 16-8 overall) controls its own destiny in maintaining the No. 4 seed and the all-important double bye that comes with it. Win home games against Wisconsin (Tuesday) and Indiana, and the Boilers save a day's work, which means a lot in this daily-grind tournament.

There is still a chance that Purdue could get as high as No, 3 in the tournament, but it's a longshot. Iowa (12-6 in the Big Ten) has two home games left, against Nebraska and Wisconsin, and would leave to lose one of those for the Boilers to pass them. The Hawkeyes will be favored in both.

Purdue's likely quarterfinal opponent is Ohio State, which must get through that 5-12 game first. The Boilermakers have beaten the Buckeyes twice already this season, the only team in the nation with two wins against Ohio State.

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

Wednesday, March 10 (First Round)

• Game 1 – (No. 12 seed Penn State vs. No. 13 seed Northwestern) – 6:30 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network)
• Game 2 – (No. 11 seed Minnesota vs. No, 14 seed Nebraska) 25 minutes later (Big Ten Network)

Thursday, March 11 (Second Round)

• Game 3 – (No. 8 seed Rutgers vs. No. 9 seed Michigan State ) – 11:30 a.m. ET (Big Ten Network)
• Game 4 – (No. 5 seed Ohio State vs. Game 1 winner) – 25 minutes later (Big Ten Network)
• Game 5 – (No. 7 seed Maryland vs. No. 10 seed Indiana) – 6:30 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network)
• Game 6 – (No. 6 seed Wisconsin vs. Game 2 winner) – 25 minutes later (Big Ten Network)

Friday, March 12 (Quarterfinals)

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

Saturday, March 13 (Semifinals)

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

Sunday, March 14 (Championship)

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

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NOTES: All times are approximate and subject to change … Big Ten Network games are also available on the FOX Sports app.

CBS Sports broadcasts will also be available to stream live on Paramount-Plus

For more information, please visit the tournament web site at bigten.org/mbbt.