Take a look at the updated Big Ten Tournament bracket after Friday’s quarterfinals.
The Big Ten’s top dogs finally took the court on Friday after the top four seeds in the conference tournament got to watch the first two rounds from the stands after earning a double-bye.
However, just because they were well-rested didn’t mean they were exempt from being upset. Such was the case with the No. 1 seeded Indiana Hoosiers who were taken down by eighth-seeded Michigan.
Michigan, still vying for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, likely earned it after a stunning defeat of the conference’s regular season champ on a three-pointer with 0.2 seconds left by lightly-used Kameron Chatman, 72-69. Michigan should be dancing come Selection Sunday.
Purdue, the No. 4 seed, had zero problem with the 12th-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini despite them pulling off an upset over Iowa on Thursday. John Groce will need to figure out what didn’t work — everything — in 2015-16 and improve his team tenfold in 2016-17. Purdue, on the other hand, is looking scarier than ever.
Michigan State took care of business as the two-seed in the third game of the day, beating seventh-seeded Ohio State by a final score of 81-54. The Spartans just pulled away in the second half after holding just a seven-point lead at the half and that makes it three victories for MSU over the last three games against the Buckeyes.
The final game of the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals was between No. 3 Maryland and No. 11 Nebraska. The Cornhuskers were looking to upset their second team in as many days but Maryland was more than ready, laying the smackdown, 97-86.
Here’s the updated Big Ten Tournament bracket after three rounds:
Saturday’s semifinals matchups will feature No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 4 Purdue at 1:00 p.m. ET and No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 3 Maryland at about 3:30 p.m. ET.
The winners will play for the conference tournament title Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET. Who do you think will come out on top?
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