What does the 2017 Big Ten Tournament bracket look like after Friday’s quarterfinal action?
Yet another round is in the books and four teams remain in the Big Ten Tournament bracket. Are the top teams in the conference still around after the quarterfinals? Actually, no.
In fact, only two teams that finished in the top five of the Big Ten standings during the regular season remain.
The first game of the day featured the red-hot Michigan Wolverines against the top-seeded Purdue Boilermakers. Michigan is playing loose and free right now and they proved that against the Boilermakers, pulling out a 74-70 overtime victory.
Next, Michigan State looked to beat Minnesota for the third time on the season, but that didn’t quite work in the Spartans’ favor. Minnesota took advantage of poor shooting of Michigan State and the Golden Gophers won, 63-58.
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Indiana looked to surprise some more people in the third game of the day after taking down the suddenly hot Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday. However, Wisconsin was just too strong for the Hoosiers and the Badgers bounced Indiana, 70-60.
Lastly, Northwestern’s star keeps rising. The Wildcats have not only punched their first ever ticket to the NCAA Tournament (barring a ridiculous snub), they are building on their resume. Chris Collins’ team took down Maryland, 72-64, and is heading to the semifinals.
Take a look at the updated Big Ten Tournament bracket after the quarterfinals below:
The semifinals will take place on Saturday with No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 4 Minnesota kicking off the day. The Wolverines and Golden Gophers are two of the hottest teams in the conference right now and it’s fitting they would match up for a chance to play for the title.
Lastly, No. 6 Northwestern will advance to the semifinals to play No. 2 Wisconsin for a chance to improve its seeding even more. It’s hard to remember the last time only two top five teams made the semifinals.
Get ready, Saturday’s action is about to heat up.