After failing to win a share of the Big Ten’s regular season title, Michigan will look to cut down the nets in Chicago and win their third straight Big Ten Tournament title.
After looking like the class of the Big Ten for most of the season, things turned sour for Michigan down the stretch. The Wolverines dropped a pair of contests to their bitter rivals, Michigan State, over the last two weeks of the regular season to drop all the way to the no. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
The losses likely ended Michigan’s chances of landing on the top line on Selection Sunday, but counting out the Wolverines in a tournament setting should be done only at your own peril. Wolverines’ coach John Beilein has proven to be outstanding in March, taking the Wolverines to the national title game twice (including last season) and cutting down the nets in the Big Ten Tournament each of the past two years.
Michigan will look to begin their title defense tonight when they take on a pesky Iowa squad in the quarterfinals. The Hawkeyes ended the regular season on a four-game losing skid, but Iowa snapped that in style yesterday, pummeling Illinois 83-62 to earn another shot at the Wolverines.
Even though Illinois didn’t do a ton during the regular season, they were highly competitive and scored several upsets along the way, so taking care of the Illini with ease was a strong statement by Iowa. The two teams met only once during the regular season, with Iowa defeating Michigan 74-59 at home back on Feb. 1.
How to watch Michigan vs. Iowa
- Date: Friday, March 15
- Time: 9:25 p.m. ET
- Location: Chicago, IL
- Venue: United Center
- TV: Big Ten Network
- Live Stream: BTN2Go
The winner of this game will take on the winner of the Purdue-Minnesota matchup in the semifinals tomorrow afternoon.