March 8, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format
IOWA CITY, Iowa – – The University of Iowa is the 10th seed in the Big Ten Conference post-season men’s basketball tournament and will meet Michigan (19-12, 9-9) Thursday, March 12 in the first round. Iowa and Michigan will meet at 1:35 p.m. CDT in the second game of the tournament in a re-match of a first round pairing from a year ago. The contest will be televised by ESPN2 to a national cable audience.
The Hawkeyes closed the regular season March 7 with a 75-67 double-overtime win over Penn State in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa is 15-16 overall, including a 5-13 Big Ten record.
Iowa and Michigan split a pair of games during the regular season, with Iowa winning a 70-60 overtime contest Feb. 22 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Wolverines defeated Iowa 64-49 Jan. 11 at Ann Arbor. The winner of Iowa vs. Michigan will face second seed Illinois at 5:35 p.m. CDT Friday (BTN).
Michigan State, Illinois and Purdue earned the top three seeds, respectively, as the Spartans won the regular season title. Illinois and Purdue both finished 11-7 in league play, but Illinois earned the higher seed by virtue of two wins over the Boilermakers. Those three teams will play Friday against Thursday’s winners, while Wisconsin (fourth seed) and Ohio State (fifth) also meet Friday.
Additional games on Thursday’s schedule include Minnesota vs. Northwestern at 11 a.m. CDT and Penn State vs. Indiana at 4 p.m. CDT.
Iowa is the 10th seed in the tournament for the first time and is meeting Michigan in the event for the fourth time. In 1998, the fourth-seeded Wolverines defeated fifth-seeded Iowa 77-66 at the United Center in the quarter-finals. In 2004 at Indianapolis, the fifth-seeded Wolverines defeated Iowa, the fourth seed, 79-70 in the quarter-finals. A year ago, Michigan, as the nine seed, took a 55-47 first round win over eighth-seeded Iowa.
Iowa holds an all-time record of 7-3 at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Hawkeyes won the 2006 tournament title there with consecutive wins over Minnesota, Michigan State and top-seeded Ohio State. Iowa lost in the title game in 2002, lost in the quarter-finals in 2004 and lost in the first round a year ago.
Iowa holds a 13-9 (.591) overall record in the Big Ten Tournament, third best behind Illinois (21-9) and Wisconsin (14-9). Iowa, Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin have each won two tournament titles. The Badgers claimed the title a year ago with a win over Illinois.
All-session and single session tickets for the 2009 Big Ten Conference men’s basketball tournament are currently on sale. Tickets are available at all 11 Big Ten university ticket offices, the Conseco Fieldhouse box office, Ticketmaster outlets at www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at (317) 239-5151. All session tickets are on sale for $175 or $275, depending on seat location. Orders are limited to 12 all-session tickets.
Single-session tickets are available to any current college students for a special price of $25. Students can order tickets in advance by clicking HERE, by calling (317) 239-5151, or at the Conseco Fieldhouse box office. Tickets can also be purchased at the Conseco Fieldhouse box office during the tournament. Students must show a valid college student ID upon entry.