March 6, 2011
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Big Ten Tournament Bracket in PDF Format
IOWA CITY – – The field is set for the 2011 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, which will take place Thursday-Sunday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. The Iowa Hawkeyes (11-19, 4-14) are the 10th seed and will play seventh-seeded Michigan State Spartans (17-13, 9-9) in the first round. Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 4 p.m. (CT) and the game will televised nationally on ESPN2 (HD).
Iowa and Michigan State will meet for the third time this season, with both teams defending their home court. The Hawkeyes knocked off the Spartans (72-52) in Iowa City on Feb. 2, while Michigan State beat Iowa (85-66) in East Lansing on March 2.
Iowa, who has played Michigan in the first round each of the last three years, will meet the Spartans for the third time at the Big Ten Tournament. The two teams first met in the 2000 quarterfinals, with Michigan State winning 75-65. The Hawkeyes won the last two meetings, 71-69 in the 2005 quarterfinals and 53-48 in the 2006 semifinals.
Iowa is the No. 10 seed for the second time: the Hawkeyes were seeded 10th in 2009. The Hawkeyes are 4-4 in first round contests.
Michigan State finished in a four-way tie with Michigan, Penn State and Illinois for fourth place 9-9 records, and is seeded seventh due to tiebreaking procedures. The Wolverines earned the top spot in the tiebreaker with a 4-1 record against the other three teams tied for fourth. Illinois had the second-best winning percentage in the group, going 3-2, while Michigan State and Penn State each had 2-4 records among the other tied teams. Penn State earned the No. 6 seed by virtue of its 1-0 record against Iowa.
Top-ranked Ohio State (28-2, 16-2) claimed the No. 1 seed after capturing its second straight conference title and 19th overall. Purdue (25-6, 14-4) is seeded second, and Wisconsin (23-7, 13-5) is third. Fourth-seeded Michigan (19-12, 9-9) will play No. 5 Illinois (19-12, 9-9) in the quarterfinals Friday at approximately 1:30 p.m. (CT).
The tournament begins Thursday with No. 8 seed Northwestern (17-12, 7-11) taking on ninth-seeded Minnesota (17-13, 6-12) at 1:30 p.m. (CT). Iowa and Michigan State play the second game Thursday at 4 p.m. (CT), with sixth-seeded Penn State (16-13, 9-9) squaring off against No. 11 seed Indiana (12-19, 3-15) in the nightcap at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
Since the first Big Ten Tournament in 1998, six teams have captured postseason titles with Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin owning a pair of tournament crowns to lead the conference. The No. 1 seed has won five of the 13 tournament titles (1999, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010), while the second seed has won four (2000, 2003, 2004 and 2006). The sixth seed is the lowest ever to win a Big Ten Tournament crown with Iowa accomplishing the feat in 2001.
All-session and single-session tickets to the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament can be purchased through the Conseco Fieldhouse box office, Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.