Big Ten Tournament action kicked off Wednesday night in Washington D.C. The Wisconsin Badgers will face the Indiana Hoosiers in a quarterfinal matchup, the third meeting between the two teams this season.
Off and running is the Big Ten Tournament and we now know who the No. 2 seed Wisconsin Badgers will face in their quarterfinal matchup Friday night. Thanks to a 95-73 rout of the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Indiana Hoosiers will face the Badgers for the third time this season.
Wisconsin first defeated Indiana in Bloomington with the Badgers ranked 13th the Hoosiers 25th at the times. The Badgers won that game 75-68, with Ethan Happ scoring a game-high 19 points in a tough road victory.
The second game saw the Badgers, this time ranked 10th, squeak out a 65-60 home victory over the Hoosiers, unranked at this juncture of the season. It was another grind out win, led by Happ’s 20 points and Nigel Hayes’ double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Unfortunately, the latter part of the season has not been kind to both the Badgers and the Hoosiers. Wisconsin has lost five of their last seven games heading into postseason play. Indiana had been losers in eight of their last 11 games before their victory in the Big Ten Tournament over the Hawkeyes.
Once again, Indiana head coach Tom Crean has Indiana playing well in March with their backs against the wall. Winning the Big Ten Tournament obviously earns them an automatic bid. But if they fall short of that, a really good showing in the conference tournament could mean the difference of making the big dance or having their bubble burst.
Wisconsin currently sits at a six seed in the East bracket in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology. February was not kind to the Badgers at all, but a win over the red-hot Minnesota Gophers in the regular season finale has given Greg Gard and company some much-needed confidence.
Next: Week 7 Badgers Bracketology
Tip-off for the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal matchup will be at 5:30 p.m. CT Friday night. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.