Big Ten Tournament 2016: Predicting each game in the bracket

Let’s predict the winner for each game in the 2016 Big Ten Tournament bracket this week.

The Big Ten Tournament is set to take place Wednesday evening as No. 12 seed Illinois will face No. 13 seed Minnesota in the first round. I’m going to try and correctly fill out the bracket for every game as I see it playing out, but it’s March Madness, so there’s a good chance I’ll be way off.

Must Read: Michigan State Basketball: 5 bold predictions for March

First, here’s the bracket before play begins:

(12) Illinois vs. (13) Minnesota: First round

For that first game between Illinois and Minnesota, I think the Gophers have just had too rough of a season to even compete for a win against fellow bottom-dweller Illinois. The Fighting Illini have solid pieces, just haven’t strung anything together. Malcolm Hill and Kendrick Nunn will be too much for Richard Pitino’s squad to handle.

Winner: Illinois

(14) Rutgers vs. (11) Nebraska: First round

In the only other game of Wednesday, the Scarlet Knights will be looking to take their sliver of momentum into the Big Ten Tournament and defeat Nebraska. Unfortunately, that won’t happen. Corey Sanders is good, but he’s not good enough to be a one-man show against the two-headed attack of Andrew White and Shavon Shields.

Winner: Nebraska

(8) Michigan vs. (9) Northwestern: Second round

There’s something about playing for a spot in the NCAA Tournament that gets teams hungry for blood. The Wolverines are in that boat and the Northwestern Wildcats stand in their way. You have to feel bad for Northwestern as it’s never made the tourney, but the Wolverines will take care of business, moving on to play the No. 1 seed Hoosiers on Friday.

Winner: Michigan

(5) Iowa vs. (12) Illinois: Second round

How can a team go from so hot to ice-cold in a matter of a few weeks? Just ask the Iowa Hawkeyes and Fran McCaffery. Luckily for them, they’ll get to face the Fighting Illini in somewhat of a cakewalk. It will end up being much closer than expected, but the Hawkeyes will get the job done as they’re hoping for a No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the Big Dance.

Winner: Iowa

(7) Ohio State vs. (10) Penn State: Second round

This one is a pretty close to a toss-up, but Ohio State is the favorite. I’m going to go with the underdog, though, and pick the Nittany Lions to shock the Buckeyes. Without Jae’Sean Tate, Ohio State just isn’t the same team — despite taking down Iowa last week. March Madness will be odd without the Buckeyes, but Thad Matta knows it would take a miracle to get in.

Winner: Penn State

(6) Wisconsin vs. (11) Nebraska: Second round

To me, this one is an easy choice as the Badgers are heads and shoulders better than the Cornhuskers right now. Wisconsin might be one of the hottest teams in college basketball in the second half of the season and who would have thought the Badgers would be dancing in March after a 9-9 start to the year? Greg Gard will have his guys ready.

Winner: Wisconsin

(1) Indiana vs. (8) Michigan: Quarterfinals

Indiana might be the Big Ten regular season champ, but that doesn’t mean the Hoosiers are given a free ticket to the conference tournament finals. Michigan will be a tough test for Indiana and the Wolverines will look to exact revenge for an earlier loss to the Hoosiers at home. The game will come down to the wire with Indiana narrowly escaping.

Winner: Indiana

(4) Purdue vs. (5) Iowa: Quarterfinals

In both games this season between these two teams, Purdue took a lead into halftime only to squander it in the second half. Iowa might be slumping harder than anyone in the conference, but the Hawkeyes have the Boilermakers’ number in 2015-16. That will change in this quarterfinal matchup as Purdue will strike back with a big win.

Winner: Purdue

(2) Michigan State vs. (10) Penn State: Quarterfinals

Michigan State won’t slip up in its first game of this year’s Big Ten Tournament, taking down Penn State with relative ease for the third time this season. The Nittany Lions’ magical run in the second half of the year won’t be forgotten, though. Pat Chambers will have his guys even more prepared next season.

Winner: Michigan State

(3) Maryland vs. (6) Wisconsin: Quarterfinals

Maryland has to be sick of losing to inferior teams at this point in the year. Not often this season have the Terrapins really exerted dominance like they should have against teams, but don’t let that fool you, this team is darn good. Melo Trimble will help lift the Terrapins past Wisconsin in this one, making up for a home loss to the Badgers a few weeks back.

Winner: Maryland

(1) Indiana vs. (4) Purdue: Semifinals

Somewhat of a home game for both teams in this one as the Hoosiers and Boilermakers will be battling it out for a chance to make it to the Big Ten Tournament final on Selection Sunday. The game is a toss-up right now, but the Boilermakers will take advantage of the post game. Yogi Ferrell is the best player on either team, but A.J. Hammons will dominate.

Winner: Purdue

(2) Michigan State vs. (3) Maryland: Semifinals

If there’s one team who I believe Michigan State would have the most trouble with in the Big Ten, it’s Maryland. The Spartans took care of business against the Terrapins at home following a three-game skid, but a lot of time has passed since then. Maryland might not be any stronger, but they are just as hungry, if not more, to beat the Spartans now. This will be an instant classic-type game.

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Winner: Maryland

(3) Maryland vs. (4) Purdue: Finals

Not exactly the final you would have expected, eh? Maryland and Purdue have played twice this season, each taking a loss on the road. The Terrapins are the stronger team, but Purdue might just be physically stronger. However, Diamond Stone will do a solid job of combatting the post play of A.J. Hammons and Caleb Swanigan and provide a lift of his own.

The Terrapins will do what they set out to in the regular season: come out on top as the best team in the Big Ten.

Big Ten Tournament champ: Maryland