2023 Big Ten Basketball Tournament: Updated projected seeds, schedule, magic numbers

The Big Ten has been a bloodbath of a league this season. Several teams are still jockeying for position with three games to go. With that said, it seems one team now has a very advantageous position in the inside track to take home the No. 1 seed after Wednesday night’s slate of games.

Big Ten Standings

1. Purdue Boilermakers – 24-4 (13-4)
2. Northwestern Wildcats – 20-8 (11-6)
3. Maryland Terrapins – 19-9 (10-7)
4. Indiana Hoosiers – 19-9 (10-7)
5. Michigan Wolverines – 16-12 (10-7)
6. Illinois Fighting Illini – 19-9 (10-7)
7. Michigan State Spartans – 17-10 (9-7)
8. Iowa Hawkeyes – 17-11 (9-8)
9. Rutgers Scarlet Knights – 17-11 (9-8)
10. Wisconsin Badgers – 16-11 (8-9)
11. Penn State Nittany Lions – 17-11 (8-9)
12. Nebraska Cornhuskers – 14-14 (7-10)
13. Ohio State Buckeyes – 11-17 (3-14)
14. Minnesota Golden Gophers – 7-19 (1-15)

A 66-62 win for Illinois over No. 21 Northwestern in Champaign was a big favor for Purdue. With only three games left, this extended their lead for first place in the Big Ten to two games. Meanwhile, the loss for the Wildcats put Maryland, Indiana, Michigan, and the pack behind them within range of No. 2. The Wolverines are included in that group considering their 58-45 win at Rutgers moved them from 8th to 5th while it dropped the Knights from 6th to 9th.

Purdue’s magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed is two games. That’ll be tough with what’s left on their schedule but, after last night, their odds of doing so shot up to 94%. As for Northwestern, they are still sitting pretty for the No. 2 seed considering their magic number of three and the fact that the next nine teams behind them don’t control their destiny. However, it’s still a complete logjam from third to eleventh.

Penn State’s 75-71 win at Ohio State basically set in stone that the Buckeyes will be the No. 13 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. It kept the Nittany Lions within earshot of doing some things but, at the moment, their likeliest finish remains at 11th. With how tight things are, a lot can change but, for now, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Minnesota are likely to be your bottom three seeds with each having more than a 50% chance to finish 12th, 13th, and 14th respectively.

Weekend Schedule

Saturday (February 25th)

• Michigan State @ Iowa – 12 p.m. EST on ESPN
• Minnesota @ Nebraska – 3:30 p.m. EST on BTN
• No. 17 Indiana @ No. 5 Purdue – 7:30 p.m. EST on FOX

Sunday (February 26th)

• No. 21 Northwestern @ Maryland – 12 p.m. EST on BTN
• Illinois @ Ohio State – 12 p.m. EST on CBS
• Wisconsin @ Michigan – 2 p.m. EST on CBS
• Rutgers @ Penn State – 6:30 p.m. on BTN

This weekend’s rematch between the Hoosiers and Boilermakers will be must-see TV. After losing by five in Assembly Hall, Purdue will want to return the favor in West Lafayette this time. Saturday has another important game, though, as Michigan State and Iowa battle as the current eighth and ninth seeds.

From there, the Terrapins will get their shot on Sunday. With Northwestern only a game ahead of them in the standings, Maryland’s run at the No. 2 seed probably starts or ends with how that matchup goes. Meanwhile, Penn State could continue to make noise by knocking off Rutgers and really putting themselves in the mix for a higher seed.

Conference Tournament Schedule

First Round: Wed., March 8

Game 1: No. 12 seed vs. No. 13 seed | 6:30 p.m. EST [Big Ten Network (BTN)/FOX Sports App]

Game 2: No. 11 seed vs. No. 14 seed | 25 minutes after Game 1(BTN/FOX Sports App)

Second Round: Thurs., March 9

Game 3: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed | 12:00 p.m. EST (BTN/FOX Sports App)

Game 4: No. 5 seed vs. Game 1 winner | 25 minutes after Game 1 (BTN/FOX Sports App)

Game 5: No. 7 seed vs. 10 seed | 6:30 p.m. EST (BTN/FOX Sports App)

Game 6: No. 6 seed vs. Game 2 winner | 25 minutes after Game 5 (BTN/FOX Sports App)

Quarterfinals: Fri., March 10

Game 7: No. 1 seed vs. Game 3 winner | 12:00 p.m. EST (BTN/FOX Sports App)

Game 8: No. 4 seed vs. Game 4 winner | 25 minutes after Game 7 (BTN/FOX Sports App)

Game 9: No. 2 seed vs. Game 5 winner | 6:30 p.m. EST (BTN/FOX Sports App)

Game 10: No. 3 seed vs. Game 6 winner | 25 minutes after Game 9 (BTN/FOX Sports App)

Semifinals: Sat., March 11

Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner | 1:00 p.m. EST (CBS/Paramount+)

Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner | 25 minutes after Game 11 (CBS/Paramount+)

Big Ten Championship Game: Sun., March 12 

Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner | 3:30 p.m. EST (CBS/Paramount+)