Sunday, March 8, brings the final day of the Big Ten regular season. Just hours remain until the conference tournament bracket is finalized, and just two more days remain until that action tips off.
Wisconsin's big road win over No. 15 Purdue headlined an entertaining Saturday regular-season slate. Wisconsin's win pushed the team up to the No. 5 seed in the projected Big Ten Tournament bracket; it can still rise to the No. 4 seed if Maryland defeats Illinois on Sunday. Of course, that jump would mean a double-bye and a free trip to the quarterfinals.
No. 11 Illinois at Maryland is one of several interesting matchups on Sunday. No. 8 Michigan State also travels to No. 3 Michigan, while Iowa visits No. 9 Nebraska. While the Illinois game is the only one that matters for the tournament's top four seeds, all four of those other NCAA Tournament-bound teams are looking to build momentum before postseason play begins.
Before Sunday's regular-season action, here is an updated look at the projected Big Ten Tournament bracket after Saturday's results.
Projected Big Ten Tournament bracket as of March 8
First Round
- No. 18 Penn State vs. No. 15 Northwestern
- No. 17 Maryland vs. No. 16 Oregon
Second Round
- No. 9 Iowa vs. Oregon/Maryland winner
- No. 10 Indiana vs. Penn State/Northwestern winner
- No. 11 Minnesota vs. No. 14 Rutgers
- No. 12 Washington vs. No. 13 USC
Third Round
- No. 8 Ohio State vs. Iowa/Oregon/Maryland
- No. 5 Wisconsin vs. Washington/USC
- No. 7 Purdue vs. Indiana/Penn State/Northwestern
- No. 6 UCLA vs. Minnesota/Rutgers
Quarterfinals
- No. 1 Michigan vs. Ohio State/Iowa/Oregon/Maryland
- No. 4 Illinois vs. Wisconsin/Washington/USC
- No. 2 Michigan State vs. Purdue/Indiana/Penn State/Northwestern
- No. 3 Nebraska vs. UCLA/Minnesota/Rutgers
Semifinals
- Michigan/Ohio State/Iowa/Oregon/Maryland vs. Illinois/Wisconsin/Washington/USC
- Michigan State/Purdue/Indiana/Penn State/Northwestern vs. Nebraska/UCLA/Minnesota/Rutgers
The winner of those two semifinals will meet in the tournament final on Sunday, March 15. The conclusion of that game leads into CBS's Selection Sunday show and the unveiling of the NCAA Tournament bracket.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Big Ten basketball tournament bracket final projection Sunday schedule