First round of Big Ten Tournament begins Thursday

No. 8 Iowa (16-15, 8-10) vs. No. 9 Illinois (17-14, 6-12)

Season series: Illinois leads 1-0

At times, the Hawkeyes showed they could play with anyone in the Big Ten. They have four wins against the top 25, including a season sweep of Wisconsin.
However, they’ve also lost at home to Nebraska and at Penn State. A source of consistency for the Hawkeyes has been senior guard Matt Gatens, who averaged 23 points during his past six games.

After getting off to a 4-1 start in conference play, it has been all downhill for the Illini. Illinois dropped 11 of its final 13 Big Ten games and went from top of the conference to the No. 9 seed.

If Gatens can continue his hot 3-point shooting, the Illini will have a difficult time matching the Hawkeyes’ offensive  attack and might make an early exit

No. 5 IU (24-7, 11-7) vs. No. 12 Penn State (12-19, 4-14)

Season series: IU leads 2-0

Matchup breakdown: IU enters Thursday’s showdown having won six of its past seven conference games. However, while the Hoosiers had late success against conference opponents, they have yet to win a Big Ten Tournament game in the Crean era. The Nittany Lions ousted IU two of those times.

For Penn State to repeat this past year’s run to the Big Ten Championship, it will need junior guard Tim Frazier to provide the boost. Frazier scored in double figures in conference games and scored 21 points in each of the teams’ two meetings.

Even with Frazier’s offense, Penn State struggled away from Bryce Jordan Center having failed to win a Big Ten road game this season. The Hoosiers are 5-6 away from Assembly Hall, including a win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse against Notre Dame on Dec. 17.

No. 7 Northwestern (18-12, 8-10) vs. No. 10 Minnesota (18-13, 6-12)

Season series: 1-1

Northwestern is trying to add to its resume and punch its first ticket to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats were led by Big Ten leading scorer senior John Shurna and junior forward Drew Crawford, who combined to average 36.2 points per game.

The Gophers, on the other hand, enter postseason play having only beaten Nebraska in the month of February. Minnesota’s six-game losing streak all but evaporated its NCAA Tournament hopes, barring a Big Ten Tournament Championship.

In the Wildcats’ victory against Minnesota on Feb. 18, the Big Ten’s leading scoring duo combined for 29 points as Shurna became the all-time leading scorer at Northwestern. If the two of them can duplicate that performance, a first-round win could be enough for the Wildcats to better their case to dance in March.

No. 6 Purdue (20-11, 10-8) vs. No. 11 Nebraska (12-17, 4-14)

Season series: Purdue leads 1-0

Matchup breakdown: Addition by subtraction was the motto of a Purdue team that won five of its past seven Big Ten games to clinch another 20-win season. The Boilermakers have had success outside West Lafayette, having notched five Big Ten road wins.

The Cornhuskers enter Thursday’s action having lost five straight Big Ten road games.
Nebraska will look to put the clamps on Purdue senior Robbie Hummel, who scored a season-high 29 points in Purdue’s 83-65 win against the Cornhuskers.

Purdue’s leading scorer finished the season with 11 straight double-digit scoring performances. Thursday night will also represent the Cornhuskers’ first game in the Big Ten Tournament.