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Ready or not, here's the Big Ten basketball tournament schedule and team previews


Michigan State is the top seed after raising the banner for winning the regular season title. (Al Goldis/Associated Press)

The first round of the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament gets underway Wednesday evening at Madison Square Garden, marking the first time the event has been held in New York. Here’s the bracket: 

[At the Big Ten basketball tournament, March comes early — too early, many say]

All times Eastern.

FIRST ROUND

Game 1: No. 13 seed Illinois (14-17, 4-14) vs. No. 12 seed Iowa (13-18, 4-14)
When: Wednesday, 5:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
Skinny: Illinois blew a 20-point lead to Iowa in a 104-97 loss in January, which counted as one of the highlights of an otherwise paltry season for the Hawkeyes. Iowa, which finished with its worst regular season record since 2011 and hasn’t won a conference tournament game in five years, has firepower behind guard Jordan Bohannon — but ranks last in the league in defensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage defense and three-point percentage defense, per KenPom.com.

Game 2: No. 11 seed Minnesota (15-16, 4-14) vs. No. 14 seed Rutgers (13-18, 3-15)
When: Wednesday, 8, Big Ten Network
Skinny: The good news for the Gophers is that point guard Nate Mason is expected to be available after not practicing earlier this week due to lingering hip issues. Nonetheless, Minnesota Coach Richard Pitino isn’t thrilled to be going back to Madison Square Garden, where his team already played a neutral site Big Ten game earlier this year. Here’s Pitino on playing the conference tournament week early on the East Coast: “I’m sick of New York,” Pitino told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “I just hate what it’s done to our schedule. We’ve had four one-day preps. Some teams have had one. That’s not ideal. We’ve had one less home game than everybody else. There are so many factors that go into it that make it difficult.”

SECOND ROUND
Game 3: No. 8 seed Maryland (19-12, 8-10) vs. No. 9 seed Wisconsin (14-17, 7-11)
When: Thursday, noon, Big Ten Network
Skinny: After earning a double-bye each of its first three seasons in the Big Ten, Maryland finds itself in a new position as the No. 8 seed against a Wisconsin team that has elevated its play down the stretch. The Terrapins, who own just one top-50 RPI win (Butler), will likely need to win four games in four days to make their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament.

[‘Don’t worry about me’: Turgeon stands firm during Terps’ disappointing season]

Game 4: Illinois-Iowa winner vs. No. 5 seed Michigan (24-7, 13-5)
When: Thursday, 2:30, Big Ten Network
Skinny: A year after Michigan became one of March’s best stories following a harrowing plane crash on takeoff to the Big Ten tournament in Washington, it has a higher seed in its quest to repeat as conference tournament champion. The Wolverines are one of four teams in the league assured of an NCAA tournament berth, having won seven of their last eight games to end the regular season. That included an impressive showing in the final three, with a 12-point win over Ohio State, a nine-point win over Penn State and a dominant 24-point win at Maryland.

Game 5: No. 10 seed Northwestern (15-16, 6-12) vs. No. 7 seed Penn State (19-12, 9-9)
When: Thursday, 6:30, Big Ten Network
Skinny: After making their first NCAA tournament appearance in school history last spring, the Wildcats have been one of the country’s most disappointing teams. Penn State, meanwhile, enters the Big Ten tournament on fringes the of the NCAA bubble after missing a chance at a resume-boosting win at Michigan in late February. The Nittany Lions will likely need to win multiple games to have a chance at an at-large bid.

Game 6: Rutgers-Minnesota winner vs. No. 6 seed Indiana (16-14, 9-9)
When: Thursday, 9, Big Ten Network
Skinny: If there’s any reason to believe that the Hoosiers can give teams problems this week in New York, it’s forward Juwan Morgan. The 6-foot-9, 205-pounder earned second-team all-league honors earlier this week after averaging 16.6 points (on 57.9 percent shooting) and 7.3 rebounds per game.

QUARTERFINALS 

Game 7: Maryland-Wisconsin winner vs. No. 1 seed Michigan State (28-3, 16-2)
When: Friday, noon, Big Ten Network
Skinny: The Spartans are a national championship contender and perhaps the most complete team in the country, having clinched the outright regular season title with a hard-fought 68-63 win over Wisconsin in the finale. The Spartans could see the Badgers again to open their postseason. Michigan State went a combined 4-0 against the Terrapins and Badgers, although the gap in those wins narrowed significantly on the road; the Spartans won by a combined 55 points at home and by a combined 11 on the road.

Game 8: Illinois, Iowa or Michigan vs. No. 4 seed Nebraska (22-9, 13-5)
When: Friday, 2:30, Big Ten Network
Skinny: The Cornhuskers enter the week squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble and need a win over Michigan here to buffer their portfolio; that still might not be enough for a team with 13 league victories but no quality nonconference wins.

Game 9: Northwestern-Penn State winner vs. No. 2 seed Ohio State (24-7, 15-3)
When: Friday, 6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
Skinny: The Buckeyes were the league’s best surprise this winter, rejuvenated by first-year Coach Chris Holtmann, who was selected as Big Ten Coach of the Year. That hardware was accompanied by player-of-the-year honors for forward Keita Bates-Diop, who finished second in the league in scoring (19.2) and rebounding (8.9).

Game 10: Rutgers, Minnesota or Indiana vs. No. 3 seed Purdue (26-5, 15-3)
When: Friday, 9 p.m., Big Ten Network
Skinny: The Boilermakers have the best shot to challenge Michigan State for the Big Ten championship, although Matt Painter’s team has trended downward in February. Purdue lost three straight to Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin before rebounding with wins in its final three games, against Penn State, Illinois and Minnesota. Purdue is projected as a No. 2 seed in the South Region of the NCAA tournament, according to the most recent bracket projection for The Post by Patrick Stevens.

SEMIFINALS
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner
When: Saturday, 2 p.m., CBS Sports

Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner
When: Saturday, 4:30 p.m., CBS Sports

CHAMPIONSHIP
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner
When: Sunday, 4:30 p.m., CBS Sports

More college basketball:

A guide to early-March Madness: NCAA conference tournaments get going this week

Bracketology: N.C. State and Virginia Tech try to leave the bubble

This is the best Virginia Tech team to ever play ACC basketball

Obama: NCAA’s basketball farm system ‘not a sustainable way of doing business’

‘Mr. SportsCenter’: George Mason guard is the new king of the buzzer-beaters

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