After closing out the regular season with a win over Maryland on Sunday night, Penn State locked in its position in the final Big Ten standings. With Ohio State winning its game at Rutgers on Sunday, the Nittany Lions were officially locked into one of the Big Ten’s last four seeds in the Big Ten tournament, meaning they will have to play in the first round on Wednesday. And with the win over Maryland, Penn State wrapped up the no. 11 seed in the Big Ten tournament.
As a result, Penn State will take on Michigan on Wednesday in the second game of the first round on Wednesday evening in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Michigan finished in last place in the Big Ten this season with a Big Ten record of 3-17 (8-23 overall). The first-round matchup between the Nittany Lions and Wolverines is scheduled for an approximate start time of 9:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday night, with the start time potentially impacted by the time the first game between Maryland and Rutgers ends.
Penn State’s first-round matchup will only be available to watch on the Peacock streaming app. If Penn State gets past Michigan, the second-round matchup against Indiana will be seen on Big Ten Network. Penn State was 2-0 against Indiana this season, so it is seemingly very possible for Penn State to make a run to the Big Ten quarterfinal round. But Penn State’s record away from home this season is well-documented and could still come back to haunt them as the Nittany Lions merely try to keep slim hopes of playing in the NIT alive.
Penn State won the only regular-season meeting with Michigan this season when Ace Baldwin Jr. led the Nittany Lions to a 79-73 victory in The Palestra in Philadelphia in early January. This will be the first Big Ten tournament meeting between Penn State and Michigan since 2013 when Michigan won a first-round matchup by a score of 83-66.
You can see the full Big Ten men’s basketball tournament and track all of the results, matchups, odds, and more with our Big Ten men’s basketball tournament tracker.
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