The bracket is set for the upcoming Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.
With the regular season in the rearview, 14 teams will have a chance to hoist championship hardware in the Windy City and punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament in the process.
Ohio State opens the festivities in the first game of the tournament on Wednesday, when the 13th-seeded Buckeyes will take on No. 12 seed Wisconsin in a rematch of a Feb. 2 matchup in Columbus. The Badgers beat the Buckeyes, 65-60, in the lone regular-season meeting, but Ohio State has a chance at revenge at 6:30 p.m. in just three days.
The #B1GMBBT bracket pic.twitter.com/Gm01WYcOle
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 6, 2023
Wisconsin's gone 4-5 since beating Ohio State to finish the regular season with a 17-13 overall record and a 9-11 mark in conference play.
Should Ohio State get past its first test, the Buckeyes will move on to face fifth-seed Iowa in the second game at the United Center at approximately 2:30 p.m.Thursday. Ohio State split its pair of games with the Hawkeyes in the regular season, blowing Iowa out in Columbus on Jan. 21 (93-77) before suffering a 92-75 loss in the Feb. 16 rematch on the road.
Given the Buckeyes' 13-18 regular-season record, they'll need to run the table in Chicago to have a chance at the Big Dance. But it won't be an easy task, as Ohio State must win five games in five days to do so.
