Ohio State's double-overtime win at Indiana Friday night clinched the two seed in the Big Ten Tournament for the Buckeyes, and with a bit of help, Chris Holtmann's team can slide into the top spot.
The Bucks finished the Big Ten regular season 15–3, good enough for the program's best conference mark since the 2010-11 season and the teams that bracket Ohio State in the league standings have one final game to play.
No. 2 Michigan State travels to Madison Sunday (1 p.m., CBS) to face the Wisconsin Badgers, while No. 9 Purdue welcomes Minnesota to West Lafayette (4 p.m., FS1). The Spartans are a half game up on the Buckeyes for pole position in the Big Ten, while the Boilermakers are a half game behind Ohio State.
| Team | Conf | Overall | Home | Away | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2 MICHIGAN STATE | 15–2 | 27–3 | 16–1 | 7–1 | W11 |
| #16 OHIO STATE | 15–3 | 24–7 | 16–2 | 6–2 | W2 |
| #9 PURDUE | 14–3 | 25–5 | 15–1 | 8–2 | W2 |
Should Michigan State stumble against Wisconsin, the Buckeyes and Boilermakers will each slide up one spot into the one and two seed, respectively. Should both teams win, Michigan State will hold on to the top seed, Ohio State the two seed and Purdue will check in as the three seed. Regardless of what happens Sunday, the Buckeyes will earn the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the tournament.
The top four seeds earn double byes in the tournament.
The 2018 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, set to take place at New York's Madison Square Garden, kicks off Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 5:30 p.m. on BTN, with a bout between the 13 seed and the 12 seed. Twenty-five minutes after the conclusion of that game, the 14 seed will meet the 11 seed.
If the Buckeyes slide into the top seed, they face their first league tournament opponent Friday, Mar. 2, at noon. Should they remain in the two spot, they'll play that same day at 6:30 p.m. Both of those games will be televised on BTN.
