Though Maryland men’s basketball knew its opening round opponent before the weekend, there were still some games to be played on Sunday to decide seeding for next week’s Big Ten Tournament in Madison Square Garden.
With the regular season now a wrap, the bracket was released on Sunday night. The tournament gets underway with two games on Wednesday, and the Terps will start their Big Apple experience Thursday with a noon matchup with Wisconsin in the 8/9 game.
The 2018 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament bracket. #B1GTourney #B1GAtMSG https://t.co/WFt92GSRWw pic.twitter.com/z4vQN1Lfpx
— Big Ten Men's Hoops (@B1GMBBall) February 26, 2018
On Wednesday, Iowa will kick off the tournament against Illinois in the 12/13 matchup before Minnesota takes on Rutgers in the 11/14 game. The Terps kick off play the next day against Wisconsin and would have to take on regular season champ Michigan State for the third time if they win.
Nebraska secured the No. 4 seed and the final double-bye with a win over Penn State on Sunday, rounding out a top four also including Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue. Nebraska and Michigan both finished with a 13-5 conference record, but Nebraska won their only matchup of the season. Ohio State also claims the No. 2 seed by virtue of a head-to-head win over Purdue. Each of those teams will get two days of rest before playing on Friday in the semifinals.
While Maryland has a good shot at winning one game, its road to a Big Ten Tournament crown—its only shot a NCAA Tournament bid—runs smack into Michigan State, who swept the Terps this season. Games will be broadcast on BTN from Wednesday to Friday, with CBS carrying the semifinals and finals on Saturday and Sunday.
In other news
The bracket is also out for the women’s basketball conference tournament. The Terps drew the No. 2 seed and will play the winner of Indiana-Michigan State on Friday in Indianapolis.
Men’s basketball was demolished by Michigan over the weekend to close out the regular season. It was a somber senior day (though there was a Reese Mona sighting).
Senior day for the women’s team went a lot better, as the Terps escaped with a two-point win over Nebraska.
Baseball wrapped up its first home series with a 6-3 win over Army, after dropping the first two of the series. The win was head coach Rob Vaughn’s first at home.
Softball had another rough weekend, winning its first matchup at the Florida Tournament before dropping its next four. The Terps are now 3-11 on the season with another tournament looming at the end of the week.
Women’s lacrosse lost in overtime on Saturday to No. 8 North Carolina, snapping a 25-game winning streak dating back to 2016, when Kevin Durant played for the Thunder.
Women’s tennis was the latest team to fall victim to the dreaded 3-1 lead, losing its home match 4-3 to VCU and dropping to 3-4 on the season.
Hey, you remember that Reese Mona sighting I mentioned? Wouldn’t it be great if there were highlights of his time? What if I told you those exist on the internet, and they’re right here, from The Diamondback.
Maryland football signee Brian Cobbs is enjoying his last hurrah as a high school basketball player. The three-star wide receiver hit a buzzer-beater to send his high school to the Virginia state tournament, as his Hayfield beat Hylton 56-53. Watch the poise after the shot.
@TerpsFootball one of your future Terps (@cobbs_brian) doing huge things on the court! #turtlepower pic.twitter.com/nO88dzans2
— Jeremy Huber (@jrhubersxm) February 24, 2018