The Big Ten Tournament Championship Game will be the final college basketball game before the start of the NCAA Tournament and after two hard-fought matchups we now know who the participants will be.
With their 98-87 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers this afternoon, the Illinois Fighting Illini have advanced and will face the Wisconsin Badgers, who a few hours ago knocked off top-seeded Purdue to punch their ticket to the big game at the Target Center.
Illinois went 23-8 in the regular season, but lost both legs against Purdue while beating Wisconsin in their only matchup. That’ll certainly be a confidence booster heading into tomorrow’s game.
Wisconsin, on the other hand, were relegated to the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament after losing three of their last four regular season games to finish 19-12. But after three straight wins over Maryland, Northwestern and Purdue in their Big Ten Tournament run, Greg Gard has his team just one win away from his first Big Ten Tournament title.
Both teams are hoping that they can use this tournament as a springboard into a more successful run in the NCAA Tournament later this month.
The Badgers have not made it out of the first weekend since 2017, while the Illini have not been to the Sweet 16 in nearly two decades.
Suffice it to say, tomorrow’s game will be huge not only for their pride but for their confidence as they return to the locker rooms for Selection Sunday tomorrow night.
The Big Ten Championship Game will be played at 3:30 p.m. ET and will air on CBS.