Illinois Basketball: Illini path to winning the Big Ten Tournament

With the Illinois basketball win over Iowa on Sunday, the Big Ten Tournament is officially set.

The Illini enter the conference tournament as the No. 1 overall seed after Wisconsin dropped a crucial game to Nebraska just hours before the tip of the Iowa game. The No. 1 seed means Illinois joins No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 Purdue, and No. 4 Rutgers in the coveted double-bye slot.

Teams getting a single-bye and playing on Thursday include No. 5 Iowa, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Michigan State, No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Indiana, and No. 10 Maryland. To start the Big Ten Tournament, No. 11 Penn State, No. 12 Northwestern, No. 13 Nebraska, and No. 14 Minnesota will tip-off on Wednesday.

What is the most likely path for the Illinois basketball team to win the Big Ten Tournament?

• Big Ten Tournament 3rd round matchup – No. 8 Michigan Wolverines

Illinois starts the Big Ten Tournament at 10:30 a.m. CT on Friday, March 11. The first game for the Illini will either be against No. 8 Michigan or No. 9 Indiana.

The two teams faced off earlier this season with Michigan coming away with an 18-point win at Indiana. That is a huge margin on the road, but these two teams have been up and down since then.

I would say Indiana has this matchup considering the Wolverines have been without their head coach for the past five games. But Michigan still managed to go 3-2, so they have some fight. On the other hand, Indiana is 2-7 in their last nine games. They are struggling greatly.

I believe Michigan is going to win this game as long as Hunter Dickinson is on the court. That means Illinois would take on Michigan in the third round.

• Big Ten Tournament Final 4 matchup – No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes

I am intrigued to see who Illinois would play next. No. 12 Northwestern takes on No. 13 Nebraska on Wednesday. The winner of the game, I assume Nebraska, would then take on No. 5 Iowa. The Hawkeyes beat Nebraska a couple of weeks ago by 10 points on the road, so I think Iowa comes out victorious.

Iowa would then take on No. 4 Rutgers. In the lone game this season, the two teams were in a tough battle that was won by Rutgers by two points in New Jersey. That is going to be a good game. Even though Rutgers is playing well, I think Iowa squeaks by the Scarlet Knights.

That would then set up a rematch of the final game of the season. No. 1 Illinois would take on No. 5 Iowa to get to the Big Ten title game.

• Big Ten Championship matchup – No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers

I think there are two clear-cut elite teams in the bottom of the Big Ten Tournament bracket. No. 7 Michigan State and No. 10 Maryland aren’t going to be a match for No. 2 Wisconsin. I think the Badgers will roll into the Final 4 of the Big Ten Tournament.

I would make the same argument for No. 3 Purdue. I don’t think No. 6 Ohio State, No. 11 Penn State, and No. 14 Minnesota will be any match for the Boilermakers. But who is going to win between Purdue and Wisconsin?

It is always tough to beat a team three times in a season. The Badgers took down Purdue by five points back on January 3 in West Lafayette, and they took down the Boilermakers by three points less than a week ago at the Kohl Center. I think Purdue gets the best of Wisconsin in the third installment of this matchup. That leaves Illinois against Purdue for the Big Ten title.

At the end of the day, I obviously think Illinois will win the Big Ten Tournament. Purdue beat the Illini twice in the regular season, so the third time is the charm. This should be an interesting Big Ten Tournament. Hopefully, we can sweep the conference and take home the regular season and postseason conference championship.