March 4, 2012
2012 Big Ten Tournament Bracket (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern will be the No. 7 seed for the upcoming 2012 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament set to get underway Thursday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Wildcats take on 10th-seeded Minnesota in an opening-round contest at 4:30 p.m. Central time Thursday. The game is being televised by ESPN2. The winner of the matchup faces Michigan, the No. 2 seed, in the quarterfinal round at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Thursday's meeting will be the sixth between Northwestern and Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament, including the fourth in the last five years. The Wildcats won last year's opening-round matchup with the Golden Gophers, 75-65, behind a tournament-record 35 points from Michael Thompson.
Northwestern (18-12, 8-10 Big Ten) tied for seventh place in the Big Ten regular-season standings with Iowa, but the Wildcats earned the tiebreaker based on earning a season sweep of the Hawkeyes.
NU and Minnesota (18-13, 6-12) split their regular-season series with each squad winning on its home court. The Golden Gophers posted a 75-52 victory Jan. 22 in Minneapolis before the Wildcats earned a 64-53 win Feb. 18 in Evanston.
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