Big Ten Tournament, Day 3: Wisconsin Chaos Team Joke Goes Here

Iowa v Ohio State

12:00 ET, 11:00 GTZ. BTN.

BoilerUp89: With the state of this year's bubble neither of these teams appears to be in any imminent danger unless there are 5+ bid thieves. I think we get 3 bid thieves (and to be honest that might be a stretch) so this is a game for seeding. Honestly might be better off losing to avoid the 8/9 game in the NCAA Tournament, but don't let me tell you what to do.

MaximumSam: Iowa stuffed OSU into a trash can a couple weeks ago. I'll be hurrying home to watch this one, so hopefully the Buckeyes can avoid a repeat.

AlmaOtter: Should OSU really want to win this game? I'm not sure whether it's better to get stuffed in a trashcan by Iowa or get stuffed into an even smaller trashcan by Michigan.

Washington v Wisconsin

2:30 ET. 1:30 GTZ. Still BTN.

AlmaOtter: I have no idea what to expect from this one. Washington spotted USC a ten point lead in yesterday's game, then scrapped their way back to force OT. These two teams played just two weeks ago and the Trashpandas buried the Pups 90-73 thanks to Braeden Carrington's 9 three-pointers. But Wisconsin also lost to Oregon AND USC earlier in the year, so shrug emoji?

Northwestern (?) v Purdue

6:30 ET, 5:30 GTZ. BeeeeTeeeeEnnnn

PerpetuallyAggrievedWildcat: Lookit the THIGHS on Purdue Pete. Got-dayum.

Indiana was about the best matchup Northwestern could've hoped for in Round 2, and the 'Cats cooked against the Hoosiers' undersized lineup. It meant Nick Martinelli push shots and offensive rebounds, sure; today, though, it was Jake West getting dribble penetration and emerging with a clear case to be the Scoring Heir Apparent – his 18 points (7/14, 2/5 from deep, 4 ast) looked...damn good. The offense has been wildly efficient in the Big Ten Tournament, and in the second half against Indiana the trapping was more efficient and the transition D improved.

Next up? Purdue, and a different challenge: dealing with size. Arrinten Page was out again today – not a problem against the Hoosiers, but a challenge when Purdue brings out Jedediah the Silent and batters you inside for 40 minutes. If Page can't go, the 'Cats will need a much less foul-prone performance from Tre Singleton (who was great today) and some vital minutes from frosh Tyler Kropp. And that's before we even get into "Hey, maybe try defending CJ Cox."

House money at this point, and Purdue should roll. But hey, it's fun.

BoilerUp89: The way Purdue has played the past month, I sort of expect Northwestern to roll here. That being said, on paper Purdue has the advantage inside. Win the battle on the boards, run Northwestern off the three point line and force them to take mid-range twos, and take care of the basketball. The Boilermakers have been way too turnover heavy as of late and need to regain their focus heading into the Big Dance.

Rutgers v UCLA

9:00 ET, 8:00 GTZ. Hey. You know the drill by now. Look above for the channel.

BoilerUp89: Rutgers - a team that can't really beat anyone good. Versus UCLA, a team that can't win east of the Rocky Mountains. Your guess is as good as mine. Don't gamble on this one kids.

AlmaOtter: Hey, you're not my supervisor! I'll gamble on the Scarlet Knights if I want to! Rutgers is hot right now, riding their longest conference win streak of the season! (Two. The streak is at two.)