Big Ten Tournament 2023: Top Storylines for Men's Round 2 Games

The second round of the Big Ten tournament is all about NCAA men's basketball tournament bubble teams.

The four-game slate starts with what could be a March Madness elimination game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Michigan Wolverines.

The Penn State Nittany Lions need a win against Illinois in the third of four games in Chicago to feel safer about their prospects of getting into the field of 68.

The other two matchups on Thursday could be lopsided affairs after the Ohio State Buckeyes and Minnesota Golden Gophers sprung upsets in the first round.

There are no NCAA tournament implications in those two contests, but if another upset happens, we would at least have one Cinderella story going into Friday.

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Rutgers-Michigan Game Massive in Bubble Conversation

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BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - MARCH 05: Hunter Dickinson #1 of the Michigan Wolverines in the 75-73 OT loss to the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on March 05, 2023 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The No. 8-versus-No. 9 matchup at the Big Ten tournament always seems to have some sort of bubble implications.

That is no different for Thursday's opener between Rutgers, which is hanging on the right side of the bubble, and Michigan, which needs multiple wins in Chicago to get into the field of 68.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN has Rutgers on the "Last Four In" column, while Michigan is on the "Next Four Out" line. Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report has the Scarlet Knights as his last team in.

Rutgers is in this position because it lost six of its last eight regular-season games, and one of those defeats came against Michigan.

The Scarlet Knights are trending in the wrong direction at the wrong time, and one loss should knock them out of the projected field of 68.

Michigan is 3-4 in its last seven games and needed the few days off between the end of the regular season and the start of the Big Ten tournament.

The Wolverines took part in three straight overtime games. They went to double overtime with the Illinois Fighting Illini and split single overtime contests with the Wisconsin Badgers and Indiana Hoosiers.

Hunter Dickinson needs to lead the Wolverines to victory on Thursday to set up a quarterfinal clash with the top-seeded Purdue Boilermakers. A loss would keep the Wolverines far away from the bubble conversation.

The Rutgers-Michigan winner should be considered a dangerous underdog against Purdue because of how desperate their respective situations are.

Penn State Needs Win to Feel Safe

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COLUMBUS, OH - FEBRUARY 23: Jalen Pickett #22 of the Penn State Nittany Lions drives the ball against the defense of Brice Sensabaugh #10 of the Ohio State Buckeyes during the second half at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on February 23, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio. Penn State defeated Ohio State 75-71. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

Penn State has moved in the opposite direction of Rutgers over the last three weeks.

The Nittany Lions produced a 5-1 record over the last six games with their only loss coming against Purdue.

The strong end to the regular season has placed the No. 10 seed on the right side of the bubble for now.

Lunardi listed Penn State on the "Last Four In" line, and Miller has it on his "Last Five In" column.

A win over Illinois would help Penn State move away from the bubble ahead of Selection Sunday.

The Nittany Lions beat the Illini by double figures in both of their regular-season meetings.

Illinois has not been as consistent as other Big Ten teams, as it produced a 4-5 record after the start of February.

Jalen Pickett and the Nittany Lions could not have asked for a better opponent to beat to earn at least one more day in Chicago, and if they produce the same result, they probably won't have to worry about their NCAA tournament fate.

Will More Upsets Happen?

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CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 08: Ohio State Buckeyes guard Sean McNeil (4) reacts after a play during the mens Big Ten Tournament basketball game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Wisconsin Badgers on March 08, 2023, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

No. 13 seed Ohio State and No. 14 seed Minnesota pulled off unexpected victories on Wednesday.

The Buckeyes and Golden Gophers should play with no pressure on Thursday, and that might make them dangerous to the Iowa Hawkeyes and Maryland Terrapins, respectively.

Ohio State has won three of its last four games, and one of its five Big Ten regular-season victories came against Iowa.

The Buckeyes seem to be in a better position to spring an upset than Minnesota, which lost two games to Maryland by a combined 53 points.

The Terrapins are a much better team at home, but they will be expected to rebound from losses to Ohio State and Penn State to produce a second-round win on Thursday.

Minnesota has not won consecutive games since December, and a second victory in Chicago would go down as the biggest shock of the early rounds across all power conferences.