Big Ten Tournament 2024: Men's Quarterfinal Schedule, Live Stream, Bracket Prediction

The top four Big Ten men's basketball tournament begin their time on the floor in Minneapolis on Friday.

The quartet is led by the Purdue Boilermakers and Illinois Fighting Illini, who were the clear top two teams in the league in the regular season.

Purdue is expected to handle the Michigan State Spartans, but Illinois could have some difficulty against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ohio State's late surge on to the NCAA men's basketball tournament bubble continued with a quarterfinal win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday.

Michigan State and Ohio State are the Big Ten's two bubble teams entering Friday. Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller listed the Spartans as the fourth-to-last team in and the Buckeyes as the fifth team out.

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Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal Schedule

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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - MARCH 14: Evan Mahaffey #12 of the Ohio State Buckeyes dribbles the ball against Ben Krikke #23 of the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first half in the Second Round of the Big Ten Tournament at Target Center on March 14, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

No. 8 Michigan State vs. No. 1 Purdue (Noon ET, BTN)

No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 Northwestern (2:30 p.m. ET, BTN)

No. 10 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Illinois (6:30 p.m. ET, BTN)

No. 6 Indiana vs. No. 3 Nebraska (9 p.m. ET, BTN)

Games can be live-streamed on Fox Sports app.

Purdue, Illinois End Runs of Bubble Teams

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CHAMPAIGN, IL - MARCH 05: Illinois Fighting Illini Guard Marcus Domask (3) pauses during a free throw as teammate against the Purdue Boilermakers as teammate Illini Guard Justin Harmon (4) watches, Tuesday, March 5, 2024, in a Big 10 Conference contest at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by David Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The two best teams in the Big Ten should flex their muscle inside the Target Center.

Purdue should dispense of a Michigan State team that struggled over the last few weeks.

Michigan State's lone win in its last five regular-season games came in a low-scoring home contest against the Northwestern Wildcats.

The Spartans' Thursday win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers was not that impressive since Minnesota itself went on a late-season slide.

Tom Izzo's team struggled to contain Zach Edey on March 2. The Purdue big man had 32 points and 17 rebounds. He should produce similar totals on Friday.

Illinois should eliminate the feel-good story of the Big Ten tournament in the night session.

Ohio State reeled off six wins in its last seven games to work its way back to the bubble conversation, but it may struggle with Illinois.

The Illini held Iowa to 61 points on Sunday in a potential statement game for its defensive capabilities in the NCAA tournament.

Illinois can score with the best teams in the country, and if it continues to improve on defense, it could set up a third meeting with Purdue on Sunday and generate some buzz going into next week about its title credentials.

Wisconsin Knocks off Northwestern

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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - MARCH 14: Tyler Wahl #5 of the Wisconsin Badgers goes up for a shot against Jahmir Young #1 and Julian Reese #10 of the Maryland Terrapins in the first half in the Second Round of the Big Ten Tournament at Target Center on March 14, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

The Wisconsin Badgers and Northwestern Wildcats have the potential to produce the game of the day in Minneapolis.

Wisconsin stormed past the Maryland Terrapins with an 87-56 win on Thursday to create some momentum for its clash with the No. 4 seed.

Northwestern went 4-2 in its last six games to earn the No. 4 seed, but its record against the league's best teams is concerning.

The Wildcats went 3-4 against the other top-five seeds and only one of those wins came in regulation. Their win over Purdue occurred back on December 1.

The Badgers were not convincing at all at the end of the Big Ten regular season, as they dropped from 8-1 to 11-9 in league play.

However, the big offensive performance on Thursday should have settled some nerves and helped Wisconsin turn a page into the postseason.

Northwestern's shaky mark against the premier programs suggests it could be susceptible to an upset, or that it at least will not blow out the Badgers in the No. 4-versus-No. 5 matchup.