Big Ten Tournament 2015: Round 1 Schedule, Live Stream Info, Bracket Predictions

Amid a conference championship weekend filled with enticing storylines, it's hard to find a more anticipated event than the 2015 Big Ten tournament. 

There may be other conferences boasting more elite-level teams, but no major conference can match the overall package that the Big Ten has brought this 2014-15 season. There's national-title appeal in Wisconsin, dark horses in Maryland and Iowa along with a handful of NCAA tournament hopefuls looking to punch their ticket—or simply improve seeding—with a few wins in Chicago.

Only the lowest four seeds of the 14 schools play in Wednesday's two games. But with this marking the first year of this new tournament format, Big Ten faithful won't be missing out on the first night of action in the United Center.

Here's what you need to know for Day 1.

Round 1 Schedule

Time (ET)	Game	TV	Winner Plays
4:30 p.m.	Game 1: No. 13 Penn State vs. No. 12 Nebraska	ESPN2	No. 5 Iowa
7 p.m.	Game 2: No. 14 Rutgers vs. No. 11 Minnesota	BTN	No. 6 Ohio State

Note: Schedule courtesy of BigTen.org

Live Stream

A live stream of both games is available on BTN2Go. No. 13 Penn State vs. No. 12 Nebraska (4:30 p.m. ET) can also be streamed on WatchESPN.

No. 12 Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. No. 13 Penn State Nittany Lions

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For all that the opening matchup of the tournament between Nebraska and Penn State lacks, it features a star-studded one-on-one battle well worth tuning into.

Senior guard D.J. Newbill has put the Nittany Lions on his back throughout Big Ten play, leading the conference in scoring (20.7) while also leading his team in assists. He exploded for 31 points in a season-ending win at Minnesota in which he nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer to seal the victory.

Despite his incredible season, Newbill was snubbed from the all-conference first team, and that should offer some added motivation in tournament play, as StateCollege.com's Ben Jones noted:

He'll have his hands full across the court, however. Nebraska's Terran Petteway is no slouch, averaging 17.8 points per game, and he also has help from Shavon Shields, who averages 15.3 points per game in his own right.

Newbill's play should do enough to cancel out the impact of Petteway, and from there on it will come down to which team is the hottest—or rather, which team has struggled the least as of late. And there's no doubt that's Penn State.

The Cornhuskers have lost eight straight to close out the season, a drought that began with a 56-43 loss to Penn State on Feb. 7. The Nittany Lions ended a frustrating six-game skid of their own with that late win over Minnesota, and will use that momentum to roll through Nebraska again.

Prediction: Penn State 61, Nebraska 56

No. 11 Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. No. 14 Rutgers Scarlet Knights

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You don't often see teams like Minnesota as one of the first four to play in its conference tournament, but you also don't often see a league with as much parity as the Big Ten this season.

With that said, the Golden Gophers have played their part in falling to the 11th seed with a big skid to end the season. They lost five out of six to close out the regular season, including a painful last-second defeat to Penn State on senior day.

Head coach Richard Pitino talked about his team's chances to bounce back, per Marcus R. Fuller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

It should be noted, however, that Minnesota faced Wisconsin twice in that span. And it's impossible to ignore that things will come much easier Wednesday evening against lowly Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights have won all of two conference games all season, and those came in their first four appearances in conference play. Since the shocking win over Wisconsin, Rutgers has lost 14 games in a row, including an 89-80 defeat at Minnesota on Jan. 17.

Minnesota's length on the defensive side will frustrate Rutgers scorers Myles Mack and Kadeem Jack, spurring the Golden Gophers to an easy victory.

Prediction: Minnesota 67, Rutgers 54