Big Ten Tournament 2016: Round 2 Schedule, Live Stream Info, Bracket Predictions

After opening the conference tournament with two games that featured the bottom four finishers in the league, the Big Ten adds a bit more luster as the conference tournament hits its stride with four games on Thursday. 

While none of the eight teams scheduled to play on Thursday are expected to get the best of top-seeded Indiana or second-seeded Michigan State, the level of quality should be quite high when Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan take the court in Indianapolis.

The eighth-seeded Wolverines open the quadruple-header against a ninth-seeded Northwestern team that has gained traction in the Big Ten with Chris Collins as its head coach. However, Northwestern is still looking for its first appearance in the NCAA tournament, and that may not be coming for the next year or two, because the Wildcats just don't have the depth or overall quality of the top teams in the Big Ten.

Michigan is a talented team that appears to be capable of playing on Saturday in the semifinals if head coach John Beilein's men play to their potential. Caris LeVert can be an explosive scorer. He led the Wolverines with an average of 16.5 points per game, and he connected on 50.6 percent of his shots during the regular season.

Look for Michigan to pull away from Northwestern in the final moments of the second half and win by eight points or more.

The second game of the day features a strong fifth-seeded Iowa team against Illinois. The Illini got by Minnesota on Wednesday to survive and advance, but Illinois has fallen way back in the pack and has not been part of the Big Ten's elite for several seasons.

Date	Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV	Live Stream
March 10	3	Northwestern (9) vs. Michigan (8)	Noon	BTN	btn2go.com
March 10	4	Illinois (12) vs. Iowa (5)	2:30 p.m.	BTN	btn2go.com
March 10	5	Penn State (10) vs. Ohio State (7)	6:30 p.m.	ESPN2	btn2go.com
March 10	6	Nebraska (11) vs. Wisconsin (6)	9 p.m.	ESPN2	btn2go.com
March 11	7	Michigan-Northwestern winner vs. Indiana (1)	Noon	ESPN	btn2go.com
March 11	8	Illinois-Iowa winner vs. Purdue (4)	2:30 p.m.	ESPN	btn2go.com
March 11	9	Penn State-Ohio State winner vs. Michigan State (2)	6:30 p.m.	BTN	btn2go.com
March 11	10	Nebraska-Wisconsin winner vs. Maryland (3)	9 p.m.	BTN	btn2go.com
March 12	11	Semifinal (Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner)	1 p.m.	CBS	btn2go.com
March 12	12	Semifinal (Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner)	3:30 p.m.	CBS	btn2go.com
March 13	13	Championship	3 p.m.	CBS	btn2go.com

Iowa led the Big Ten race for several weeks before slumping at the end of the season, but the combination of Jarrod Uthoff and Peter Jok make the Hawkeyes a competitive team. Uthoff averaged 18.8 points per night this season, while Jok scored 15.8 points per night. 

Iowa has far more firepower than the Illini, and the Hawkeyes should win easily.

Seventh-seeded Ohio State and 10th-seeded Penn State square off in the opener of the evening doubleheader, and this game should be the best of the day. The Buckeyes played decent basketball down the stretch, winning six of their final 10 regular-season games, while the Nittany Lions split their last 10 games.

Head coach Thad Matta's Ohio State lineup features four double-digit scorers. The Buckeyes are led by Marc Loving, who is averaging 13.5 points per night.

Senior forward Brandon Taylor is a sharp scorer for the Nittany Lions, and he should be able to help keep his team in the game. Taylor is averaging 16.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest.

Look for Ohio State to win on its final possession.

The final game features Wisconsin and Nebraska. While the Cornhuskers defeated Big Ten tail-ender Rutgers, they are up against it in this matchup with the Badgers.

Wisconsin does not have the talent it did a year ago, when Frank Kaminsky led the Badgers to the NCAA tournament final against Duke, but the Badgers were 8-2 down the stretch and should have no problem rolling over Nebraska.