Big Ten Tournament 2016: Quarterfinal Schedule, Live Stream, Bracket Predictions

The big boys are coming out to play in the Big Ten conference tournament.

While fans may have gotten a few thrills in Indianapolis watching the first two days of action involving the conference's 10 bottom seeds, it's time for the heavyweights to show what they can do in the conference showdown.

Indiana, Michigan State, Maryland and Purdue will all see their first action in the tournament, and while all are favored, it may not be so easy to survive and advance to the semifinals.

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV	Live Stream	Prediction
March 11	Michigan vs. Indiana	Noon	ESPN	btn2go.com	Indiana
March 11	Illinois vs. Purdue	2:30 p.m.	ESPN	btn2go.com	Purdue
March 11	Ohio State vs. Michigan State	6:30 p.m.	BTN	btn2go.com	Michigan State
March 11	Nebraska vs. Maryland	9 p.m.	BTN	btn2go.com	Maryland

Indiana won the Big Ten regular-season title, and Tom Crean's team was quite consistent throughout the regular season. That regular-season title may have gotten the demanding Indiana fans off Crean's back for the time being, but if they can't follow up with a strong showing in the tournament and at least get to the championship game, Crean will hear about it from the fans.

The Hoosiers have gotten a huge lift from Yogi Ferrell, who's had his best season and averaged 17.1 points and 4.4 assists per game. Troy Williams and Thomas Bryant also averaged in double figures for Indiana.

Indiana will meet Michigan in the first quarterfinal game of the day. The Wolverines narrowly defeated Northwestern in overtime, 72-70, Thursday, and they used Zak Irvin's 15-foot jumper with three seconds remaining to survive and advance.

Michigan is very athletic and can be explosive, and John Beilein should have his team ready to give the Hoosiers their best game. Look for Michigan to press Indiana until the final minute, but the Hoosiers will find a way to win.

Fourth-seeded Purdue will take on Illinois, which upset Iowa 68-66 in the second round on Thursday. Purdue played extremely well on its home court this season, recording a 17-1 mark in games played in West Lafayette. While they should have an advantage playing in their home state, it is not likely to be as pronounced as it has been on campus.

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

A.J. Hammons is a strong player who led the team in scoring with 14.8 points per game while brining down 7.8 rebounds each night. Vince Edwards and Caleb Swanigan also averaged in double figures for head coach Matt Painter's Boilermakers.

The Illini played a tremendous defensive game in getting the best of Iowa, and embattled head coach John Groce should feel good about the win. However, the Illini are not likely to have enough left in the tank to defeat a rested Purdue team. Look for Purdue to take charge of this game early in the second half and run away from Illinois.

Al Goldis/Associated Press

While Michigan State was the regular-season runner-up in the Big Ten and the No. 2 seed in the tournament, it would not be a surprise to anyone if the Spartans won the Big Ten tournament championship.

Tom Izzo's team played very well in the nonconference portion of the schedule before facing some difficulty early in the Big Ten race. However, the Spartans straightened themselves out behind Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine, guard Bryn Forbes and powerful big man Matt Costello.

Valentine averaged a Big Ten-best 19.6 points per game and 7.5 rebounds, while Forbes averaged 15.1 points and shot the ball at a rate of 50.5 percent from beyond the arc. Costello averaged 10.5 points and a team-best 8.5 rebounds per game.

The Spartans should have little trouble with Ohio State, a second-round victor over Penn State, 79-75. The Buckeyes may keep it close for a half, but there will be no denying Valentine and Co.

You can't blame Mark Turgeon if he still feels like an outsider. The Maryland head coach knows that there is still some resentment toward his team because the Terps are in just their second year in the conference after years of being an Atlantic Coast Conference mainstay.

Maryland proved to be one of the elite teams in the Big Ten this season, and the Terps have a legitimate chance to do even more damage in the conference tournament.

Melo Trimble and Diamond Stone form a superb combination, and the Terps can string points together and build big leads. They should be able to handle a Nebraska team that upset Wisconsin with relative ease, 70-58.

Even if Nebraska can keep it close for a half,  Maryland will assert itself down the stretch and win.