Big Ten Tournament 2017: Schedule, Bracket and Storylines to Watch

The Big Ten men's basketball tournament field is set after regular-season play concluded Sunday.

it should be an interesting postseason this year, as half the teams should make the NCAA tournament field, with a couple more contenders looming on the horizon.

Here's a look at the tournament schedule, the bracket and three storylines to watch.

Big Ten Tournament Schedule

Date	Game	Round	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Wednesday, March 8	1	First	No. 13 Penn State vs. No. 12 Nebraska	4:30 p.m.	ESPN2
Wednesday, March 8	2	First	No. 14 Rutgers vs. No. 11 Ohio State	7 p.m.	BTN
Thursday, March 9	3	Second	No. 9 Illinois vs. No. 8 Michigan	Noon	BTN
Thursday, March 9	4	Second	No. 5 Michigan State vs. Game 1 winner	25 minutes after Game 3	BTN
Thursday, March 9	5	Second	No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 7 Iowa	6:30 p.m.	ESPN2
Thursday, March 9	6	Second	No. 6 Northwestern vs. Game 2 winner	25 minutes after Game 5	ESPN2
Friday, March 10	7	Quarterfinals	No. 1 Purdue vs. Game 3 winner	Noon	ESPN
Friday, March 10	8	Quarterfinals	No. 4 Minnesota vs. Game 4 winner	25 minutes after Game 7	ESPN
Friday, March 10	9	Quarterfinals	No. 2 Wisconsin vs. Game 5 winner	6:30 p.m.	BTN
Friday, March 10	10	Quarterfinals	No. 3 Maryland vs. Game 6 winner	25 minutes after Game 9	BTN
Saturday, March 11	11	Semifinals	Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner	1 p.m.	CBS Sports
Saturday, March 11	12	Semifinals	Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner	3:30 p.m.	CBS Sports
Sunday, March 12	13	Finals	Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner	3 p.m.	CBS Sports

Information via grfx.cstv.com. All games will take place at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

Big Ten Tournament Bracket

Storylines To Watch

1. Can Illinois, Iowa or Indiana Insert Themselves into the NCAA Tournament Picture?

Right now, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi predicts that seven Big Ten teams will make the field, with Iowa and Illinois sitting on the wrong side of the bracket bubble. The Hoosiers aren't in the picture right now but could be with a few wins.

Each team has a tough second-round matchup, with Iowa facing Indiana and Illinois taking on Michigan.

Iowa is getting hot at the right time, winning four straight to close the regular season, but it is in "survive and advance" mode at this point, as it's hard to see the Hawkeyes making the tournament if it loses to an Indiana team that went 7-11 in conference play.

IU is a better team than its win-loss record suggests. The Hoosiers rank 31st in the Sagarin ratings and lost five Big Ten games by five or fewer points and a sixth in overtime (against Iowa). Indiana also beat North Carolina and Kansas, who are all but assured No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament.

The selection committee would have an interesting conundrum on its hands if IU wins 20 games (that would entail a run to the Big Ten tournament finals following three wins) and loses in the championship game. All of the sudden, the committee would need to debate a 20-win team (IU is currently 17-14 overall) that beat two No. 1 seeds.

Finally, Illinois just lost a game to last-place Rutgers, which puts a serious dent into its tournament hopes. However, wins against Michigan and then Purdue in the quarterfinals would put that loss in the rearview mirror.

2. Are Wisconsin's Struggles Behind Them?

The Badgers just played their best half of basketball to close out the regular season, outscoring a tough Minnesota team, 39-20, in the second half en route to a 66-49 victory in Madison on Sunday.

Wisconsin had just lost five of six games leading up to the regular-season finale, but it still managed to finish with the No. 2 seed in the tournament.

The Badgers are a talented team, led by senior forward Nigel Hayes, senior guard Bronson Koenig and sophomore forward Ethan Happ.

Together, they account for 41.6 of Wisconsin's 72.6 points per game. They are a tough trio to be reckoned with: Koenig shoots 37.7 percent from deep (and hit five three-pointers against the Golden Gophers), Happ grabs 8.9 boards per game and makes 59.7 percent of his field goals and Hayes does a little of everything:

The question is whether Wisconsin can find a way to slow down the next player on this list should it match up with him in the tournament.

3. Caleb Swanigan: Rising Star

If you tuned into the Purdue-Northwestern game on CBS on Sunday, you noticed that the game basically revolved around Swanigan. He was the sun, and the nine other players on the court were the nine planets (well, it's eight now, but we're bringing Pluto back for this analogy on a one-time basis).

Swanigan was too much for Northwestern to handle, scoring 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. He showed a deft touch around the basket and drew so much attention that fellow forward Vince Edwards was able to get free and score 25 points along with five assists and four boards in the 69-65 victory.

Brad Evans of Yahoo Sports tweeted this about Swanigan:

And Seth Davis of CBSSports.com and Sports Illustrated noted how strong Swanigan looks when he's on the court:

The 6'9", 250-pound forward, who should win the Big Ten Player of the Year award, is going to be a serious problem for any team in March.