Big Ten Tournament 2018: Semifinals Scores, Championship Bracket and Schedule

The 2018 Big Ten men's tournament is nearing a conclusion with Saturday's semifinal matchups setting up the championship game that will give one program an automatic spot in the NCAA tournament.

Of the four teams still playing, three finished the regular season in the top five of the Big Ten standings. Penn State is the surprise of the group, as the No. 7 seed upset Ohio State on Friday and put itself on the cusp of the field of 68.

On the penultimate day of Big Ten tournament action, here are the updated semifinal results and Sunday's championship game schedule.

Big Ten Tournament Semifinal Results

Game 11: No. 5 Michigan def. No. 1 Michigan State, 75-64

Game 12: No. 3 Purdue def. No. 7 Penn State, 78-70

Big Ten Championship Game

Sunday, March 4: No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 5 Michigan, 4:30 p.m. ET (CBS)

Purdue 78, Penn State 70

Penn State's surprise run at the Big Ten tournament came to an end with a 78-70 semifinal loss against Purdue.

The eight-point margin of victory is deceiving in how lopsided this game was in favor of the Boilermakers. They led by 15 points with 2:05 remaining before taking their foot off the gas pedal, and their defense held the Nittany Lions to 33.9 percent shooting.

Shep Garner was one of the few bright spots for Penn State in defeat. The senior scored a season-high 33 points on 8-of-11 shooting. His teammates combined to make 12 field goals.

The loss drops Penn State's record to 21-13, placing it squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble. Andy Katz of NCAA.com said its best path to the Big Dance likely would have been to reach the Big Ten title game to prove it can beat an elite team outside of Ohio State.

Purdue did what its done all year with a solid offensive showing, led by Carsen Edwards' 27 points, and an attacking defense.

Looking ahead to Sunday's title game, the Boilermakers swept the regular-season series against Michigan by a total of five points. Purdue scored the final four points in a 70-69 win at Michigan on Jan. 9.

The Boilermakers have only won the Big Ten tournament once, in 2009. One more win will give them five or fewer losses heading into the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2009-10 season.

Michigan 75, Michigan State 64

Michigan is one win away from capturing its second straight Big Ten tournament title after an impressive 75-64 victory over Michigan State, ending the Spartans' 13-game winning streak in the process.

Defense has been critical to the Wolverines' past two wins over Nebraska and Michigan State. They have allowed a combined 122 points and held them to 34.5 percent shooting (40-of-116).

ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello highlighted the consistently dominant Michigan defense after Saturday's win:

It wasn't a good shooting day for Michigan (44.7 percent), but it took advantage of having a 33-10 disparity in free-throw attempts to knock off its in-state rivals for the second time this season.

The Wolverines also had a balanced offensive attack to keep Tom Izzo's defense from zeroing in on any single scorer. Five different players scored at least 12 points.

Miles Bridges figured out Michigan head coach John Beilein's defense. The sophomore star had 17 points and seven assists, but the rest of his teammates went just 17-of-45 from the field.

Joshua Langford's recent struggles continued, as he finished with just two points. This is the sixth time in his past seven games he failed to reach double figures in scoring.

Since a Feb. 6 loss to Northwestern, Michigan has reeled off eight consecutive wins.

There was a similar moment last year when the Wolverines lost to the Wildcats on March 1 before winning seven straight. The run ended with a one-point loss against Oregon in the Sweet 16.

Beilein is pushing all the right buttons at the season's most crucial juncture and needs one more win to earn conference supremacy.