Big Ten Tournament 2019: Round 1 Scores, Updated Bracket and Round 2 Schedule

The 2019 Big Ten tournament tipped off Wednesday evening with the bottom seeds breaking in the court for what's to come once the top four seeds begin action on Friday.

First up was the No. 12 Rutgers Scarlet Knights and No. 13 Nebraska Cornhuskers. In the regular season, Rutgers defeated Nebraska 76-69. Neither team is within sniffing range of an NCAA tournament bid, so this game was for bragging rights.

Actually, bragging rights were most in play when an in-state battle broke out between the 11-seed Illinois Fighting Illini and 14-seed Northwestern Wildcats.

After a wild sequence to end regulation, the game was forced to overtime. It also served as a rubber match as Northwestern bested Illinois on Jan. 6 with Illinois evening the season series on March 3.

Below is everything you need to know about Day 1 of the Big Ten tournament.

Wednesday's Schedule and Results

No. 13 Nebraska def. No. 12 Rutgers, 68-61

No. 11 Illinois def. No. 14 Northwestern, 74-69

Thursday's Round 2 Schedule

No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 9 Indiana Hoosiers, 12:30 p.m. ET (BTN)

No. 5 Maryland Terrapins vs. No. 13 Nebraska, 25 min. after end of previous game (BTN)

No. 7 Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions, 7 p.m. ET (BTN)

No. 11 Illinois vs. No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes, 25 min. after end of previous game (BTN)

To view the full bracket, visit the Big Ten's official website.

Recap

Nebraska Cornhuskers 68, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 61

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Rutgers turned the ball over an astounding 22 times but made up for it for most of the game by shooting 49 percent from the field. Despite only shooting 40.4 percent from the field, Nebraska lingered behind an impressive performance from senior guard James Palmer Jr. before taking complete control of the game in the final minutes.

The next closest Cornhusker was senior guard Glynn Watson Jr. with 11 points.

The Huskers needed a big game from Palmer, who exploded for 34 points and two key steals, with only six scholarship players and two walk-ons suited up because of injuries elsewhere on the roster. One of those walk-ons, junior guard Johnny Trueblood, drew a round of cheers when he entered the game in the second half:

Behind 16 points from junior forward Eugene Omoruyi, the Scarlet Knights bench had to step up. Even though Rutgers outscored Nebraska 27-7 in bench points, Palmer was too much to handle down the stretch. Junior forward Isaiah Roby was crucial for the Huskers, too, with 10 points, six rebounds and four blocks.

Rutgers went scoreless from 6:57 to 1:12 remaining in the game when sophomore guard Geo Baker scored on back-to-back possessions to make Nebraska's lead 62-55 with 1:03 left to play. The problem, though, was Rutgers kept having to send Palmer to the foul line after each made Baker basket.

Rutgers couldn't compensate for Palmer, and the Scarlet Knights' season hangs by a thread depending on if they receive a College Basketball Invitational bid. Meanwhile, Nebraska moves on to play No. 5 Maryland on Thursday.

Illinois Fighting Illini 74, Northwestern Wildcats 69

Until Illinois sophomore guard Trent Frazier nailed a three with 7:49 left in the first half, Illinois freshman forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili was the only Fighting Illini player to score from the field. Bezhanishvili scored all of the Illini's first 14 points.

Illinois held a 30-27 lead at halftime despite the team's leading scorer all season, freshman guard Ayo Dosunmu, being held scoreless. If other Illini played as well as Bezhanishvili, they would have held a larger lead over Northwestern, which converted just 11-of-34 shots from the field in the first half.

Northwestern missed its season-long leading scorer, senior forward Vic Law, who exited the regular-season finale against Purdue with a leg injury.

The Wildcats' shooting percentage didn't improve in the second half, but they continued to keep pace with the Illini. Junior forward A.J. Turner led all Wildcats with 20 points with senior center Dererk Pardon and freshman forward Miller Kopp contributing 17 and 11 points, respectively.

Bezhanishvili finished with a game-high 26 points before fouling out with 17 seconds left in regulation. It was Bezhanishvili's fifth personal foul that sent Turner to the free-throw line where he tied the game at 61.

Illinois got the ball back with two seconds remaining, but a block by Northwestern sophomore guard Anthony Gaines, coupled by two missed layups from Illinois junior guard Andres Feliz, sent the game to overtime.

Feliz and Frazier led the Illini to victory in the overtime period without Bezhanishvili. Frazier finished with 21 points and Feliz with 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists off the bench.

With the win, Illinois moves on to face No. 6 Iowa on Thursday.