Big Ten Tournament 2020: Schedule and Conference Bracket Predictions

The Big Ten men's basketball standings suffered another significant shift over the last two days, as the Maryland Terrapins, Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan State Spartans are now tied at 13-6. 

Maryland suffered a road defeat to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Tuesday, while Michigan State mounted a comeback at the Penn State Nittany Lions on the same night. 

Wisconsin took care of the Northwestern Wildcats at home Wednesday to put itself into first place on head-to-head tiebreakers over Maryland and Michigan State. 

Greg Gard's team can lock up the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament Saturday by beating the Indiana Hoosiers, while Maryland and Michigan State have a chance to secure the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds. 

The Illinois Fighting Illini are in the best position to grab the fourth double-bye position in the bracket.

Penn State, Rutgers, the Iowa Hawkeyes and Ohio State Buckeyes are among the sides jockeying for positions Nos. 5-8, which will not be determined until Sunday.  

Big Ten Tournament Schedule

All times ET

Wednesday, March 11

No. 12 seed vs. No. 13 seed (6 p.m., Big Ten Network)

No. 11 seed vs. No. 14 seed (8:30 p.m., BTN)

Thursday, March 12

No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed (noon, BTN)

No. 5 seed vs. No. 12 vs. No. 13 winner (2:30 p.m., BTN)

No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed (6:30 p.m., BTN)

No. 6 seed vs. No. 11 vs. No. 14 winner (9 p.m., BTN) 

Friday, March 13

No. 1 seed vs. No. 8 vs. No. 9 winner (noon, BTN) 

No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 vs. No. 12/13 winner (2:30 p.m., BTN) 

No. 2 seed vs. No. 7 vs. No. 10 winner (6:30 p.m., BTN) 

No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 vs. No. 11/14 winner (9 p.m., BTN) 

Saturday, March 14

Semifinal No. 1 (1 p.m., CBS)

Semifinal No. 2 (3:30 p.m., CBS) 

Sunday, March 15

Championship (3:30 p.m., CBS) 

Bracket Predictions

1. Wisconsin

2. Maryland 

3. Michigan State

4. Illinois

5. Penn State

6. Iowa

7. Ohio State

8. Rutgers

9. Michigan

10. Purdue

11. Indiana

12. Minnesota

13. Northwestern

14. Nebraska

Wisconsin resides in the best position of any Big Ten team going into the weekend.

The Badgers are currently the top seed in the conference tournament with victories over Maryland and Michigan State, and they finish the regular season at Assembly Hall against an Indiana team that is 3-2 in its last five games. 

The Hoosiers could be a difficult foe for the Badgers since they have defeated Penn State, Michigan State and Iowa on home soil.

However, Archie Miller's team has been inconsistent down the stretch in the chase for an NCAA men's basketball tournament berth, as it is 4-7 in its last 11 contests. 

Wisconsin is riding a seven-game winning streak that includes a pair of road victories over the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Michigan Wolverines. 

The Badgers have five players who average over nine points per game, with Nate Reuvers on top of the scoring chart at 12.8 points per contest. 

If they attack Indiana from all angles, like they have during their winning run, the Badgers should head to Indianapolis as the top seed. 

Maryland and Michigan State face more challenging regular-season finales, but both will be at home Sunday. 

The Terrapins welcome Michigan to the Xfinity Center, while the Spartans play the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Breslin Center. 

Maryland owns a 15-1 home mark and Michigan State is 11-3 on its home court, so both squads will be favored. 

Tom Izzo's squad can be trusted more to finish the job Sunday because it is riding a four-game winning streak, which includes a triumph at Maryland Saturday. 

Mark Turgeon's Terps have gone from fringe candidate to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament to one that has suffered three losses in the last four games. 

A home win over Michigan should set things straight for Anthony Cowan Jr. and Co. before embarking on a potential three-game trip to the Big Ten tournament title. 

Illinois faces the most difficult finish of the top four, as it visits Ohio State Thursday and then welcomes Iowa Sunday. 

The good news for Brad Underwood's side is it needs to win one of those two to secure a top-four spot since it is two games ahead of Penn State, Iowa and Ohio State in the loss column. 

Ohio State has the biggest opportunities in front of it, and if it splits with Illinois and Michigan State, it could carry some added confidence into next week. 

Penn State is the favorite to land the No. 5 seed because it concludes the regular season with a trip to Northwestern.

If the Nittany Lions avoid a bad loss, they might finish a game ahead of Iowa and Ohio State, depending on how they perform on the road Sunday. 

Since the Big Ten is viewed as the deepest league in Division I, the tournament may not go to chalk. 

Seven programs reside in the Top 25 and 10 are projected to make the NCAA tournament, per ESPN's Joe Lunardi.

The Purdue Boilermakers could add themselves to that collection if they go on a run. They earned a quality win at Iowa Tuesday and host Rutgers Saturday. 

With teams fighting for NCAA tournament seeding and March Madness berths, there is a good chance the top two seeds are not the last duo standing March 15. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com