Big Ten Tournament Bracket Set: Rutgers v Indiana Rematch, Maryland v Ohio State, Penn State v Iowa
Friday night settled everything, and the Big Ten Tournament bracket that came out of it is full of rematches. Three quarter-finals on Wednesday in Columbus, and not one of them is a fresh pairing.
Rutgers started the chain. No. 18 Rutgers beat No. 15 Indiana 2-1 in Piscataway on Friday, with goals from Sophie Kuiper and Laura Loycke, and they did it the hard way: Indiana had more shots (10-6) and all three penalty corners, and Rutgers still won. It was the Scarlet Knights’ sixth win in seven games and their fourth ranked win of the season, and it locked in the 4 v 5 game. So on Wednesday at 11am ET, Rutgers and Indiana run it straight back, same teams, higher stakes. The winner gets No. 1 Northwestern in Friday’s semi-finals.
Then Maryland’s 5-1 win over Iowa fixed the other side. Ohio State’s 2-1 win over Michigan earlier in the evening had already settled the No. 7 seed, so No. 2 Maryland meet Ohio State at 2pm ET on Wednesday. And the night’s biggest result fixed the late game: Penn State’s 2-0 upset of Northwestern made the Nittany Lions the No. 3 seed, which means a rematch with No. 6 Iowa at 5pm ET, after Iowa ended Penn State’s eight-game winning streak 1-0.
The full picture, all at Buckeye Varsity Field in Columbus:
Wednesday, November 4 (quarter-finals, B1G+): Rutgers v Indiana, 11am ET; Maryland v Ohio State, 2pm ET; Penn State v Iowa, 5pm ET. Friday, November 6 (semi-finals, BTN): Northwestern v Rutgers/Indiana winner, 1pm ET; Maryland/Ohio State winner v Penn State/Iowa winner, 4pm ET. Sunday, November 8 (final, BTN): 12pm ET.
Six ranked teams in a seven-team bracket, and the top seed just lost its aura on Friday night. If you’re picking a week to clear your evenings, this is it.
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