Field Set For 2003 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 9, 2003
Tournament Bracket in PDF Format
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Park Ridge, IL – The field is set for the 2003 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament that will take place Thursday-Sunday, March 13-16, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. Big Ten Champion Wisconsin (22-6/12-4) claimed the No. 1 seed for the second straight year to clinch the Badgers’ first outright crown since 1947 and back-to-back titles for the first time in nearly 80 years, as UW last repeated in 1923 and 1924. With a win over Minnesota this afternoon, Illinois (21-6/11-5) earned the No. 2 seed, finishing just one game back in their quest for a third straight championship. Three teams tied for third place in Michigan (17-12/10-6), Purdue (18-9/10-6) and Michigan State (18-11/10-6). After winning a tie-breaker, the Wolverines were awarded the third seed, their highest seed ever in Conference Tournament play. The Boilermakers nabbed the fourth seed while the Spartans garnered the fifth seed, as each of the top five teams receive a first-round bye and will start tournament play on Friday, March 14.
The sixth-annual Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will tip-off with a rematch of last year’s championship game, as No. 8 Ohio State (14-13/7-9) will face No. 9 Iowa (15-12/7-9) at 11 a.m. CST on ESPN on Thursday, March 13. The Buckeyes won their first Big Ten Tournament crown in 2002 in Indianapolis, defeating a Hawkeyes’ squad that advanced to the finals despite being seeded ninth. The last time the event was held at the United Center, Iowa became the lowest-seeded team to win the Big Ten Tournament as the sixth-seeded Hawkeyes won four games in four days to clinch the 2001 tournament championship. The second game of the tournament will feature No. 7 Minnesota (16-11/8-8) against No. 10 Northwestern (11-16/3-13) at 1:30 p.m. CST on ESPN. The final game on Thursday will include No. 6 Indiana (18-11/8-8) and No. 11 Penn State (7-20/2-14) at 4:05 p.m. CST on ESPN2.
Day two will begin with top-seeded Wisconsin facing the winner of the Ohio State/Iowa game at 11 a.m. CST on ESPN. The Badgers earned their first No. 1 seed last season, only to be knocked off by No. 9 Iowa in their tournament opener, as the top seed has been defeated in its first game in three of the event’s five years. The second game features the No. 4/5 contest at 1:30 p.m. CST on ESPN, as No. 4 Purdue and No. 5 Michigan State will square off for the first time in Big Ten Tournament play. The Spartans, who earned back-to-back tourney crowns in 1999 and 2000, will look to become the first fifth seed to win a tournament game, as the No. 5 team has been knocked out in the quarterfinals in each of the last five seasons, including MSU falling to Indiana in 2002. No. 2 Illinois will begin its quest for a first tourney championship on Friday at 5:40 p.m. CST on ESPN Plus versus the Minnesota/Northwestern victor while the second day will conclude with No. 3 Michigan facing the Indiana/Penn State winner at 8:10 p.m. CST on ESPN Plus.
The Big Ten Tournament semifinals will take place on Saturday, March 15, with the first game beginning at 12:40 p.m. CST on CBS. Game two will start 30 minutes following the conclusion of game one at approximately 3:05 p.m. CST on CBS. The tournament will conclude with the championship game on Sunday, March 16, at 2:30 p.m. CST on CBS.
Four different teams have won the Big Ten Tournament in its first five years, as Ohio State was victorious in 2002 while previous winners include Iowa (2001), Michigan State (2000, 1999) and Michigan (1998). A limited number of full-session ticket packages ($225) and single-session tickets ($45) for the 2003 Big Ten Conference Tournament are still available and on sale to the general public. Tickets are available at the United Center box office, at all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster Online (www.ticketmaster.com) or by calling Ticketmaster at 312-559-1212. The following pdf presents the bracket with teams, dates, times and television.
