B1G Tournament Pairings: Battle To Avoid Rutgers Invitational Hits Fever Pitch

[SelectionSunday]

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools.../2017-18/misc_non_event/1718_Mens_Bracket.pdf

The battle to avoid Weakling Wednesday (also known as the Rutgers Invitational) is fierce, and the Gophers are squarely in the mix. Below (after current pairings) are remaining schedules of the 4 teams still with a decent chance of being the one team to "Make it to Thursday" without having to play on Weakling Wednesday.

B1G Tournament pairings through Monday, Feb. 12. All times are Central. All Weakling Wednesday, 2nd-round, and quarterfinal games will be televised by BTN.

Wednesday, Feb. 28 (Weakling Wednesday)
#12 GOPHERS (3-11) vs. #13 Illinois (2-11), 4:30
#11 Iowa (3-11) vs. #14 Rutgers (2-12), 7

Thursday, March 1 (2nd Round)
#8 Northwestern (6-7) vs. #9 Maryland (6-8), 11
#5 Michigan (9-5) vs. GOPHERS/Illinois winner, 1:30
#7 Indiana (7-7) vs. #10 Wisconsin (4-10), 5:30
#6 Penn State (8-6) vs. Iowa/Rutgers winner, 8

Friday, March 2 (Quarterfinals)
#1 Ohio State (13-1) vs. Northwestern/Maryland winner, 11
#4 Nebraska (10-4) vs. Michigan/GOPHERS/Illinois winner, 1:30
#2 Michigan State (12-2) vs. Indiana/Wisconsin winner, 5:30
#3 Purdue (12-2) vs. Penn State/Iowa/Rutgers winner, 8

Remaining schedules. ...

Wisconsin (4-10)
Feb. 15: Purdue
Feb. 19: Gophers
Feb. 22: @ Northwestern
Feb. 25: Michigan State

Iowa (3-11)
Feb. 14: @ Michigan
Feb. 17: Indiana
Feb. 21: @ Minnesota
Feb. 25: Northwestern

GOPHERS (3-11)
Feb. 13: Michigan State
Feb. 19: @ Wisconsin
Feb. 21: Iowa
Feb. 25: @ Purdue

Illinois (2-11)
Feb. 14: @ Indiana
Feb. 18: Nebraska
Feb. 20: @ Michigan State
Feb. 22: Purdue
Feb. 25: @ Rutgers

 

[howeda7]

The games against WI and Iowa next week to battle for 10th place will be epic. Get pumped.

 

[SelectionSunday]

The games against WI and Iowa next week to battle for 10th place will be epic. Get pumped.

And I just found out from the ticket office that my section starting next season will have a $100 per seat licensing fee. I'm super pumped!

 

[saintpauljeff]

I think the Gophers are a lock for Wednesday tourney action. They go 1-3 at best putting them into prime position to win a conf tourney playing 5 days straight (similar to the Syracuse run a few yrs back)


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[Ope3]

And I just found out from the ticket office that my section starting next season will have a $100 per seat licensing fee. I'm super pumped!

At least it's tax deductible. Oh wait, never mind.

 

[WindyCityGopher]

I can't believe that Wisconsin is genuinely bad, having their worst conference season in 20 years, and we STILL don't have a better record than them. Damn, it's cruel being a Gophers fan.

 

[Bad Gopher]

I can't believe that Wisconsin is genuinely bad, having their worst conference season in 20 years, and we STILL don't have a better record than them. Damn, it's cruel being a Gophers fan.

Ain't that the truth. 21 straight years of being n minus something.

As far as Weakling Wednesday goes, I'd rather the Gophers actually play that day. At least that gives them a chance at a win. If they're able to beat Iowa and Wisconsin down the stretch, that could be 3 wins in their last 5 games, which could be a psychological boost going into next year.

 

[Gophers7633]

This would actually be a pretty favorable draw, with MSU/Purdue on the other side of the bracket. Coffey and McBrayer get healthy and who knows?