March 1, 2024
March Madness: What You Need to Know
March Madness is coming around the corner. We should check and see how these college teams are doing.What is March Madness?March Madness is the yearly college basketball tournament held by the NCAA that spans from mid-March to early April. The tournament began with eight teams playing against one another in 1939, where Oregon beat Ohio State to take home the first tournament title. Over the years, it grew from an eight-team event to 16 in 1951. In 1975, it doubled to 32 before doubling again to 64 in 1985. Currently, 68 teams make it into the tournament with eight teams participating in play-in games to make the official first-round field of 64. (Play-in games are games you must win to get to the tournament and have to keep winning to move on. If a team loses two in a row, they’re out of the running) Learn more about the history of March Madness here. College Sports Scores For the Big Ten Conference (includes Madison)Wed, Feb 7th– Michigan beat Wisconsin 72 – 68– Northwestern beat Nebraska 80 – 68Thu, Feb 8th– Penn State beat Iowa 89 – 79
Sat, Feb 10th– Purdue beat Indiana 79 – 59– Michigan State beat Illinois 88 – 80– Rutgers beat Wisconsin 78 – 56– Ohio State beat Maryland in double overtime 79 – 75– Nebraska beat Michigan 79 – 59Sun, Feb 11th– Iowa beat Minnesota 90 – 85– Northwestern beat Penn State 68 – 63Tue, Feb 13th– Michigan beat Illinois. 97 – 68– Wisconsin beat Ohio State 62 – 54Wed, Feb 14th– Maryland beat Iowa. 78 – 66– Michigan State beat Penn State 80 – 72Thu, Feb 15th– Purdue beat Minnesota 84 – 76– Rutgers beat Northwestern 63 – 60How Teams Qualify for March MadnessCollege basketball teams can qualify for the March Madness Tournament by earning the automatic qualifying bid that is given to each conference. The winner of the conference tournament earns a right to the NCAA Tournament. After all the automatic bids are handed out, a selection committee fills out the rest of the field with deserving teams. After 32 teams earn automatic spots by winning conference tournaments, the NCAA Tournament selection committee convenes on Selection Sunday to decide on 36 teams that will earn at- large berths to round out the field of 68.2024 March Madness Predictions for Big Ten TeamsThe Purdue Boilermakers are locked to reach the NCAA Tournament and could wind up with the No. 1 overall seed. The No. 2-ranked Boilermakers have a 23-3 record, including 12-3 in Big Ten play. The Illinois Fighting Illini and the Wisconsin Badgers also appear to be locks to reach March Madness. The No. 14-ranked Fighting Illini are 19-6 and 10-4 in conference play, while the No. 20-ranked Badgers are 17-9 and 9-6 in Big Ten play. While the Michigan State Spartans have not entered the AP Top 25 Poll since November, they should once again reach the postseason, as they are 17-9 and 9-6 in the conference. The Northwestern Wildcats and Nebraska Cornhuskers also seem highly likely to qualify for March Madness. While both teams are 18-8, the Wildcats are 9-6 in Big Ten Play, while the Cornhuskers are 8-7.To see more scores and updates on the Big Ten, click here.