Big Ten Tournament 2023: Men's Semifinals Scores, Championship Bracket and Schedule
Top-seeded Purdue is set to take on upstart Penn State on Sunday afternoon in the championship of the 2023 men's Big Ten tournament.
Purdue put an unceremonious end to Ohio State's desperation charge, riding a 32-point performance from Zach Edey to halt OSU's pursuit of an improbable league title.
Later on Saturday, Penn State continued its late-season surge with a triumph over Indiana behind yet another great showing from star guard Jalen Pickett. In case it wasn't already clear, the Nittany Lions are now soundly in the March Madness field.
Ahead, we've recapped the semifinal action with a review of results so far and a preview of the title game.
Entering the Big Ten tournament, Ohio State held a 13-18 record. As a result, unsurprisingly, most everyone had minimal expectations for the Buckeyes in their trip to Chicago.
But they demanded our attention.
Ohio State bounced Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan State to reach the semifinals. Most impressively, the Bucks toppled MSU without star freshman Brice Sensabaugh—in addition to not having Zed Key since his season-ending shoulder injury in mid-February.
Purdue, however, prevented OSU's improbable run from extending another day. Zach Edey racked up 32 points and 14 rebounds, guiding the Boilermakers to an 80-66 victory.
The result didn't secure Purdue as a No. 1 seed in March Madness, but the Boilers avoided the last possible bad loss for their resume.
In mid-February, the Nittany Lions endured a four-game skid and dropped to a problematic 14-11. At that moment, the team's resume could hardly afford any more losses—so Penn State basically stopped losing.
Save for a three-point setback to Rutgers about two weeks ago, the Nittany Lions have been stacking wins. The current 8-1 spurt has included wins against NCAA tournament-bound programs Illinois (twice), Northwestern (twice), Maryland and now Indiana.
Jalen Pickett registered 28 points, eight rebounds and four assists to spark the 77-73 triumph. Indiana came within a point during the final minute, but Penn State held on.
Just as notably, Penn State allowed a single-three pointer all game until the final minute. Indiana doesn't take a ton of perimeter shots but is generally very efficient; the Hoosiers ended 2-of-14 from beyond the arc.
The question for the Nittany Lions is no longer if they'll make the Big Dance. Today, it's whether they'll be a single-digit seed.
First Round (March 8)
No. 13 Ohio State 65, No. 12 Wisconsin 57
No. 14 Minnesota 78, No. 11 Nebraska 75
Second Round (March 9)
No. 9 Rutgers 62, No. 8 Michigan 50
No. 13 Ohio State 73, No. 5 Iowa 69
No. 10 Penn State 79, No. 7 Illinois 76
No. 6 Maryland 70, No. 14 Minnesota 54
Quarterfinals (March 10)
No. 1 Purdue 70, No. 9 Rutgers 65
No. 13 Ohio State 68, No. 4 Michigan State 58
No. 10 Penn State 67, No. 2 Northwestern 65 (OT)
No. 3 Indiana 70, No. 6 Maryland 60
Semifinals (March 11)
No. 1 Purdue 80, No. 13 Ohio State 66
No. 10 Penn State 77, No. 3 Indiana 73
Championship (March 12)
No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 10 Penn State; 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Purdue has been trending the wrong way for about a month, but victories over Rutgers and Ohio State have ensured the Boilermakers still get a shot at a Big Ten championship sweep.
The regular-season champions beat Penn State in both matchups this year. However, the Boilers shot 8-of-18 and 14-of-31 from the perimeter—a combined 44.9 rate—in those wins. Since the second victory, Purdue has buried 35-plus percent of its threes in only four of its 10 games.
If the Boilers can contain Penn State on the outside and rebound well, though, the Nittany Lions will be at a serious disadvantage. Their wing-heavy rotation didn't have an answer for 7'4" Edey in previous games.
No matter the winner, it'll be a rare result.
Purdue is looking for its second league tournament title, winning only in 2009 despite making the Big Ten final in four other seasons. Penn State, meanwhile, finished as the runner-up in 2011 but otherwise hadn't made the championship game until this season.
