Iowa lands sixth seed in B1G tourney

The Iowa men's basketball team landed the sixth seed and will face 11th seed Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night.

The Hawkeyes (20-11, 9-9 Big Ten) open the tournament with the same seed and same opponent as last year. Iowa twice beat the Wildcats (13-18, 6-12) by 26 points this year.

Should Iowa advance, the Hawkeyes will meet No. 3 seed Michigan State in a Big Ten quarterfinal. The Spartans were seeded third last year and have eliminated the Hawkeyes from the last three Big Ten Tournaments.

Tipoff for Thursday's opener is scheduled for 8 p.m. Central and ESPN2 will air the game. If Iowa advances to the quarterfinals, Friday's game is slated to begin at 8 p.m.

Here's the Big Ten Tournament schedule:

THURSDAY'S GAMES

8. Indiana vs. 9. Illinois, 11 a.m. (BTN)

5. Ohio State vs. 12. Purdue, 1:30 p.m. (BTN)

7. Minnesota vs. 10. Penn State, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

6. Iowa vs. 11. Northwestern, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)

FRIDAY'S GAMES

1. Michigan vs. Indiana/Illinois winner, 11 a.m. (ESPN)

4. Nebraska vs. Ohio State/Purdue winner, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN)

2. Wisconsin vs. Minnesota/Penn State winner, 5:30 p.m. (BTN)

3. Michigan State vs. Iowa/Northwestern winner, 8 p.m. (BTN)

SATURDAY'S GAMES

Top semifinal, 12:40 p.m. (CBS)

Bottom semifinal, 3 p.m. (CBS)

SUNDAY'S GAME

Championship, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)