Wolverines to Meet Nittany Lions in First Round of Big Ten Tournament
3/11/2024 9:58:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The 14th-seeded University of Michigan men's basketball team will open the 2024 Big Ten Tournament facing 11th seed Penn State in the first round Wednesday (March 13) at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
Tipoff on Peacock is slated for 25 minutes after the opening game -- approximately 8 p.m. CT -- which features 12th-seeded Maryland against 13th seed Rutgers.
The winner of Wednesday's first-round game advances to Thursday's (March 14) second round to face sixth-seeded Indiana at approximately 8 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network. If U-M reaches the quarterfinal, the Wolverines will face third-seeded Nebraska on Friday at 8 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network
Michigan holds a 1-2 record against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament. All have been in the first round -- 2000 (L, 76-66), 2001 (L, 82-80) and 2013 (W, 83-66).
This season U-M and PSU met only once in regular-season play (Sunday, Jan. 7) -- at the Palestra in downtown Philadelphia. Despite a first half dominated by the Wolverines, U-M could not maintain its halftime advantage (37-27) as Penn State rallied to defeat the Maize and Blue, 79-73.
Terrance Williams II led U-M with a career-best 24 points, while Olivier Nkamhoua added 13 points and nine rebounds. Penn State, who cashed in on 19 U-M turnovers, hit a go-ahead three-pointer to take a 51-49 lead with 11:36 left. The triple was part of a 10-0 run, which eventually helped the Nittany Lions build a seven-point lead. Penn State never looked back going on for the victory.
U-M has three Big Ten Tournament titles (1998*, 2017 & 2018) and carries a 29-22 record (25-21*) in the conference tournament.
