May 6, 2007

2007 Big Ten Tournament Bracket in PDF Format
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 7 Northwestern will be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament after finishing the conference season with a league-best 15 wins. The tourney (May 10-12) will be hosted by Ohio State, which claimed the Big Ten regular-season championship on percentage points.

Northwestern will face No. 7 seed Michigan State in the tournament's first game at 4 p.m. CT Thursday, May 10. The Spartans earned a berth in the event after an impressive, 7-0 upset victory over No. 8 Michigan on Saturday.

In a league season more affected by weather than any in recent memory, Ohio State picked up the No. 1 seed and the right to host after having its series against the Wolverines and the Spartans canceled earlier in the year. The Buckeyes finished the shortened slate with a 14-2 league mark and an .875 winning percentage, bettering the Wildcats' percentage of .833 (15-3).

Every team except 11th-place Indiana (1-19, .050) had at least one game canceled this year. Northwestern lost single games against Purdue and 10th-place Minnesota (4-9, .308) to adverse weather conditions this season.

The Buckeyes will play No. 8 seed Penn State (5-9, .357) in Thursday's opening-round nightcap slated to start at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Michigan (12-4, .750) is the No. 3 seed and will take on No. 6 seed Illinois (7-8, .467) in game three at 11 a.m. CT Friday, May 11. No. 4 seed Iowa (10-7, .588) and No. 5 seed Purdue (10-9, .526) round out the field, and will play their first-round game at 1:30 p.m. CT Friday.

The top eight teams in the conference qualify for the tournament, with ninth-place Wisconsin (6-12, .333) joining Minnesota and Indiana as the schools that did not make the field.

The Wildcats won both of their previous meetings this season against the Spartans, sweeping a doubleheader on April 1 by scores of 11-3 (5) and 8-3 (6). The second game of the double-dip was shortened due to darkness.

The championship game of the tournament will be televised live on CSTV at noon CT Saturday, May 12. For a complete bracket with game times, click on the .pdf link at the top of this page. Northwestern's complete Big Ten Tournament notes package will be available later this week.

As an aside, fans don't forget to vote for senior Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic), who is a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The accolade honors a senior student-athlete who excels both on and off the field, and fan voting will be combined with input from coaches and media around the country to determine the winner. Voting is open until May 23; fans can register their votes for Garland by clicking here.

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