Michigan and Rutgers are each looking to make a final push for a spot in the tournament, and they’ll open the Big Ten tournament facing each other on Thursday. Penn State is a double-digit seed in the Big Ten tournament, but they are matched up with an Illinois team the Nittany Lions have beaten twice this season. There could be a lot of drama in the days leading up to then.

Northwestern, Indiana, and Michigan State also have a double-bye and will not have to step on the court for a game until Friday. Purdue is the top seed in the tournament, but the Boilermakers suffered all five of their losses this season in conference play, so they know nothing is guaranteed this week. Penn State and Michigan are two teams floating in bubble conversation as the Big Ten tournament gets underway, and picking up a couple of wins in Chicago would go a long way toward helping the cause of getting into the NCAA tournament.

The Big Ten men’s basketball tournament returns to Chicago’s United Center this week for a multi-day extravaganza with the purpose of determining who will get the conference’s automatic spot in the big dance, but there should be plenty on the line for a number of schools that will not be holding the Big Ten trophy at the end of the weekend. The Big Ten is looking to fill a good number of spots in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, but it first must crown a conference champion.

Big ten tournament title game time