The Minnesota Golden Gophers are scheduled to play their first game of the 2012 Big Ten Tournament at 4:30 p.m., but there are already a couple of games in the books on the other side of the bracket. There haven't been any upsets as far as seeds are considered, either, so Tubby Smith's squad will look to become the first in that regard.
In the first game of the day, the Iowa Hawkeyes eliminated the Illinois Fighting Illini in a game that has many speculating Bruce Weber's run as head coach of the Illini will be over. Illinois got a solid 18 points and and six rebounds out of center Meyers Leonard, but Matt Gatens and Aaron White helped the Hawkeyes move on to the quarterfinals with a 64-61 victory.
The Indiana Hoosiers stomped the Penn State Nittany Lions in the other game, cruising to a 75-58 victory after holding a six-point advantage at halftime. Jordan Hulls scored 20 points and Cody Zeller led the Hoosiers with 20 and 19 points apiece while the Nittany Lions lost despite 26 points from guard Tim Frazier.
The Hawkeyes will play the top-seeded Michigan State Spartans on Friday morning while the Hoosiers advanced to play the No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers. The full bracket is included below and will be updated upon completion of Thursday's games.
Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more on the Big Ten Tournament and check out BT Powerhouse for news around Big Ten basketball as well.