Battle of the bubblers: With both Illinois and Purdue on the weak side of the NCAA tournament bubble, whichever team loses Saturday's matchup (3:30 p.m., BTN) at Purdue's Mackey Arena could be out of the discussion. The Illini won the first meeting at home 66-57 on Jan. 21.
Finish it the way it started? Northwestern's unexpected surge began with an overtime victory over Iowa on Feb. 15. Now the Wildcats could put an even more impressive finish on the streak, with a victory in the Hawkeyes' house in the season finale (11 a.m. Saturday, BTN).
Playing for seeds: Wisconsin has locked up the Big Ten title, but the Badgers could bolster their case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament with a victory at Ohio State (3:30 p.m. Sunday, Ch. 4). The Buckeyes, meanwhile, could boost their No. 8 seed projection substantially by beating the Badgers.
