The Penn State men’s basketball team opens play at the Big Ten tournament against Northwestern at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
The No. 7-seed Nittany Lions (19-12, 9-9) lost their final three games of the regular season, while the No. 10-seed Wildcats (15-16, 6-12) finished the regular season with six straight losses.
The teams split their matchups this year, with Penn State winning 78-63 on Jan. 5 and Northwestern earning a 70-61 win on Jan. 20.
The winner advances to take on No. 2-seed Ohio State at 6:30 p.m. Friday.