The Big Ten men's basketball tournament tipped off Wednesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, as the conference's sub-.500 teams fought for the right to play another game.
It would take nothing short of a minor miracle for any of the four first-round squads to advance past the next phase of the tourney, so pride was mostly what was at stake.
The 13-18 Illinois Fighting Illini took on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the opener, followed by a matchup between Rutgers and Nebraska. Those latter two squads are relative Big Ten newcomers and have yet to find their stride on the hardwood, with the unenviable task of facing Wisconsin in Round 2 in the event of a win.