A first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament is up for grabs.
Though Michigan (20-7-5, 10-5-3-0) is three points ahead of Penn State in the Big Ten standings, the Nittany Lions can leapfrog the Wolverines with a sweep in the regular season series finale. Minnesota has the other bye spot locked up.
The conference tournament champion receives an automatic entry to the NCAA Tournament, making a first-round bye noteworthy. Whichever team alongside the Golden Gophers receives a bye will only have to win two games to win the Big Ten tournament.
If the Lions (20-10-4, 10-7-1-0) don’t take both games against the Wolverines though, they’ll finish in third place and face sixth-seeded Wisconsin in the first round.