Michigan to open Big Ten tournament against Rutgers

Michigan’s opening matchup is already set for next week’s Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

Due to Saturday’s conference results, the Wolverines are locked into the 8-9 game and will play Rutgers at noon Thursday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Northwestern’s upset over Penn State ended Michigan’s slim chances of grabbing the No. 7 seed, while Rutgers’ win over Purdue secured its spot as either the No. 8 or 9 seed and guaranteed a third meeting with Michigan.

The outcome of Michigan's regular-season finale at Maryland on Sunday will only affect whether the Wolverines are the No. 8 seed (a win) or the No. 9 seed (a loss) in the bracket.

The Wolverines swept the regular-season series against the Scarlet Knights. Michigan won the first meeting, 69-63, on Feb. 1 at Madison Square Garden. Then on Feb. 19, the Wolverines won the rematch in Piscataway and handed the Scarlet Knights their lone home loss of the season with a 60-52 victory.

If Michigan beats Rutgers a third time, it will advance to face the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals on Friday. The top seed will either be Wisconsin, who clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title on Saturday, or Michigan State.

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins