Where to Watch Northwestern vs. Minnesota: 2025 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament
The Big Ten Tournament is finally here, and we've got a peek at one of the early matchups.
This week, the 2025 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament kicks off with three straight games broadcast exclusively on Peacock. There's a trip to March Madness in the NCAA Tournament on the line for the 15 teams in this bracket, and the action starts with a Wednesday afternoon tipoff between longtime conference foes.
So, to get ready for a week of Big Ten Men's Basketball action, let's take a closer look at the Northwestern Wildcats vs. the Minnesota Golden Gophers Big Ten Tournament game.
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Where can you watch the Northwestern vs. Minnesota Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament game?
In a first round matchup of the 2025 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, the Northwestern Wildcats and the Minnesota Golden Gophers will tip off at 3:30 p.m. ET on March 12, from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The game will stream exclusively on Peacock.
What to expect from the Northwestern Wildcats vs. the Minnesota Golden Gophers
Let's be clear: Neither Northwestern nor Minnesota is a favorite in the 2025 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, but they both fought hard to get here. The Wildcats took the 13th seed in the overall tournament bracket, while the Gophers are just ahead of them in the 12th spot. They get to kick off the action in the tourney, with the winner going on to face Wisconsin in the Second Round on Thursday.
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And on paper, these are two fairly evenly matched teams. They're comparable in points per game, points allowed, rebounds, shooting percentage, and most other major stats. They've also each got a clear team leader and star who's taken point on both scoring and rebounds. In Northwestern's case, it's Nick Martinelli, while in Minnesota's it's Dawson Garcia; even there the stats are quite comparable, with Martinelli taking the slight edge in scoring and Garcia taking the lead on rebounds.
So, if they're so similar, who has the edge here? Both teams are coming off two-game losing streaks, both have losing records (7-13 for both teams) in Big Ten conference play, which means either one of them advancing deep into the bracket has the potential to be something of a Cinderella story. Still, Northwestern has the slight edge here, and they've proven that they can beat Minnesota soundly, because they did it less than a month ago near the end of the regular season. The Wildcats are the favorites, but this really could be anybody's game, particularly because we all know that anything can happen come tournament season.
Check out NBC Sports for more Men's College Basketball action!
