Big Ten Weekend Open Thread and How To Watch: First Weekend Of Conference Play

This weekend marks the first weekend of Big Ten conference play this season and will reward fans with a series of great matchups.  Though there does not appear to be any head-to-head matchups between the perceived Big Ten contenders this weekend, there are some games that should shape the direction of the conference and potential NCAA bids this year.

Here are the games happening this weekend:

• Friday
  • None
• Saturday
  • 12:00PM ET - Minnesota Golden Gophers at Maryland Terrapins (BTN)
  • 2:15PM ET - Michigan Wolverines at Purdue Boilermakers (BTN)
  • 3:30PM ET - Illinois Fighting Illini at Ohio State Buckeyes (ESPN2/WatchESPN)
  • 7:30PM ET - Penn State Nittany Lions at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (ESPN2/WatchESPN)
• Sunday
  • 8:20PM ET - Wisconsin Badgers at Northwestern Wildcats (BTN)