ZACH EDEY & NO. 3 PURDUE VS. NO. 12 ILLINOIS AND TWO BIG TEN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT GAMES EXCLUSIVELY ON PEACOCK THIS WEEK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETuesday, March 5th, 2024

NBC Sports to Present Key Big Ten Matchup with Three-Commentator Booth for First Time — Noah Eagle Joined by Analysts Robbie Hummel (Purdue Alum) and Stephen Bardo (Illinois Alum)

Purdue Clinches Big Ten Regular-Season Title with Win Tonight; Illinois Keeps Possibility of Share of Big Ten Title Alive with Win

Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament First-Round Doubleheader on Peacock Tomorrow Night: Purdue vs. Northwestern (6:30 p.m. ET) and Minnesota vs. Rutgers (9 p.m. ET)

Eligible Students Can Sign-Up to Receive Special Peacock Student Discount Offer for $1.99/Month

STAMFORD, Conn. – March 5, 2024 – Reigning men’s National Player of the Year Zach Edey and No. 3 Purdue visit No. 12 Illinois tonight at 7 p.m. ET in a game with conference title ramifications, and two Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament games live tomorrow, Wed., March 6, headline this week’s Big Ten basketball coverage exclusively on Peacock.

Tonight’s Big Ten men’s basketball action on Peacock begins with the B1G College Countdown pregame show at 6:30 p.m. ET, featuring host Ahmed Fareed and analysts Jordan Cornette and Josh Pastner, leading into Purdue-Illinois at 7 p.m. ET.

Tomorrow, Peacock exclusively presents a Big Ten Women’s Tournament first-round doubleheader featuring No. 12 seed Purdue vs. No. 13 seed Northwestern at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by No. 11 seed Minnesota vs. No. 14 seed Rutgers at 9 p.m. ET.

Tomorrow’s B1G College Countdown pregame show begins at 6 p.m. ET on Peacock, featuring host Carolyn Manno alongside analysts Aliyah Boston and Aja Ellison.

Peacock’s exclusive slate of Big Ten men’s and women’s basketball  features 50+ games streaming live this season.

Tonight at 7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Men’s Basketball: No. 3 Purdue at No. 12 Illinois

Purdue (26-3) clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season title with an 80-74 win against Michigan State on Saturday. Edey, last year’s consensus National Player of the Year, totaled 32 points and 11 rebounds in the win and guard Braden Smith added 23 points and nine rebounds.

With a win tonight against Illinois or in their regular-season finale vs. Wisconsin on Sunday, the Boilermakers would claim a second consecutive outright regular-season crown.

Illinois (22-7) is in second place in the Big Ten and can clinch a share of the Big Ten regular-season title with a win tonight combined with a win vs. Iowa on Sunday plus a Purdue loss vs. Wisconsin also on Sunday.

Tonight’s matchup features two of the nation’s top scorers as Edey ranks second in the country averaging 24.0 points per game and Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. is fifth with 22.0 points per game.

Noah Eagle (play-by-play) and analysts Robbie Hummel, a three-time First-Team All-Big Ten honoree at Purdue from 2007-12, and Stephen Bardo will call the action live from State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill. Bardo was a four-year starting point guard at the University of Illinois from 1986-90, helping lead the 1989 ‘Flying Illini’ team to the Final Four while being named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

Tonight’s coverage begins on Peacock with the B1G College Countdown pregame show at 6:30 p.m. ET, featuring host Ahmed Fareed and analysts Jordan Cornette and Josh Pastner.

Wednesday, March 6: Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, First Round

Peacock will exclusively present two Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament first round matchups tomorrow, Wed., March 6, beginning with the B1G College Countdown pregame show begins at 6 p.m. ET on Peacock, featuring host Carolyn Manno alongside analysts Aliyah Boston and Aja Ellison.

Zora Stephenson (play-by-play), Meghan McKeown (analyst) and Caroline Pineda (reporter) will call both games from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

No. 13 Northwestern vs. No. 12 Purdue (6:30 p.m. ET)

No. 12 seed Purdue lost to Michigan, 64-60, in their regular-season finale on Sunday as guard Abbey Ellis scored 23 points.

No. 13 seed Northwestern ended their regular season with a 72-61 win over Rutgers on Sunday as forward Caileigh Walsh (22 points) and guard Melannie Daley (20) led the Wildcats.

In their lone meeting this season, Purdue beat Northwestern, 74-48, on Feb. 14.

No. 14 Rutgers vs. No. 11 Minnesota (9 p.m. ET)

Rutgers ended the regular season with a loss to Northwestern. Guard/forward Destiny Adams led the Scarlet Knights this season, ranking in the top 10 in the Big Ten in scoring (15.1 points per game) and rebounding (7.4).

Minnesota looks to bounce back from a 90-34 loss to Penn State in their season finale on Sunday.

Earlier this season, Rutgers defeated Minnesota, 81-73, on Feb. 13.

Big Ten Basketball Exclusively on Peacock this Week:

Date Time (ET) Game Commentators Tues., March 5 6:30 p.m. B1G College Countdown Ahmed Fareed, Jordan Cornette, Josh Pastner 7 p.m. Purdue at Illinois (men’s) Noah Eagle, Robbie Hummel, Stephen Bardo Wed., March 6 6 p.m. B1G College Countdown Carolyn Manno, Aliyah Boston, Aja Ellison 6:30 p.m. Northwestern vs. Purdue (women’s) Zora Stephenson, Meghan McKeown, Caroline Pineda 9 p.m. Rutgers vs. Minnesota (women’s) Zora Stephenson, Meghan McKeown, Caroline Pineda

BIG TEN ON PEACOCK

Peacock is the exclusive home of more than 50 Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball games in 2023-24. Click here for more.

Eligible students can sign-up for Peacock’s Student Discount offer, available for $1.99/month. For more information and to sign-up, click here.

Peacock’s expansive programming features live coverage including Big Ten Football and Basketball, Notre Dame Football, Sunday Night Football, Olympic and Paralympic Games, Premier League, NASCAR, NTT IndyCar Series, and much more. Peacock also offers daily sports programming on the NBC Sports channel.

PEACOCK’S REMAINING EXCLUSIVE SCHEDULE FOR THE 2023-24 BIG TEN MEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON:

Date Time (ET) Matchup Tues., Mar. 5 7 p.m. Purdue vs. Illinois Wed., Mar. 13 6:30 p.m. Big Ten Tournament Wed., Mar. 13 9 p.m. Big Ten Tournament

PEACOCK’S EXCLUSIVE SCHEDULE FOR THE 2023-24 BIG TEN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON:

Date Time (ET) Matchup Wed., Mar. 6 6:30 p.m. Big Ten Tournament Wed., Mar. 6 9 p.m. Big Ten Tournament

– NBC Sports –