2026 Big Ten men's basketball tournament

2026 Big Ten men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2025–26
Teams18
SiteUnited Center
Chicago, Illinois
ChampionsPurdue (3rd title)
Winning coachMatt Painter (3rd title)
MVPBraden Smith (Purdue)
TelevisionPeacock/NBCSN, BTN, CBS/Paramount+
2025–26 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Michigan 19 – 1   .950 32 – 3   .914
No. 15 Nebraska 15 – 5   .750 27 – 6   .818
No. 11 Michigan State 15 – 5   .750 26 – 7   .788
No. 13 Illinois 15 – 5   .750 25 – 8   .758
No. 19 Wisconsin 14 – 6   .700 24 – 11   .686
No. 8 Purdue † 13 – 7   .650 28 – 8   .778
UCLA 13 – 7   .650 24 – 11   .686
Ohio State 12 – 8   .600 21 – 13   .618
Iowa 10 – 10   .500 22 – 12   .647
Indiana 9 – 11   .450 18 – 14   .563
Minnesota 8 – 12   .400 15 – 17   .469
USC 7 – 13   .350 18 – 14   .563
Washington 7 – 13   .350 16 – 17   .485
Rutgers 6 – 14   .300 14 – 19   .424
Northwestern 5 – 15   .250 15 – 19   .441
Oregon 5 – 15   .250 12 – 20   .375
Maryland 4 – 16   .200 12 – 21   .364
Penn State 3 – 17   .150 12 – 20   .375
† 2026 Big Ten tournament winner
As of March 20, 2026
Rankings from AP poll

The 2026 Big Ten men's basketball tournament (branded as the 2026 TIAA Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament for sponsorship reasons) was a postseason men's basketball tournament for the Big Ten Conference in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The tournament took place from March 10–15, 2026 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. As the tournament winner, Purdue received the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA tournament.[1]

On September 18, 2025, the Big Ten announced that the tournament would expand to include all 18 teams.[2] In the previous edition, the first since the conference expanded to 18 teams, only the top 15 teams qualified for the tournament.[3]

With a win over Illinois on February 27, 2026, Michigan clinched the number one seed in the tournament.[4]

Seeds

Teams were seeded by conference record, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with identical conference records.

Seed School Conference record Tiebreaker
1 Michigan 19–1
2 Nebraska 15–5 2–1 vs. Michigan State/Illinois
3 Michigan State 15–5 1–1 vs. Nebraska/Illinois
4 Illinois 15–5 1–2 vs. Nebraska/Michigan State
5 Wisconsin 14–6
6 UCLA 13–7 1–0 vs Purdue
7 Purdue 13–7 0–1 vs UCLA
8 Ohio State 12–8
9 Iowa 10–10
10 Indiana 9–11
11 Minnesota 8–12
12 Washington 7–13 2–0 vs USC
13 USC 7–13 0–2 vs Washington
14 Rutgers 6–14
15 Northwestern 5–15 1–0 vs. Oregon
16 Oregon 5–15 0–1 vs. Northwestern
17 Maryland 4–16
18 Penn State 3–17

Schedule

Session Game Time* Matchup# Score Television Attendance
First round – Tuesday, March 10
1 1 4:00 p.m. No. 17 Maryland vs. No. 16 Oregon 70–60 Peacock/NBCSN 15,828
2 6:30 p.m. No. 18 Penn State vs. No. 15 Northwestern 66–76
Second round – Wednesday, March 11
2 3 11:00 a.m. No. 17 Maryland vs. No. 9 Iowa 64–75 Peacock/NBCSN 15,661
4 1:30 p.m. No. 13 USC vs. No. 12 Washington 79–83OT
3 5 5:30 p.m. No. 15 Northwestern vs. No. 10 Indiana 74–61 BTN 16,122
6 8:00 p.m. No. 14 Rutgers vs. No. 11 Minnesota 72–67
Third round – Thursday, March 12
4 7 11:00 a.m. No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 8 Ohio State 69–72 BTN 16,157
8 1:30 p.m. No. 12 Washington vs. No. 5 Wisconsin 82–85
5 9 5:30 p.m. No. 15 Northwestern vs. No. 7 Purdue 68–81 16,861
10 8:00 p.m. No. 14 Rutgers vs. No. 6 UCLA 59–72
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 13
6 11 11:00 a.m. No. 8 Ohio State vs No. 1 Michigan 67–71 BTN 18,988
12 1:30 p.m. No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 Illinois 91–88OT
7 13 5:30 p.m. No. 7 Purdue vs. No. 2 Nebraska 74–58 18,238
14 8:00 p.m. No. 6 UCLA vs. No. 3 Michigan State 88–84
Semifinals – Saturday, March 14
8 15 12:00 p.m. No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 5 Wisconsin 68–65 CBS 17,923
16 2:30 p.m. No. 7 Purdue vs. No. 6 UCLA 73–66
Championship – Sunday, March 15
9 17 2:30 p.m. No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 7 Purdue 72–80 CBS 16,807

*Game times in CDT. #Rankings denote tournament seeding. [5]

Bracket

First round
Tuesday, March 10
Peacock/NBCSN		Second round
Wednesday, March 11
Peacock/NBCSN/BTN		Third round
Thursday, March 12
BTN		Quarterfinals
Friday, March 13
BTN		Semifinals
Saturday, March 14
CBS		Championship
Sunday, March 15
CBS
13 Michigan71
8Ohio State728Ohio State67
9Iowa759Iowa6913 Michigan68
16Oregon6017Maryland64523 Wisconsin65
17Maryland7049 Illinois88
523 Wisconsin85523 Wisconsin91*
12Washington83*12Washington8213 Michigan72
13USC79718 Purdue80
211 Nebraska58
718 Purdue81718 Purdue74
10Indiana6115Northwestern68718 Purdue73
15Northwestern7615Northwestern746UCLA66
18Penn State6638 Michigan State84
6UCLA726UCLA88
11Minnesota6714Rutgers59
14Rutgers72

* denotes overtime period

Game summaries

First round

Peacock/NBCSN
March 10
4:00 p.m. (CDT)
No. 17 Maryland 70, No. 16 Oregon 60
Scoring by half: 33–12, 37–48
Pts: David Coit, 17
Rebs: Tied, 6
Asts: Andre Mills, 5		 Pts: Nate Bittle, 16
Rebs: Kwame Evans Jr., 9
Asts: Takai Simpkins, 5
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 15,828
Referees: Michael Reed, Kelly Pfiefer, John Floyd
Peacock/NBCSN
March 10
6:30 p.m. (CDT)
No. 15 Northwestern 76, No. 18 Penn State 66
Scoring by half: 34–32, 42–34
Pts: Nick Martinelli, 24
Rebs: Nick Martinelli, 9
Asts: Jayden Reid, 9		 Pts: Ivan Jurić, 22
Rebs: Ivan Jurić, 6
Asts: Kayden Mingo, 5
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 15,828
Referees: Larry Sciotto, Tim Comer, Edwin Young

Second round

Peacock/NBCSN
March 11
11:00 a.m. (CDT)
No. 17 Maryland 64, No. 9 Iowa 75
Scoring by half: 26–25, 38–50
Pts: Darius Adams, 14
Rebs: Solomon Washington, 13
Asts: Tied, 2		 Pts: Cooper Koch, 19
Rebs: Bennett Stirtz, 6
Asts: Bennett Stirtz, 8
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 15,661
Referees: DJ Carstensen, Larry Scirotto, Edwin Young
Peacock/NBCSN
March 11
1:30 p.m. (CDT)
No. 13 USC 79, No. 12 Washington 83 (OT)
Scoring by half: 40–33, 31–38 Overtime: 8–12
Pts: Kam Woods, 24
Rebs: Tied, 9
Asts: Kam Woods, 7		 Pts: Zoom Diallo, 22
Rebs: Hannes Steinbach. 11
Asts: Zoom Diallo, 11
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 15,661
Referees: Mike Littlewood, Earl Walton, Paul Szelc
BTN
March 11
5:30 p.m. (CDT)
No. 15 Northwestern 74, No. 10 Indiana 61
Scoring by half: 36–37, 38–24
Pts: Nick Martinelli, 28
Rebs: Tied, 5
Asts: Jayden Reid, 6		 Pts: Lamar Wilkerson, 17
Rebs: Tucker DeVries, 8
Asts: Tucker DeVries, 6
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 16,122
Referees: Tim Comer, Keith Kimble, Brian Dorsey
BTN
March 11
8:00 p.m. (CDT)
No. 14 Rutgers 72, No. 11 Minnesota 67
Scoring by half: 29–31, 43–36
Pts: Tariq Francis, 29
Rebs: Emmanuel Ogbole, 7
Asts: Darren Buchanan Jr., 6		 Pts: Cade Tyson, 24
Rebs: Langston Reynolds, 7
Asts: Langston Reynolds, 8
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 16,122
Referees: Jeffrey Anderson, Andy O'Brien, Randy Richardson

Third round

BTN
March 12
11:00 a.m. (CDT)
No. 9 Iowa 69, No. 8 Ohio State 72
Scoring by half: 30–34, 39–38
Pts: Bennett Stirtz, 17
Rebs: Alvaro Folgueiras, 7
Asts: Bennett Stirtz, 4		 Pts: Bruce Thornton, 24
Rebs: Bruce Thornton, 6
Asts: Amare Bynum, 4
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 16,157
Referees: Brian Dorsey, Jeffrey Anderson, Andy O'Brien
BTN
March 12
1:30 p.m. (CDT)
No. 12 Washington 82, No. 5 Wisconsin 85
Scoring by half: 33–43, 49–42
Pts: Hannes Steinbach, 25
Rebs: Hannes Steinbach, 16
Asts: Zoom Diallo, 7		 Pts: John Blackwell, 34
Rebs: John Blackwell, 10
Asts: Nick Boyd, 9
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 16,157
Referees: Keith Kimble, DJ Carstensen, Earl Walton
BTN
March 12
5:30 p.m. (CDT)
No. 15 Northwestern 68, No. 7 Purdue 81
Scoring by half: 21–45, 47–36
Pts: Nick Martinelli, 25
Rebs: Tre Singleton, 5
Asts: Jayden Reid, 9		 Pts: Tied, 19
Rebs: Oscar Cluff, 10
Asts: Braden Smith, 16
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 16,861
Referees: Paul Szelc, Kelly Pfeifer, Randy Richardson
BTN
March 12
8:00 p.m. (CDT)
No. 14 Rutgers 59, No. 6 UCLA 72
Scoring by half: 24–30, 35–42
Pts: Lino Mark, 17
Rebs: Darren Buchanan Jr., 9
Asts: Tied, 5		 Pts: Tyler Bilodeau, 21
Rebs: Donovan Dent, 10
Asts: Donovan Dent, 12
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 16,861
Referees: Mike Littlewood, Edwin Young, Michael Reid

Quarterfinals

BTN
March 13
11:00 a.m. (CDT)
No. 8 Ohio State 67, No. 1 Michigan 71
Scoring by half: 35–39, 32–32
Pts: Bruce Thornton, 22
Rebs: Devin Royal, 11
Asts: Bruce Thornton, 4		 Pts: Aday Mara, 17
Rebs: Tied, 7
Asts: Yaxel Lendeborg, 6
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 18,988
Referees: DJ Carstensen, Randy Richardson, Kelly Pfeifer
BTN
March 13
1:30 p.m. (CDT)
No. 5 Wisconsin 91, No. 4 Illinois 88
Scoring by half: 30–36, 48–42
Pts: Nick Boyd, 38
Rebs: Tied, 9
Asts: Nick Boyd, 6		 Pts: Tied, 19
Rebs: Tied, 7
Asts: Keaton Wagler, 8
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 18,988
Referees: Brian Dorsey, Michael Reed, Tim Comer
BTN
March 13
5:30 p.m. (CDT)
No. 7 Purdue 74, No. 2 Nebraska 58
Scoring by half: 41–28, 33–30
Pts: Fletcher Loyer, 19
Rebs: Tied, 9
Asts: Braden Smith, 10		 Pts: Pryce Sandfort, 15
Rebs: Sam Hoiberg, 8
Asts: Sam Hoiberg, 4
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 18,238
Referees: Larry Scirotto, Earl Walton, Keith Kimble
BTN
March 13
8:00 p.m. (CDT)
No. 6 UCLA 88, No. 3 Michigan State 84
Scoring by half: 44–33, 44–51
Pts: Donovan Dent, 23
Rebs: Eric Dailey Jr., 10
Asts: Donovan Dent, 12		 Pts: Jeremy Fears Jr., 21
Rebs: Coen Carr, 8
Asts: Jeremy Fears Jr., 13
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 18,238
Referees: Mike Littlewood, Paul Szelc, Jeff Anderson

Semifinals

CBS
March 14
12:00 p.m. (CDT)
No. 1 Michigan 68, No. 5 Wisconsin 65
Scoring by half: 28–28, 40–37
Pts: Aday Mara, 16
Rebs: Aday Mara, 8
Asts: Tied, 2		 Pts: Austin Rapp, 18
Rebs: Tied, 2
Asts: Nick Boyd, 5
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 17,923
Referees: Mike Littlewood, Larry Scirotto, Jeff Anderson
CBS
March 14
2:30 p.m. (CDT)
No. 7 Purdue 73, No. 6 UCLA 66
Scoring by half: 34–27, 39–39
Pts: Oscar Cluff, 17
Rebs: Oscar Cluff, 14
Asts: Braden Smith, 9		 Pts: Trent Perry, 15
Rebs: Eric Dailey Jr., 10
Asts: Trent Perry, 9
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 17,923
Referees: Paul Szelc, Michael Reed, Earl Walton

Championship

CBS
March 15
2:30 p.m. (CDT)
No. 1 Michigan 72, No. 7 Purdue 80
Scoring by half: 38–38, 34–42
Pts: Yaxel Lendeborg, 20
Rebs: Aday Mara, 7
Asts: Elliot Cadeau, 10		 Pts: Oscar Cluff, 21
Rebs: Tied, 5
Asts: Braden Smith, 11
United Center
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 16,807
Referees: DJ Carstensen, Keith Kimble, Brian Dorsey

All-Tournament team

The All-tournament team was as follows:[6]

References

  1. ^ "2026 TIAA Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Central". bigten.org.
  2. ^ "Big Ten Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Conference Schedule". Big Ten Conference. September 18, 2025. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  3. ^ "Big Ten tournament to feature all 18 teams this season after only having 15 teams qualify in 2025". CBS Sports. September 18, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  4. ^ "Michigan didn't share: Wolverines clinch Big Ten title and look every bit a No. 1 seed | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. February 28, 2026. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  5. ^ "2026 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament". Big Ten Conference. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  6. ^ "Purdue Wins the 2026 TIAA Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Championship". Big Ten Conference. March 16, 2026. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
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