Updated March 10, 2026, 8:22 p.m. ET
Everybody’s invited to this year’s Big Ten tournament.
The conference will have all 18 teams in attendance when the tournament kicks off in Chicago on Tuesday with matchups pitting the bottom four in the final regular-seasons standings: Oregon faces Maryland and Northwestern takes on Penn State.
Expanding the bracket gives an extended break to the top four of Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan State and Illinois. This group will have byes until Friday’s quarterfinals.
Yes, one of those teams is not like the others. The 26-5 Cornhuskers closed out the most successful regular season in program history by beating rival Iowa in overtime in the finale.
There’s no doubting the Big Ten’s depth of possible tournament teams. But we’ll see this helps snap the league’s long run without a national title. The last Big Ten team to win it all was Michigan State in 2000.
Big Ten tournament schedule, bracket, scores
Play-in round
Tuesday, March 10
- Game 1: No. 17 Maryland 70, No. 16 Oregon 60
- Game 2: No. 15 Northwestern vs. No. 18 Penn State, 7:30 p.m., Peacock
First round
Wednesday, March 11
- Game 3: No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 17 Maryland, noon, Peacock
- Game 4: No. 12 Washington vs. No. 13 USC, 2:30 p.m., Peacock
- Game 5: No. 10 Indiana vs. Game 2 winner, 6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
- Game 6: No. 11 Minnesota vs. No. 14 Rutgers, 9 p.m., Big Ten Network
Second round
Thursday, March 12
- Game 7: No. 8 Ohio State vs. Game 3 winner, noon, Big Ten Network
- Game 8: No. 5 Wisconsin vs. Game 4 winner, 2:30 p.m. Big Ten Network
- Game 9: No. 7 Purdue vs. Game 5 winner, 6:30 p.m. Big Ten Network
- Game 10: No. 6 UCLA vs. Game 6 winner, 9 p.m., Big Ten Network
Quarterfinals
Friday, March 13
- Game 11: No. 1 Michigan vs. Game 7 winner, noon, Big Ten Network
- Game 12: No. 4 Illinois vs. Game 8 winner, 2:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
- Game 13: No. 2 Nebraska vs. Game 9 winner, 6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
- Game 14: No. 3 Michigan State vs. Game 10 winner, 9 p.m., Big Ten Network
Semifinals
Saturday, March 14
- Game 15: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 1 p.m., CBS
- Game 16: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner, 3:30 p.m., CBS
Championship game
Sunday, March 15
- Game 17: Semifinal winners, 3:30 p.m., CBS
How to watch Big Ten tournament
- TV: BTN/CBS
- Streaming: Peacock
The first round and the first two games of the second round will be streaming on Peacock.
The second half of the second round, the third round and the quarterfinals will air on the Big Ten Network. CBS will carry the two semifinals and Sunday’s championship game.
Big Ten tournament favorite
Michigan is the favorite after dropping just one Big Ten game and winning the regular-season title by four games over Nebraska, Michigan State and Illinois.
The Wolverines head into the quarterfinals having taken 14 of their past 15 games, with the loss coming in non-conference play against Duke on Feb. 21.
UM also went 4-0 against the Cornhuskers, Spartans and Illini, winning all but one matchup by a double-digit margin. It leads the Big Ten in scoring (88.4 ppg), field-goal percentage (51%) and field-goal defense (38%), ranking second nationally in the final category.
Big Ten tournament top players
Lamar Wilkerson, G, Indiana — IU will need Wilkerson to get hot to make a run in Chicago. He’s topped 20 points 16 times, 12 times in Big Ten play.
Jaxon Kohler, F, Michigan State — The second-year starter has evolved into a 3-point threat (39.5% from deep) and become a more capable scorer (12.8 points per game). Kohler posted 12 double-doubles during the regular season.
Braden Smith, G, Purdue — One of this week’s subplots involves Smith’s push to set the NCAA career assist record. He’s currently averaging 8.7 per game, tying his career high, and is 48 away from breaking former Duke guard Bobby Hurley’s record.
Sam Hoiberg, G, Nebraska — Hoiberg is the glue behind the Cornhuskers’ record-setting regular season after setting new career bests in scoring (9.4 points per game), rebounding (5.2), assists (4.4) and steals (2.1).
Yaxel Lendenborg, F, Michigan — The Alabama-Birmingham transfer has met lofty expectations by stuffing the box score: Lendenborg leads Michigan in scoring (14.7 points) while adding 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game.
March Madness bubble storylines for Big Ten
The Big Ten has six locked-in tournament teams in Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan State, Illinois, Wisconsin and Purdue. Another three teams are in very good shape in UCLA, Iowa and Ohio State, though the Buckeyes could stand to add a win against the Hawkeyes in the second round to officially secure their place in the field.
For nearly every team outside the top nine of the standings, the only possible ticket to March Madness will come via a conference title. The one exception is Indiana, which has spent most of the season on the tournament bubble.
What’s holding the Hoosiers back is a 3-11 mark in Quad 1 games. They’ll have chances to improve that record by advancing to the third round to face UCLA. With a win there, the Hoosiers will take on Michigan State in the quarterfinals. IU needs at least three wins this week to get back into at-large consideration.
