2026 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament schedule
Sponsored by TIAA
The 2026 Big Ten (B1G) Men's Basketball Tournament sponsored by TIAA will be from Tuesday, March 10 until Sunday, March 15 at the United Center in Chicago.
The Big Ten Conference was once again one of the best conferences in men's college basketball. The Big Ten has the most teams in the AP Top 25 rankings with six and is tied with the Big XII with three teams in the Top 10.
Last season, the Big Ten only allowed the top fourteen teams to qualify for the tournament. However, the conference remedied that situation by adding an extra day to the postseason tournament so that every team will be allowed to participate. This accommodation adds even more mayhem to March Madness.
Here is a look at the entire tournament schedule. All times listed below are Central Standard Time (CST).
First Round - Tuesday, March 10
Game 1: #17 Maryland Terrapins (11-20 overall, 4-16 Big Ten) vs #16 Oregon Ducks (12-19, 5-15) - 4 PM (Peacock).
Game 2: #18 Penn State Nittany Lions (12-19, 3-17) vs #15 Northwestern Wildcats (13-18, 5-15) - 25 minutes after Game 1 (Peacock).
Second Round - Wednesday, March 11
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs #9 Iowa Hawkeyes (20-11, 10-10) - 11 AM (Peacock).
Game 4: #12 Washington Huskies (15-16, 7-13) vs #13 University of Southern California (USC) Trojans (18-13, 7-13) - 25 minutes following Game 3 (Peacock).
Game 5: Winner of Game 2 vs #10 Indiana Hoosiers (18-13, 9-11) - 5:30 PM (Big Ten Network - BTN).
Game 6: #11 Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-16, 8-12) vs #14 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (13-18, 6-14) - 25 minutes following Game 5 (BTN).
Third Round - Thursday, March 12
Game 7: Winner of Game 3 vs #8 Ohio State Buckeyes (20-11, 12-8) - 11 AM (BTN).
Game 8: Winner of Game 4 vs #5 Wisconsin Badgers (22-9, 14-6) - 25 minutes after Game 7 (BTN).
Game 9: Winner of Game 5 vs #7 Purdue Boilermakers (23-8, 13-7) - 5:30 PM (BTN).
Game 10: Winner of Game 6 vs #6 University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins (21-10, 13-7) - 25 minutes after Game 9 (BTN).
Quarterfinals - Friday, March 13
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs #1 Michigan Wolverines (29-2, 19-1) - 11 AM (BTN).
Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs #4 Illinois Fighting Illini (24-7, 15-5) - 25 minutes after Game 11 (BTN).
Game 13: Winner of Game 9 vs #2 Nebraska Cornhuskers (26-5, 15-5) - 5:30 PM (BTN).
Game 14: Winner of Game 10 vs #3 Michigan State Spartans (25-6, 15-5) - 25 minutes after Game 13 (BTN).
Semifinals - Saturday, March 14
Game 15: Winner of Game 11 vs Winner of Game 12 - 12 PM (CBS).
Game 16: Winner of Game 13 vs Winner of Game 14 - 25 minutes following Game 15 (CBS).
Final - Sunday, March 15
Game 17: Winner of Game 15 vs Winner of Game 16 - 2:30 PM (CBS).
Here are some takeaways for this tournament.
The top nine seeds in this bracket are for sure in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Indiana can make it ten, but they will have to win their first two games.
Last season, the Big Ten sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament. Michigan will look to repeat as the Big Ten Tournament champs.
The last time a Big Ten team won the NCAA Tournament was when Michigan State won back in 2000. However, Michigan is listed as a co-favorite currently along with the Duke Blue Devils. Both teams played against each other less than a month ago with Duke winning 68-63 over the Wolverines.
If you are going to one of these games, then be aware that law enforcement will be on high alert for the entire tournament due to the country being at war with Iran at this time. Stay alert.
Please leave a comment on who you think will win on Sunday.
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