Skip to main content
Join Now
Get a profile. Be recruited.

2026 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket: Finalized seeds, matchups, TV

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko03/08/26nickkosko59

The Big Ten men’s basketball tournament bracket has been finalized with all of the seeds, matchups and TV times. The first round begins on Tuesday, March 10 with two opening round games.

In the Big Ten, every school makes the tournament. The bottom four Big Ten teams (No. 15 to 18) play in the first round. Teams No. 9 through 14 get a bye into the second round, No. 5 through 8 get a double bye and the top four teams are already in the quarterfinals.

So without further ado, let’s dive into the final Big Ten basketball standings and tournament bracket. We start with final conference records.

Final Standings

  1. Michigan (19-1)
  2. Nebraska (15-5)
  3. Michigan State (15-5)
  4. Illinois (15-5)
  5. Wisconsin (14-6)
  6. UCLA (13-7)
  7. Purdue (13-7)
  8. Ohio State (12-8)
  9. Iowa (10-10)
  10. Indiana (9-11)
  11. Minnesota (8-12)
  12. USC (7-13)
  13. Washington (7-13)
  14. Rutgers (6-14)
  15. Northwestern (5-15)
  16. Oregon (5-15)
  17. Maryland (4-16)
  18. Penn State (3-17)

Big Ten Tournament Bracket

First Round (Tuesday, March 10)

Game 1: No. 17 Maryland vs. No. 16 Oregon (4:00 PM CT/5:00 PM ET – TV TBD)
Game 2: No. 18 Penn State vs. No. 15 Northwestern (6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET – TV TBD)

Second Round (Wednesday, March 11)

Game 3: No. 9 Iowa vs. Winner of Game 1 (11:00 AM CT/12:00 PM ET – TV TBD)
Game 4: No. 13 USC vs. No. 12 Washington (1:30 PM CT/2:30 PM ET – TV TBD)
Game 5: No. 10 Indiana vs. Winner of Game 2 (5:30 PM CT/6:30 PM ET – Big Ten Network)
Game 6: No. 14 Rutgers vs. No. 11 Minnesota (8:00 PM CT/9:00 PM ET – Big Ten Network)

Third Round (Thursday, March 12)

Game 7: No. 8 Ohio State vs. Winner of Game 3 (11:00 AM CT/12:00 PM ET – BTN)
Game 8: No. 5 Wisconsin vs. Winner of Game 4 (1:30 PM CT/2:30 PM ET – BTN)
Game 9: No. 7 Purdue vs. Winner of Game 5 (5:30 PM CT/6:30 PM ET – BTN)
Game 10: No. 6 UCLA vs. Winner of Game 6 (8:00 PM CT/9:00 PM ET – BTN)

Quarterfinals (Friday, March 13)

Game 11: No. 1 Michigan vs. Winner of Game 7 (11:00 AM CT/12:00 PM ET – BTN)
Game 12: No. 4 Illinois vs. Winner of Game 8 (1:30 PM CT/2:30 PM ET – BTN)
Game 13: No. 2 Nebraska vs. Winner of Game 9 (5:30 PM CT/6:30 PM ET – BTN)
Game 14: No. 3 Michigan State vs. Winner of Game 10 (8:00 PM CT/9:00 PM ET – BTN)

Semifinals (Saturday, March 14)

Game 15: Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 12 (12:00 PM CT/1:00 PM ET – CBS)
Game 16: Winner of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 14 (2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET – CBS)

Big Ten Championship Game (Sunday, March 15)

Game 17: Winner of Game 15 vs. Winner of Game 16 (2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET – CBS)

Sunday marks the final day of the Big Ten regular season before the 2026 men’s basketball tournament gets underway. Teams will make their way to the United Center in Chicago for the first round on March 10.