2026 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament: Updated bracket, results, schedule, TV

The 2026 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament is finally here and we’ve provided the updated bracket, results and schedule for this year’s edition. It’ll all lead up to the finals played Sunday, March 15th in Chicago.

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 latest happenings in the Big Ten Tournament. The bracket and schedule can be viewed below.

First Round (Tuesday, March 10)

Game 1: No. 17 Maryland 70, No. 16 Oregon 60 [Oregon eliminated]

Oregon struggled mightily out of the gate in Tuesday’s Big Ten men’s basketball tournament opener against Maryland, and the Terrapins took advantage. While the Ducks mounted a late charge, it wasn’t enough as Maryland got the victory to advance to Wednesday’s second round.

Game 2: No. 15 Northwestern 76, No. 18 Penn State 66 [Penn State eliminated]

After going back and forth with Penn State through the first half, Northwestern pulled away after halftime to seal the victory over the Nittany Lions. Nick Martinelli led the way with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting while adding nine rebounds while Jayden Reid added 14 points and nine assists.

Second Round (Wednesday, March 11)

Game 3: No. 9 Iowa 75, No. 17 Maryland 64 [Maryland eliminated]

Iowa is off and running at the Big Ten Tournament, looking to make a bit of a run. Beating Maryland was a great start, doing so quite comfortably thanks to a big second half. An outburst of 49 points in the final 20 minutes turned out to be the difference. Four different Hawkeyes ended the afternoon in double figures, led by Cooper Koch with 19 points.

Game 4: No. 12 Washington 83, No. 13 USC 79 OT [USC eliminated]

How about two former Pac-12 rivals meeting in Chicago for some Big Ten Tournament action? The old-school West Coast showdown needed more than just 40 minutes. Overtime was required before Washington was able to escape with a three-point victory. Zoom Diallo turned into the star of the afternoon, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds, and 11 assists.

Game 5: No. 15 Northwestern 74, No. 10 Indiana, 61 [Indiana eliminated]

Northwestern outscored Indiana 38-24 in the second half after trailing the Hoosiers at halftime. The victory advances the Wildcats on to the third round as it begins its Cinderella bid in the Big Ten Tournament. Nick Martinelli led the way with 28 points on 10-18 shooting.

Game 6: No. 14 Rutgers 72, No. 11 Minnesota, 67 [Minnesota eliminated]

Rutgers took a 54-52 lead on a Jamichael Davis 3-pointer with 6:08 left in regulation and never looked back. Tariq Francis led both sides by scoring 29 points as Rutgers outscored Minnesota 43-36 in the second half after trailing by a bucket at halftime. Davis scored 13 points off the bench while going 3-6 from deep with six assists and four rebounds.

Third Round (Thursday, March 12)

Game 7: No. 8 Ohio State 72, No. 9 Iowa, 69 [Iowa eliminated]

After a fairly even first half, Ohio State used a 17-3 run early in the second half to take control of the contest. And then it just hung on. Barely. After Iowa cut the lead to 70-69 with 39 seconds remaining, Ohio State’s John Mobley was fouled with 8.8 seconds left. He made both free throws and the Hawkeyes missed a tying 3-point shot at the buzzer, ultimately falling 72-69.

Game 8: No. 5 Wisconsin 85, No. 12 Washington 82 [Washington eliminated]

Wisconsin took a 10-point lead into halftime, but Washington stormed back in the final minutes to make things interesting. The Huskies got within one point in the final seconds, but the Badgers were able to churn enough clock and get two key free throws to seal the victory and keep advancing in the Big Ten tournament. John Blackwell led the way for Wisconsin with 34 points and 10 rebounds as part of a monster day.

Game 9: No. 7 Purdue 81, No. 15 Northwestern 68 [Northwestern eliminated]

Although Northwestern made a late charge, it wasn’t enough as Purdue went wire-to-write for the 81-68 victory in the Big Ten tournament. Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff led the Boilermakers with 19 points apiece as they set up a showdown with Nebraska on Thursday.

Game 10: No. 6 UCLA 72, No. 14 Rutgers 59 [Rutgers eliminated]

Donovan Dent made history with the first triple-double in Big Ten men’s basketball tournament history as UCLA took down Rutgers in Thursday’s third-round game. He had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists as the Bruins got the 72-59 victory and advanced to the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals (Friday, March 13)

Game 11: No. 1 Michigan 71, No. 8 Ohio State 67 [Ohio State eliminated]

The top team in the Big Ten almost went down against their arch rival. Michigan survived down the stretch against Ohio State to get the win and move to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Yaxel Lendeborg had an uncharacteristic game with only six points, but players like Trey McKenney helped pick up the slack, scoring 12 to help the Wolverines move on.

Game 12: No. 5 Wisconsin 91, No. 4 Illinois 88 [Illinois eliminated]

On Friday, Wisconsin stunned Illinois 91-88 in overtime. In the triumph, Wisconsin guard Nick Boyd tallied a career-high 38 points, a program single-game scoring record in the Big Ten Tournament. Boyd wasn’t the only standout for the Badgers. John Blackwell contributed 31 points of his own to the Badgers’ winning efforts.

Game 13: No. 7 Purdue 74, No. 2 Nebraska 58 [Nebraska eliminated]

Purdue cruised to a comfortable 74-58 win over Nebraska on Friday. The Boilermakers had a stellar team performance, with four players scoring double figures. Purdue veteran guard Fletcher Loyer ultimately stole the limelight, recording a team-high 19 points, while shooting 4-9 from 3-point range.

Game 14: No. 6 UCLA 88, No. 3 Michigan State 84 [Michigan State eliminated]

UCLA upset Michigan State 88-84 despite losing star forward Tyler Bilodeau to injury in the first half. UCLA guard Donovan Dent posted a 23-point, 12-assist double-double. Bruins sophomore Trent Perry was phenomenal as well, logging 22 points and shooting a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe.

Semifinals (Saturday, March 14)

Game 15: No. 1 Michigan 68, No. 5 Wisconsin 65 [Wisconsin eliminated]

Michigan survives late against Wisconsin thanks to a clutch Yaxel Lendeborg 3-pointer with less than one second on the clock. The Wolverines 16 points and eight rebounds from Aday Mara, plus 15 points from Elliot Cadeau to advance.

Game 16: No. 7 Purdue vs. No. 6 UCLA [UCLA eliminated]

For the first time since 2023, Purdue is heading back to the Big Ten Championship game. An entertaining semifinal against UCLA puts the Boilermakers there, thanks to a double-double performance from Oscar Cluff. UCLA spent most of the game without star guard Donovan Dent, who left due to a calf issue.

Big Ten Championship Game (Sunday, March 15)

Game 17: No. 7 Purdue 80, No. 1 Michigan 72

Purdue opened the first 8 minutes of the second half on a 20-8 run to build a double-digit advantage and knocked off the No. 3-ranked Wolverines for their first Big Ten Tournament championship since 2023. The Boilermakers’ early second-half run gave Purdue a 58-46 advantage with 12 minutes left and was capped by a tough three-point play from senior guard Braden Smith over 7-foot-3 Michigan center Aday Mara. It was the Wolverines’ first conference loss in more than two months, the last coming courtesy of Wisconsin on Jan. 10. Smith did it all for Purdue on Sunday with 14 points and a team-leading 11 assists, five rebounds, and three steals, while fellow seniors Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 22 and 20 points respectively. Senior forward Yaxel Lendeborg led Michigan with 20 points.