Arizona, Duke and Michigan are strong as the top contenders for men’s March Madness number one, with UConn and Houston competing for the final spot.
Everyone has been invited to this year’s Big Ten Tournament.
All 18 teams from the conference will be in attendance when the tournament begins in Chicago on Tuesday, with matchups featuring the bottom four in the final regular season standings: oregon faces maryland And Northwestern takes penn state.
Expanding the bracket gives the top four an extended break michigan, nebraska, michigan state And Illinois. This group will get a bye till Friday’s quarter-finals.
Yes, one of those teams is not like the other teams. The 26–5 Cornhuskers capped off the most successful regular season in program history by defeating rival Iowa in overtime in the finals.
There’s no doubting the depth of the Big Ten’s potential tournament teams. But we’ll see if that helps the league go longer without a national title. The last Big Ten team to win it all was Michigan State in 2000.
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 PM 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
quarter finals
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
semi-finals
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 PM, CBS
championship game
Sunday, March 15
- Game 17: Semifinal winners, 3:30 p.m., CBS
How to watch the Big Ten Tournament
- TV: btn/cbs
- Streaming: Peacock
The first round and the first two games of the second round will stream on Peacock.
The second round, third round and quarterfinals will air on the Big Ten Network. CBS will air the two semifinals and Sunday’s championship game.
Big Ten Tournament Favorite
michigan The favorites for the regular season title after losing only one Big Ten game and winning four games nebraska, michigan state And Illinois.
The Wolverines advanced to the quarterfinals by winning 14 of their last 15 games, with the loss coming in a non-conference game. ruler On 21st February.
UM also went 4–0 against the Cornhuskers, Spartans and Illini, and won all but one match by double digits. It leads the Big Ten in scoring (88.4 ppg), field-goal percentage (51%) and field-goal defense (38%) and ranks second nationally in the last category.
Big Ten Tournament Top Players
Lamar Wilkerson, G, Indiana -IU will need Wilkerson to get hot to make a run at Chicago. He has scored 16 times in Big Ten play, topping 20 points 12 times.
Jackson Kohler, F, Michigan State – The second-year starter has developed into a 3-point threat (39.5% from deep) and has become a more capable scorer (12.8 points per game). Koehler posted 12 double-doubles during the regular season.
Braden Smith, G, Purdue – One of this week’s subplots involves Smith’s attempt to set an NCAA career assist record. He currently averages 8.7 points 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 posting 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 lived up to high expectations by filling out 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 storyline for the Big Ten
The Big Ten has six locked-in tournament teams michigan, nebraska, michigan state, Illinois, wisconsin And Purdue. The other three teams are in very good position UCLA, iowa And Ohio StateHowever, the Buckeyes can officially cement their place in the field with a win against the Hawkeyes in the second round.
For almost every team outside the top nine of the standings, the only possible ticket to March Madness will come via the conference title. there is an exception IndianaWho has spent most of the season on the tournament bubble.
The Hoosiers are 3-11 in Quad 1 play. They will have a chance to improve that record by advancing to the third round to face UCLA. With a win there, the Hoosiers will face Michigan State in the quarterfinals. IU needs at least three wins this week to get back into at-large consideration.
<a href=