2026 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket: Updated seeds, matchups as of 03.07.26

The final weekend of Big Ten men’s basketball is underway as teams make their pushes for the 2026 conference tournament. With that, the projected bracket has updated seeds and matchups as of March 7.

One of the biggest games on Saturday’s slate was in West Lafayette, where Purdue and Wisconsin squared off in a thriller at Mackey Arena. Ohio State also had an opportunity to lock itself into the No. 8 seed in the field as it took on Indiana in Columbus before three games capped off the day.

The stage is now set for the last day of the regular season on Sunday. Here’s where the 2026 Big Ten men’s basketball tournament bracket sits as of March 7.

Current Seeding

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

Current 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 Michigan State vs. Winner of Game 9 (5:30 PM CT/6:30 PM ET – BTN)
Game 14: No. 3 Nebraska 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.