2026 Big Ten Basketball Tournament Schedule; Printable Bracket, PDF Format
The 2026 Big Ten basketball tournament schedule takes place March 10-15, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. The men’s tournament sees a big change this postseason with all 18 teams getting to play in the postseason tourney compared to just 15 a year ago. The winner of the tournament earns the automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
2026 Big Ten Basketball Tournament Schedule
The 2026 Big Ten basketball tournament schedule takes place from March 10-15, 2026. The Big Ten schedule will be set up a bit differently than the 2025 tournament since all 18 teams get to play in the tournament now. As we get closer to the tournament, we’ll update you with the team seeds, matchups, and TV broadcast plans for the tournament. We have Big Ten regular season basketball schedules and more posted up for you to enjoy too.
| Date | Day | Round | Game | Matchup |
| First Round | ||||
| March 10 | Tuesday | First Round | Game 1 | No. 16 seed vs. No. 17 seed |
| March 10 | Tuesday | First Round | Game 2 | No. 15 seed vs. No. 18 seed |
| Second Round | ||||
| March 11 | Wednesday | Second Round | Game 3 | Game 1 winner vs. No. 9 seed |
| March 11 | Wednesday | Second Round | Game 4 | No. 12 seed vs. No. 13 seed |
| March 11 | Wednesday | Second Round | Game 5 | Game 2 winner vs. No. 10 seed |
| March 11 | Wednesday | Second Round | Game 6 | No. 11 seed vs. No. 14 seed |
| Third Round | ||||
| March 12 | Thursday | Third Round | Game 7 | Game 3 winner vs. No. 8 seed |
| March 12 | Thursday | Third Round | Game 8 | Game 4 winner vs. No. 5 seed |
| March 12 | Thursday | Third Round | Game 9 | Game 5 winner vs. No. 7 seed |
| March 12 | Thursday | Third Round | Game 10 | Game 6 winner vs. No. 6 seed |
| Quarterfinals | ||||
| March 13 | Friday | Quarterfinals | Game 11 | Game 7 winner vs. No. 1 seed |
| March 13 | Friday | Quarterfinals | Game 12 | Game 8 winner vs. No. 4 seed |
| March 13 | Friday | Quarterfinals | Game 13 | Game 9 winner vs. No. 2 seed |
| March 13 | Friday | Quarterfinals | Game 14 | Game 10 winner vs. No. 3 seed |
| Semifinals | ||||
| March 14 | Saturday | Semifinals | Game 15 | Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner |
| March 14 | Saturday | Semifinals | Game 16 | Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner |
| 2026 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Championship | ||||
| March 15 | Sunday | Championship | Game 17 | Game 15 winner vs. Game 16 winner |
Past Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament Champions
The following are the past Big Ten men’s basketball tournament champions since 2016. The conference tournament champion is generally always favored to have a good shot at winning the NCAA Championship.
| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-Up |
| 2025 | Michigan | 59-53 | Wisconsin |
| 2024 | Illinois | 98-81 | Wisconsin |
| 2023 | Purdue | 67-60 | Penn State |
| 2022 | Iowa | 75-66 | Purdue |
| 2021 | Illinois | 91-88 (OT) | Ohio State |
| 2020 | Tournament canceled (COVID-19) | N/A | N/A |
| 2019 | Michigan State | 65-60 | Michigan |
| 2018 | Michigan | 79-62 | Michigan State |
| 2017 | Michigan | 69-55 | Minnesota |
| 2016 | Michigan State | 64-54 | Purdue |
Printable Big Ten Basketball Tournament Bracket
If you are looking for an early, printable 2026 Big Ten Men’s basketball tournament bracket, we have a blank one for you here. The team who wins the Big Ten tournament will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Basketball Tournament. If you are looking for a printable, blank 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket, we have you covered there as well as a March Madness schedule.
