Big Ten Unveils 2026 TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracket
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced the full bracket for the 2026 TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, set to take place March 10-15 at the United Center in Chicago.
All seating for the 29th edition of the tournament is reserved. Fan can purchase all-session and single session at the United Center box office or online at Ticketmaster.com. All ticket packages are subject to Ticketmaster and facility fees. For more information on this year’s tournament, visit the Big Ten Tournament Central page at bigten.org/MBBT.
All 17 games of this year’s Big Ten Tournament will be broadcast live, with Tuesday’s first round broadcast on Peacock. Wednesday’s first session will also air on Peacock, with Big Ten Network airing the day’s second session. Big Ten Network will also broadcast all eight third round and quarterfinal games on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The Big Ten Tournament semifinal and championship games will be televised live on CBS and the Paramount+ app.
Michigan (29-2, 19-1 Big Ten) earned the No. 1 seed and the program’s 16th Big Ten regular season title. The Wolverines are looking to become the first back-to-back Big Ten Tournament winners since they did it in 2017 and 2018.
Nebraska (26-5, 15-5 Big Ten) earned the No. 2 seed. This is the second top three Big Ten finish in the last three years, the first time that has happened for the Huskers in the Big Ten era and first the first time since the early 1990s (1990-91, 3rd; 1992-93, t-2nd).
Michigan State (25-6, 15-5 Big Ten) claimed the No. 3 seed. The Spartans are led by its four captains, Carson Cooper, Jaxon Kohler, Coen Carr, and Jeremy Fears Jr., who have combined for 64.2% of the team's scoring (1,567 of 2,442 points) and average nearly 50 points, 24 rebounds and 13 assists per game.
Illinois (24-7, 15-5 Big Ten) secured the No. 4 seed after posting 15 conference wins to tie the 2022 Illinois squad for second most league wins in program history, one shy of the team mark set in 2021. It’s 24 wins are also the most during the regular season in program history.
Each of the tournament’s top four seeds have earned triple-byes and will open tournament play in Friday’s quarterfinal round.
The 2026 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, March 10 (First Round)
Game 1 (#17 Maryland vs. #16 Oregon) – 4 p.m. CT (Peacock)
Game 2 (#18 Penn State vs. #15 Northwestern) – 25 minutes following Game 1 (Peacock)
Wednesday, March 11 (Second Round)
Game 3 (#9 Iowa vs. Game 3 winner) – 11 a.m. CT (Peacock)
Game 4 (#12 Washington vs. #13 USC) – 25 minutes following Game 3 (Peacock)
Game 5 (#10 Indiana vs Game 2 winner) – 5:30 p.m. CT (BTN)
Game 6 (#11 Minnesota vs. #14 Rutgers) – 25 minutes following Game 5 (BTN)
Thursday, March 12 (Third Round)
Game 7 (#8 Ohio State vs. Game 3 winner) – 11 a.m. CT (BTN)
Game 8 (#5 Wisconsin vs. #Game 4 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 7 (BTN)
Game 9 (#7 Purdue vs. Game 5 winner)– 5:30 p.m. CT (BTN)
Game 10 (#6 UCLA vs. Game 6 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 9 (BTN)
Friday, March 13 (Quarterfinals)
Game 11 (#1 Michigan vs. Game 7 winner) – 11 a.m. CT (BTN)
Game 12 (#4 vs. Game 8 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 11 (BTN)
Game 13 (#2 vs. Game 9 winner) – 5:30 p.m. CT (BTN)
Game 14 (#3 vs. Game 10 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 13 (BTN)
Saturday, March 14 (Semifinals)
Game 15 (Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner) – 12 p.m. CT (CBS)
Game 16 (Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 15 (CBS)
Sunday, March 15 (Championship)
Game 14 (Game 15 winner vs. Game 16 winner) – 2:30 p.m. CT (CBS)
NOTES: All times are approximate and subject to change … BTN games are also available on the FOX Sports app … CBS games are also available on the Paramount+ app … for more information, please visit the tournament web site at (bigten.org/MBBT).
The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The Big Ten Conference sponsors 28 official sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, and the broad-based programs of the 18 Big Ten institutions provide direct financial support for more than 14,000 student-athletes. For more information, visit www.bigten.org.