2024 Big Ten Basketball Tournament: Seeds, Bracket, Schedule
The Big Ten wrapped up regular season men’s basketball play on Sunday with a number of matchups capping the slate. And the league entered Sunday with a majority of the seeds for the conference tournament yet to be set.
Entering the weekend, just three seeds were locked down: No. 1, No. 2 and No. 14. But that all got sorted out through the action on Saturday and mostly Sunday, when 12 of the 14 teams in the league will play.
See the full seeds, matchups and schedule for the 2024 Big Ten Tournament in men’s basketball.
First round — Wednesday, March 13
Game 1: No. 12 Maryland vs. No. 13 Rutgers, 6:30 p.m. ET
Game 2: No. 11 Penn State vs. No. 14 Michigan, 25 minutes after Game 1
None of the teams starting out tournament action on Wednesday are likely to win the league tournament. In fact, history informs that they won’t, as a double-digit seed has never won the conference tournament. And a double digit seed has made the championship just three times, including last season with the No. 10 seed (which began play on Thursday, not Wednesday) made the championship game.
Second round — Thursday, March 14
Game 3: No. 8 Michigan State vs. No. 9 Minnesota, noon ET
Game 4: No. 5 Wisconsin vs. Winner of Game 1, 25 min. after Game 3
Game 5: No. 7 Iowa vs. No. 10 Ohio State, 6:30 p.m. ET
Game 6: No. 6 Indiana vs. Winner of Game 2, 25 min. after Game 5
Where the impossible long shots meet the upstarts and realistic long shots, with the likes of Michigan State and Northwestern beginning to get in the action. And a win for any team on Thursday means a trip to the quarterfinals and being a few wins from a league tournament title.
Quarterfinals — Friday, March 15
Game 7: No. 1 Purdue vs. Winner of Game 3, noon ET
Game 8: No 4 Northwestern vs. Winner of Game 4, 25 min. after Game 7
Game 9: No. 2 Illinois vs. Winner of Game 5, 6:30 p.m. ET
Game 10: No. 3 Nebraska vs. Winner of Game 6, 25 min. after Game 9
On Friday, the heavy hitters come to play, including No. 1 seeded Purdue, a likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. And the Boilermakers are hunting a second-consecutive Big Ten Tournament title.
Semifinals — Saturday, March 16
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 1 p.m. ET
Game 12: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10, 25 min. after Game 11
While the other leagues are crowning champions, the Big Ten will be setting a championship matchup, often the last data points for the league that get considered in regard to the NCAA Tournament field.
Championship — Sunday, March 17
Game 13: Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 12, 3:30 p.m. ET
The Big Ten continues to play its championship game on Selection Sunday, a quirk that gives it an exclusive TV window for fans to watch the best squads in the league square off. And coverage from that game rolls right into the big reveal of the bracket on Sunday evening.