Projecting seeds, tournament schedule for 2022 Big Ten Tournament

The men’s college basketball season is almost always exciting in the Big Ten Conference – and that’s certainly been the case in 2021-22. While Purdue sat atop the league standings for a majority of the season, Illinois made a late run and overtook the top spot before Wisconsin emerged and is now the league’s leader heading down the stretch of the season.

As Wisconsin is now sitting at No. 1 in the league with Purdue and Illinois right behind the Badgers, Ohio State is also right there in the mix with a 11-6 record against conference opponents. When you look beyond those four teams, Iowa (10-7), Michigan State (10-7) and Rutgers (10-8) are all within striking distance.

Here’s a look at the current Big Ten standings heading into the final week of the regular season, including the schedule for the upcoming conference tournament.

Current Big Ten Standings

Note: As of Feb. 28.

1.) Wisconsin (14-4)

2.) Purdue (13-5)

3.) Illinois (13-5)

4.) Ohio State (11-6)

5.) Iowa (10-7)

6.) Michigan State (10-7)

7.) Rutgers (10-8)

8.) Michigan (9-8)

9.) Indiana (9-9)

10.) Penn State (7-11)

11.) Maryland (6-12)

12.) Northwestern (6-12)

13.) Minnesota (4-14)

14.) Nebraska (2-16)

2022 Big Ten Tournament Schedule

Note: All times eastern.

First Round: Wednesday, March 9

Game 1: No. 12 Northwestern vs. No. 13 Minnesota | 6 p.m. | Big Ten Network

Game 2: No. 11 Maryland vs. No. 14 Nebraska | 25 minutes after Game 1 | Big Ten Network

Second Round: Thursday, March 10

Game 3: No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Indiana | 11:30 a.m. | Big Ten Network

Game 4: No. 5 Iowa vs. Game 1 winner | 25 minutes after Game 3 | Big Ten Network

Game 5: No. 7 Rutgers vs. No. 10 Penn State | 6:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network

Game 6: No. 6 Michigan State vs. Game 2 winner | 25 minutes after Game 5 | Big Ten Network

Quarterfinals: Friday, March 11

Game 7: No. 1 Wisconsin vs. Game 3 winner | 11:30 a.m. | Big Ten Network

Game 8: No. 4 Ohio State vs. Game 4 winner | 25 minutes after Game 7 | Big Ten Network

Game 9: No. 2 Purdue vs. Game 5 winner | 6:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network

Game 10: No. 3 Illinois vs. Game 6 winner | 25 minutes after Game 9 | Big Ten Network

Semifinals: Saturday, March 12

Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner | 1 p.m. | CBS

Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner | 25 minutes after Game 11 | CBS

Championship: Sunday, March 13

Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner | 3:30 p.m. | CBS

If there is a tie between teams, the Big Ten has outlined the ways it will determine the tiebreaker for the tournament in its rulebook.

If there is a tie between two teams, the head-to-head record comes into effect. If the two teams end up splitting their regular season games, then the Big Ten would use “each team’s record vs. the team occupying the highest position in the final regular-season standings” to determine the seeding.

If three or more teams are involved in a tie, then the conference would seed the teams “based on winning percentage among the group, even if the number of games played against the team or group are unequal.”

Heading into the final week of the regular season, there are not three or more teams with the same record in league play.