2026 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament — Full Updated Bracket, United Center, Chicago
Northwestern is the Cinderella. Minnesota and Rutgers are playing right now. Michigan waits. Here is the complete, updated bracket after Wednesday night's results.
Completed Results
Tuesday, March 10 — First Round Game 1: No. 17 Maryland 70, No. 16 Oregon 60 Game 2: No. 15 Northwestern 76, No. 18 Penn State 66
Wednesday, March 11 — Second Round Game 3: No. 9 Iowa 75, No. 17 Maryland 64 Game 4: No. 12 Washington 83, No. 13 USC 79 (OT) Game 5: No. 15 Northwestern 74, No. 10 Indiana 61 Game 6: No. 11 Minnesota vs. No. 14 Rutgers — IN PROGRESS, Minnesota leads 34-31 (17:57, 2nd half)
Nick Martinelli led Northwestern past Indiana with 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting, outscoring the Hoosiers 38-24 in the second half after trailing at halftime. Indiana's tournament run is over. Their NCAA at-large case is badly damaged.
Thursday, March 12 — Third Round (Big Ten Network)
Game 7: No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 8 Ohio State | Noon ET | BTN Game 8: No. 12 Washington vs. No. 5 Wisconsin | ~2:30 p.m. ET | BTN Game 9: No. 15 Northwestern vs. No. 7 Purdue | 6:30 p.m. ET | BTN Game 10: Minnesota/Rutgers winner vs. No. 6 UCLA | ~9:00 p.m. ET | BTN
Northwestern's Cinderella run continues Thursday — the 15-seed against Purdue. Jake West (16 points, 7-of-9 shooting) is the engine alongside Martinelli.
Friday, March 13 — Quarterfinals (Big Ten Network)
Game 11: No. 1 Michigan vs. Game 7 winner | Noon ET | BTN Game 12: No. 4 Illinois vs. Game 8 winner | ~2:30 p.m. ET | BTN Game 13: No. 2 Nebraska vs. Game 9 winner | 6:30 p.m. ET | BTN Game 14: No. 3 Michigan State vs. Game 10 winner | ~9:00 p.m. ET | BTN
Saturday, March 14 — Semifinals (CBS)
Game 15: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner | 1:00 p.m. ET | CBS Game 16: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner | ~3:30 p.m. ET | CBS
Sunday, March 15 — Championship (CBS)
Game 17: Semifinal winners | 3:30 p.m. ET | CBS
Selection Sunday follows immediately.
The Big Picture
Michigan went 29-2 this season and only truly slipped twice — a bad loss to Wisconsin in January and a narrow escape at Penn State. The Wolverines beat Michigan State twice by double digits and led almost wire-to-wire in a commanding win over Purdue. Nobody in the conference has come close.
If anyone can get to Michigan, it's probably the Spartans — and they sit on the opposite side of the bracket, meaning a Michigan-Michigan State final is entirely on the table. Northwestern, now three wins from the Big Ten title as a 15-seed, is the bracket's live disruptor.
