The Big Ten Conference Championship stretches from March 10 to March 14th, with the entire tournament being played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The tournament will include 14 teams, who will play single-elimination games with no reseeding.
Most of the Big Ten conference tournament will be airing on the Big Ten Network. BTN will feature rounds 1-3, prior to CBS hosting the semifinals and conference championship game.
Michigan closed out their season winning the Big Ten conference with a 14-2 conference record. They’ve sat very near to the top of the Ken Pomeroy ratings, ranking only behind No. 1 Baylor. In the NCAA Net rankings, Michigan sits at No. 3 behind Gonzaga and Baylor. Illinois is a close second-favorite in each, sitting at No. 5 in Pomeroy’s ratings and No. 4 in the NCAA Net ratings.
Wednesday, March 10
Game 1: No. 13 Minnesota 51-46 over No. 12 Northwestern
Game 2: No. 11 Penn State 72-66 over No. 14 Nebraska
Thursday, March 11
Game 3: No. 9 Maryland 68-57 over No. 8 Michigan State
Game 4: No. 5 Ohio State 79-75 over No. 11 Penn State
Game 5: No. 7 Rutgers 61-50 over No. 10 Indiana
Game 6: No. 6 Wisconsin 75-74 over No. 11 Penn State
Friday, March 12
Quarterfinal 1: No. 1 Michigan 79-66 over No. 9 Maryland
Quarterfinal 2: No. 5 Ohio State 87-78 OT No. 4 Purdue
Quarterfinal 3: No. 2 Illinois 90-68 over No. 7 Rutgers
Quarterfinal 4: No. 3 Iowa 62-57 over No. 6 Wisconsin
Saturday, March 13
Semifinal 1: No. 5 Ohio State 68-67 over No. 1 Michigan
Semifinal 2: No. 2 Illinois 82-71 over No. 3 Iowa
Sunday, March 14
Championship: No. 2 Illinois 91-88 over No. 5 Ohio State
The Illini complete the in-season turnaround and will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. There’s probably not a more potent duo anywhere in college basketball than Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn, and they’ll be a game for any team they face because of their ability to score and style.