2026 Big Ten Men's Basketball Postseason Central

MARCH 19 - APRIL 6, 2026

BIG TEN MEN'S BASKETBALL  |  BIG TEN STATS  |  BIG TEN STANDINGS  |  BIG TEN RECORD BOOK

NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET  |  CROWN BRACKET

Eleven Big Ten teams will continue their seasons, as the NCAA Tournament and College Basketball Crown will get underway. The Big Ten will send nine teams to the 2026 NCAA Tournament, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue, UCLA, and Wisconsin. Minnesota and Rutgers will compete in the College Basketball Crown, a single-elimination, eight team contest, which takes place Wednesday, April 1 to Sunday, April 5 in Las Vegas.

All NCAA Tournament games will be televised on CBS Sports, TBS, TNT or truTV and watch on-line at  https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/watch  and the NCAA March Madness Live app. The Crown's first round contests will be broadcast on FS1, with the semifinals and championship slated for FOX. All of the games will also be available on the Fox Sports app.

Purdue, the No. 7 seed in the 2026 TIAA Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, raised its third Big Ten Tournament title with Sunday's 80-72 win over No. 1 seed Michigan to earn the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

This will mark the second year of the College Basketball Crown. Nebraska won the inaugural tournament, scoring a 77-66 win over Central Florida.

Eight Big Ten teams are included in both major college basketball polls entering tournament play, with six ranked in the top 20. The AP poll includes Michigan at No. 3, followed by No. 8 Purdue, No. 11 Michigan State, No. 13 Illinois, No. 15 Nebraska, and No. 19 Wisconsin. The USA Today Coaches Poll lists the Wolverines at No. 3, with the Spartans at No. 11, the Illini at No. 12, the Boilermakers at No. 13, the Huskers at No. 14, and the Badgers at No. 20. UCLA and Ohio State also received votes in both polls.

(NOTES: Regional seeds listed with school names for NCAA Tournament only… all times listed below are Eastern… dates, times and TV coverage subject to change).

2026 NCAA Men's Tournament Schedule

2026 College Basketball Crown Schedule