Big Ten Weekly Men's Basketball Central - March 18-22
BIG TEN MEN'S BASKETBALL
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BIG TEN STATISTICS
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NCAA STATISTICS
BIG TEN SCHEDULE & RESULTS
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BIG TEN STANDINGS
NCAA AP TOP 25 POLL
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NCAA USA TODAY TOP 25 POLL
MEN'S BASKETBALL POSTSEASON CENTRAL
Big Ten. Big News.
- Nine Big Ten schools have been selected to compete in the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, it was announced Sunday on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Selection Show on CBS. Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue, UCLA, and Wisconsin will all be taking part in this year’s tournament. All games will be televised on CBS Sports, TBS, TNT or truTV, with Big Ten teams tipping off on Thursday.
- Two Big Ten teams, Minnesota and Rutgers, have also been selected to play in the 2026 College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas, a single-elimination eight team contest, which takes place Wednesday, April 1 to Sunday, April 5.
- Purdue claimed its third Big Ten Tournament title with an 80-72 win over top seed Michigan on Sunday afternoon at the United Center in Chicago. The number seven seeded Boilermakers were led by Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn, who combined for 41 points, while Jim and Kitty Delany Most Outstanding Player Braden Smith paired 14 points, 11 assists, five rebounds, and three steals. Smith was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Michigan’s Aday Mara, Cluff, and Wisconsin’s John Blackwell, and John Boyd.
- Sunday’s Purdue-Michigan championship game averaged 4.716 million viewers for CBS, its largest viewing audience for the Big Ten Championship game since Ohio State-Wisconsin in 2013. The audience peaked at 6.207 million viewers, making it the most-watched conference championship game on any network in the last 30 years.
- Michigan scored its 16th Big Ten championship, closing the regular season with a 19-1 record in Big Ten play. The 19 conference victories are the most in Big Ten history, besting the 18 wins by the 1974-75 and 1975-76 Indiana teams. The Wolverines (10-0) also joined the 1975-76 Hoosiers (9-0) as the only teams to go undefeated on the road.
- Six Big Ten players collected All-America honors this week. Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg collected First Team accolades from the Associated Press (AP), National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Sporting News, and US Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Purdue’s Braden Smith was also named to the First Team by the NABC and USBWA, while Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. and Keaton Wagler also received All-America recognition. Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz and Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton received Honorable Mention from the AP, while the USBWA included Stirtz on its Honorable Mention list.
- Last week, the Big Ten announced its 2026 All-Big Ten Teams and awards. Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg was named Player of the Year by both the coaches and media panel. Fellow Wolverine Aday Mara was named Defensive Player of the Year, while Illinois’ Keaton Wagler claimed Freshman of the Year honors. Nebraska’s Braden Frager claimed Sixth Man of the Year accolades. Wisconsin assistant coach Sharif Chambliss was named Howard Moore Assistant Coach of the Year, with Michigan’s Dusty May and Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg earning Coach of the Year recognition from the media and coaches, respectively.
- The Big Ten will open NCAA Tournament play with six teams ranked in both the AP and USA Today/Coaches polls. Michigan leads the way on both listings at No. 3. In the AP poll, the Wolverines are followed by No. 8 Purdue, No. 11 Michigan State, No. 13 Illinois, No. 15 Nebraska, and No. 19 Nebraska. The coaches list includes No. 11 Michigan State, No. 12 Illinois, No. 13 Purdue, No. 14 Nebraska, and No. 20 Wisconsin. UCLA and Ohio State also received votes in both polls.
- The Big Ten closed its nonconference schedule with a record of 157-41, the second-best win percentage (.793) of any conference, behind only the Big 12 (.806). Big Ten teams have defended home court to the tune of an 118-4 (.967) record in non-conference home games, the highest non-conference home winning percentage of any D-I conference.
- Entering Thursday’s NCAA Tournament games, Big Ten teams have combined to win 94 Quad 1 games, most of any conference, with 17 teams scoring at least one Quad 1 win, and 69 Quad 2 victories. Michigan’s 17 Quad 1 wins are tied with Duke for the most in the nation, while the Wolverines are one of just three teams with a combined 22 Quad 1 and 2 victories. Michigan (22-3), Purdue (17-8), and Nebraska (15-6) are three of just 16 teams nationally with at least 15 combined Quad 1 and 2 wins.
- Through games on Selection Sunday, the Big Ten boasts 13 teams in the top 75 spots in the NET Rankings, including three in the top 10 and nine in the top 50. Michigan leads the Big Ten at No. 3, followed by No. 8 Illinois, No. 9 Purdue, No. 11 Michigan State, No. 14 Nebraska, and No. 25 Wisconsin. Iowa, Ohio State, UCLA, and Indiana also claimed spots in the top 50.
- Milestone Watch... Purdue’s Braden Smith sits just two assists shy of breaking Bobby Hurley’s career assist record of 1,076. Smith is the only player in NCAA history to have at least 1,500 points, 1,000 assists and 500 career rebounds, currently with 1,865 points, 1,075 assists and 661 rebounds... Congratulations to Ohio State’s Devin Royal and USC’s Jordan Marsh, who recently scored their 1,000th career points... Illinois head coach Brad Underwood enters tournament play with 298 career wins, while Purdue head coach Matt Painter owns 498 wins on the Boilermakers’ sideline.