Big Ten Weekly Men's Basketball Central - March 25

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MEN'S BASKETBALL POSTSEASON CENTRAL

WEEKLY RELEASE - MARCH 25

Big Ten. Big News.

• A Big Ten record six teams have advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Purdue, just one team shy of the NCAA Tournament record. This marks the first time more than four teams have advanced to the tournament’s second round. A conference record, nine teams were selected to compete in the tournament, with Ohio State, UCLA, and Wisconsin falling short of the advancing to the second weekend. 
• On Thursday, Purdue will face Texas in San Jose, Calif. (7:10 p.m. CBS), while Houston will host three Big Ten teams, as Nebraska and Iowa (7:30 p.m. TBS) will meet before Illinois faces Houston (10:05 p.m. TBS). On Friday, Michigan will play Alabama in Chicago (7:30 p.m. TBS), with Michigan State and Connecticut to meet in Washington D.C. at 9:45 p.m. (CBS). 
• Following dominant victories over No. 14 seed Penn (105-70) in the first round and No. 11 seed VCU (76-55) in the second last week in Greenville, S.C., No. 3 seed Illinois will make its 13th all-time appearance in the Sweet 16 when it faces No. 2 seed Houston on Thursday in Houston (9:05 p.m. CT on TBS). The Illini are playing in the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons. This is the first time in more than 20 years that Illinois has made two Sweet 16 appearances in a three-year span, since a run of four Sweet 16s in five years from 2001-05.
• Alvaro Folgueiras game-winning three-pointer gave No. 9 seed Iowa a 73-72 win over No. 1 seed and defending NCAA champion Florida and sent the Hawkeyes to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999. The Hawkeyes will face a familiar foe on Thursday night in Houston, as they meet No. 4 seed Nebraska. In four career games in March Madness, Bennett Stirtz is averaging 17.8 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds with .412/.286/.785 shooting splits. He has played 40 minutes in each of the four games. 
• Michigan will make its ninth Sweet 16 appearance in its last 10 NCAA Tournament appearances on Friday, when it faces #4 Alabama at the United Center in Chicago. The Wolverines totaled 196 points during the opening weekend in Buffalo, cruising past No. 16 seed Howard (101-80) and No. 9 seed Saint Louis (95-72) to reach the Sweet 16. Head coach Dusty May will take a team Sweet 16 for the third time in the last four seasons, including consecutive appearances with Michigan (2025, 2026) after guiding Florida Atlantic to a Final Four run in 2023.
• Powered by a program NCAA Tournament record 16 assists from Jeremy Fears Jr. in its 77-69 win over No. 6 seed Louisville, Michigan State will head to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row and the 17th time overall under Hall of Fame Coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans will face the winner of No. 2 seed Connecticut on Friday in the East Regional semifinal in Washington, D.C.
• Nebraska will look to extend its record-breaking season on Thursday, when it faces No. 9 seed Iowa in Houston. The Huskers earned the program’s first two NCAA Tournament wins last week, extending their current postseason win streak to six games, The Huskers are led by junior Pryce Sandfort, who is averaging 19.0 points per game on 55 percent shooting, including 10-of-18 from three-point range. 
• Coming off a pair of double-digit wins in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Purdue looks to keep it going when it faces 11th-seeded Texas on Thursday in San Jose, Calif. The Boilermakers are making their third straight Sweet 16 appearance and seventh in the last nine tournaments. During its current six game win streak, dating back to the Big Ten Tournament, Purdue has trailed for just 20 minutes. During those six games, Purdue has trailed for a total of 1:41 in the second half (Miami, Fla.).
• Through two rounds, the 2026 NCAA Tournament is averaging 10.1 million viewers across CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV. It has produced record-setting audiences, with the most-watched first round ever (9.5 million viewers) and the most watched second round since 1993 (11 million viewers). Thursday’s primetime window, including the Michigan-Howard game, averaged 12.5 million viewers, the most watched first round window ever, while Sunday’s early primetime window, which included the Iowa-Florida matchup) boasted 19.7 million viewers, the most watched window first week window in tournament history. 
• In Friday’s opening round win over Queens, Purdue senior Braden Smith became the NCAA all-time leader in career assists, with his second assist of the victory vaulting Smith past Duke great Bobby Hurley’s 1,076 mark (1990-93). On Sunday, Smith became the third player in NCAA Tournament history to have at least 100 points, 100 assists and 50 rebounds in NCAA Tournament play, joining Kansas' Aaron Miles and North Carolina's Ed Cota.
• A pair of Big Ten coaches also reached milestones over the weekend. On Saturday, Illinois’ Brad Underwood earned his 300th Division I victory. Purdue’s Matt Painter scored his 500th victory on the Boilermakers’ bench on Sunday, joining Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Indiana’s Bobby Knight, and Purdue’s Gene Keady as the only Big Ten coaches with 500 wins at a Big Ten school.
• Four student-athletes and three coaches were recognized by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Friday, as the group announced the semifinalists for the Naismith Awards. Illinois’ Keaton Wagler, Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, and Purdue’s Braden Smith were among 10 players named as semifinalists for the Naismith Player of the Year Award, while Lendeborg joined teammate Aday Mara as semifinalists for the Defensive Player of the Year honor. Michigan’s Dusty May, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, and Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg were also listed among the 10 Naismith Coach of the Year nominees. 
• 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.
• The Boilermakers claimed their 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.
• The Purdue-Michigan Big Ten 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.
• The Big Ten recently 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 opened 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 the NCAA Tournament, Big Ten teams 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 boasted 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.