Big Ten Basketball Tournament 2026: Printable Bracket, Seedings, First Round Matchups

Let the madness begin! Or, as I like to refer to it, the tournament before the tournament is set to take place! The 2026 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off on March 10 and runs through March 15 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The event marks the 29th edition of the tournament and the first time the conference will feature all 18 teams in the bracket following the league’s recent expansion.

While we recently took a look at the early odds to win the Big Ten tourney, we now know the early-round matchups and which teams earned byes.

Under the tournament format, the bottom four seeds (15–18) begin play in the opening round on Tuesday, while higher seeds receive byes into later rounds. The top four seeds advance directly to the quarterfinals on Friday, creating a staggered bracket structure leading into the weekend.

The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, March 15, with the winner earning the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Below is the complete First Round schedule and matchups.

2026 Big Ten Tournament – First Round (Tuesday, March 10)

• No. 17 Maryland vs. No. 16 Oregon — 4:00 PM CT
• No. 18 Penn State vs. No. 15 Northwestern — 6:30 PM CT

Both games will open the tournament and determine which teams advance to Wednesday’s second round to face higher-seeded opponents.

Tournament Overview

• Dates: March 10–15, 2026
• Location: United Center (Chicago, Illinois)
• Teams: 18
• Format: Single-elimination
• Championship Game: Sunday, March 15

Seeds 1–4 receive byes into the quarterfinals, while seeds 5–8 enter in the third round and seeds 9–14 begin play in the second round.

The winner of the tournament earns the Big Ten’s automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Second Round (Wednesday, March 11)

• Game 3 — 11:00 AM CT: Winner Game 1 vs. No. 9 Seed
• Game 4 — 25 minutes after Game 3: No. 12 Seed vs. No. 13 Seed
• Game 5 — 5:30 PM CT: No. 10 Seed vs. No. 7 Seed
• Game 6 — 25 minutes after Game 5: Winner Game 2 vs. No. 8 Seed

Third Round (Thursday, March 12)

• Game 7 — 11:00 AM CT: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 8 Seed
• Game 8 — 25 minutes after Game 7: Winner Game 4 vs. No. 5 Seed
• Game 9 — 5:30 PM CT: Winner Game 5 vs. No. 6 Seed
• Game 10 — 25 minutes after Game 9: Winner Game 6 vs. No. 7 Seed

Quarterfinals (Friday, March 13)

The top four seeds enter the tournament at this stage.

• Game 11 — 11:00 AM CT: Winner Game 7 vs. No. 1 Seed
• Game 12 — 25 minutes after Game 11: Winner Game 8 vs. No. 4 Seed
• Game 13 — 5:30 PM CT: Winner Game 9 vs. No. 2 Seed
• Game 14 — 25 minutes after Game 13: Winner Game 10 vs. No. 3 Seed

Semifinals (Saturday, March 14)

• Game 15 — 12:00 PM CT: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12
• Game 16 — 25 minutes after Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14

Big Ten Championship Game (Sunday, March 15)

Game 17 — 2:30 PM CT

The winner cuts down the nets in Chicago and secures the Big Ten’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Here is a breakdown in bracket form.