Saturday, March 7, brings the final weekend of the 2025-26 Big Ten basketball regular season. Wisconsin’s trip to No. 15 Purdue headlines a busy first day of action, with Indiana also traveling to Ohio State, UCLA to USC, Northwestern to Minnesota and Washington to Oregon.
An intriguing Sunday slate follows that schedule, with Penn State at Rutgers, No. 11 Illinois at Maryland, No. 8 Michigan State at No. 3 Michigan and Iowa at No. 9 Nebraska.
Unlike in many years, those final games will not decide the conference champion; Michigan won the title in a runaway, besting the rest of the conference by three games. Its contest vs. Michigan State will instead serve as a potential preview of what could come in the conference tournament.
Before Saturday’s games tip off, here is an updated look at the projected Big Ten Tournament bracket.
Projected Big Ten Tournament bracket as of March 7
First Round
- No. 18 Penn State vs. No. 15 Northwestern
- No. 17 Maryland vs. No. 16 Oregon
Second Round
- No. 9 Iowa vs. Oregon/Maryland winner
- No. 10 Indiana vs. Penn State/Northwestern winner
- No. 11 Washington vs. No. 14 Rutgers
- No. 12 USC vs. No. 13 Minnesota
Third Round
- No. 8 Ohio State vs. Iowa/Oregon/Maryland
- No. 5 Purdue vs. USC/Minnesota
- No. 7 UCLA vs. Indiana/Penn State/Northwestern
- No. 6 Wisconsin vs. Washington/Rutgers
Quarterfinals
- No. 1 Michigan vs. Ohio State/Iowa/Oregon/Maryland
- No. 4 Illinois vs. Purdue/USC/Minnesota
- No. 2 Michigan State vs. UCLA/Indiana/Penn State/Northwestern
- No. 3 Nebraska vs. Wisconsin/Washington/Rutgers
Semifinals
- Michigan/Ohio State/Iowa/Oregon/Maryland vs. Illinois/Purdue/USC/Minnesota
- Michigan State/UCLA/Indiana/Penn State/Northwestern vs. Nebraska/Wisconsin/Washington/Rutgers
The winner of those two semifinals will meet in the tournament final on Sunday, March 15. The conclusion of that game leads into CBS’s Selection Sunday show and the unveiling of the NCAA Tournament bracket.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
