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

First Round - Thursday, March 19	Time	Location	Watch	Links
East Region #9 TCU def. #8 Ohio State, 66-64	12:15 p.m.	Greenville, S.C.	CBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
South Region #4 Nebraska def. #13 Troy, 76-47	12:40 p.m.	Oklahoma City, Okla.	truTV	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
West Region #12 High Point def. #5 Wisconsin, 83-82	1:50 p.m.	Portland, Ore.	CBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
East Region #3 Michigan State def. #14 North Dakota State, 92-67	4:05 p.m.	Buffalo, N.Y.	TNT	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
Midwest Region #1 Michigan def. #16 Howard, 101-80	7:10 p.m.	Buffalo, N.Y.	CBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
South Region #3 Illinois def. #14 Penn, 105-70	9:25 p.m.	Greenville, S.C.	TNT	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
First Round - Friday, March 20	Time	Location	Watch	Links
South Region #9 Iowa def. #8 Clemson, 67-61	6:50 p.m.	Tampa, Fla.	TNT	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
East Region #7 UCLA def. #10 Central Florida, 75-71	7:25 p.m.	Philadelphia, Pa.	TBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
West Region #2 Purdue def. #15 Queens (N.C.), 104-71	7:35 p.m.	St. Louis, Mo.	truTV	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
Second Round - Saturday, March 21	Time	Location	Watch	Links
Midwest Region #1 Michigan def. #9 Saint Louis, 95-72	12:10 p.m.	Buffalo, N.Y.	CBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
East Region #3 Michigan State def. #6 Louisville, 77-69	2:45 p.m.	Buffalo, N.Y.	CBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
South Region #3 Illinois def. #11 VCU, 76-55	7:50 p.m.	Greenville, S.C.	CBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
South Region #4 Nebraska def. #5 Vanderbilt, 74-72	8:45 p.m.	Oklahoma City, Okla.	TNT	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
Second Round - Sunday, March 22	Time	Location	Watch	Links
West Region #2 Purdue def. #7 Miami (Fla.), 79-69	12:10 p.m.	St. Louis, Mo.	CBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
South Region #9 Iowa def. #1 Florida, 73-72	7:10 p.m.	Tampa, Fla.	TBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
East Region #2 Connecticut def. #7 UCLA, 73-57	8:45 p.m.	Philadelphia, Pa.	TNT	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
Sweet 16 - Thursday, March 26	Time	Location	Watch	Links
West Region #2 Purdue def. #11 Texas, 79-77	7:10 p.m.	San Jose, Calif.	CBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
South Region #9 Iowa def. #4 Nebraska, 77-71	7:30 p.m.	Houston, Texas	TBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
South Region #3 Illinois def. #2 Houston, 65-55	10:05 p.m.	Houston, Texas	TBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
Sweet 16 - Friday, March 27	Time	Location	Watch	Links
Midwest Region #1 Michigan def. #4 Alabama, 90-77	7:35 p.m.	Chicago, Ill.	TBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
East Region #2 Connecticut def. #3 Michigan State, 67-63	9:45 p.m.	Washington, D.C.	CBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
Elite Eight - Saturday, March 28	Time	Location	Watch	Links
South Region #3 Illinois def. #9 Iowa, 71-59	6:09 p.m.	Houston, Texas	TBS/truTV	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
West Region #1 Arizona def. #2 Purdue, 79-64	8:49 p.m.	San Jose, Calif.	TBS/truTV	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
Elite Eight - Sunday, March 29	Time	Location	Watch	Links
Midwest Region #1 Michigan def. #6 Tennessee, 95-62	2:15 p.m.	Chicago, Ill.	CBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
Final Four - Saturday, April 4	Time	Location	Watch	Links
#3 Illinois vs. #2 Connecticut	6:09 p.m.	Indianapolis, Ind.	TBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
#1 Michigan vs. #1 Arizona	9 p.m.	Indianapolis, Ind.	TBS	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score

2026 College Basketball Crown Schedule

Quarterfinal Round	Date & Time	Watch	Links
Minnesota vs. Baylor	Wed., April 1, 10:30 p.m.	FS1	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score
Rutgers vs. Creighton	Thur., April 2, 10:30 p.m.	FS1	Live Stats \| Recap \| Box Score

2026 Big Ten Men's Basketball Postseason Central

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