It’s clear March Madness goes through the Mitten State. Even if Ohio State gave Michigan everything it could handle Friday afternoon in the Big Ten Tournament, and Michigan State was upset by UCLA in the quarterfinal nightcap.
Both Michigan and Michigan State basketball are among the top-2 seeds for the upcoming NCAA Tournament, with the Wolverines seen as a lock for a 1-seed and the Spartans in strong position for a 2-seed.
But there’s still basketball to play before the NCAA Selection Committee puts together its final brackets.
Could Michigan make a push for the No. 1 overall seed?
Did MSU do enough to solidify its position as a 2-seed and a favorable draw?
Watch Big Ten men’s basketball on Fubo
We will find out during the men’s basketball Big Ten Tournament.
Here are live bracketology updates, game scores and more from the Big Ten Tournament:
Big Ten Tournament bracketology live updates
Purdue heading to Big Ten final
FINAL: Purdue 73, UCLA 66.
It’s going to be a matchup between the preseason Big Ten favorite and the conference’s top seed, with 7-seed Purdue playing Michigan for the Big Ten Tournament title on Sunday.
Purdue advanced after beating 6-seed UCLA, which made it to the semifinals after upsetting Michigan State on Friday.
Michigan State bracketology update, seed
According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi as of noon Saturday, Michigan State is still a 2-seed in the West Region despite losing in its only game of the conference tournament Friday night. Lunardi has the Spartans facing 15-seed Sienna in Buffalo, New York, with Miami (Fla.) the 7-seed against 10-seed UCF.
Yaxel Lendeborg sends Michigan to Big Ten final
FINAL: Michigan 68, Wisconsin 65.
Wisconsin drained 16 3-pointers and almost completed a 15-point second-half comeback, but Michigan big man Yaxel Lendeborg’s game-winning 3-pointer with less than a second left gave Michigan a 68-65 win in Chicago.
The Wolverines will play the winner of the Purdue-UCLA semifinal matchup.
UCLA knocks out MSU
FINAL: UCLA 88, Michigan State 84.
For those of you hoping for a Michigan-Michigan State final, better luck next year.
UCLA guard Donovan Dent had 23 points, 12 assists and six rebounds in another impressive performance to knock the Spartans out of the Big Ten Tournament. UCLA will play Purdue in the semifinals on Saturday, while Michigan State will wait until Sunday to learn their seeding for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Boiler up for an upset
FINAL: Purdue 74, Nebraska 58.
Have a day, Fletcher Loyer! The brother of former MSU guard Foster Loyer (and son of former Pistons coach John Loyer) put up 19 points on 5-for-10 shooting (including four 3-pointers) as seventh-seeded Purdue never trailed 2-seed Nebraska.
The win should lay the track for the Boilermakers to steam into the NCAA Tournament with a 3-seed, regardless of what they do in Saturday’s second semifinal – at 3:30 p.m. on CBS – against either 2-seed MSU or 6-seed UCLA.
Wisconsin gets big résumé boost with win vs. Illinois
FINAL: Wisconsin 91, Illinois 88.
That’s what we all think of when it comes to March basketball. Illinois and Wisconsin went shot-for-shot the entire afternoon at United Center, with two late prayers from the Badgers and Illini missing the mark to force OT. In the extra period, it was the Badgers making all the shots early, but Illinois didn’t go away easily. Wisconsin missed some free throws, which gave Illinois some late chances to try and force double-OT, but Keaton Wagler couldn’t make the most of his opportunities. Wisconsin, with two games and an extra overtime on its legs, will move on to face Michigan Saturday afternoon.
Michigan survives and advances
Ohio State hung tough with top-seeded Michigan, but the Wolverines advanced to the semifinals with a 71-67 win over their rivals. They will play the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between 4-seed Illinois and 5-seed Wisconsin.
Buckeyes on the bounce?
Well, someone is helping their NCAA seed, but it’s not the Wolverines: Ohio State, which entered Friday as a projected 9-seed, is playing projected 1-seed Michigan almost even at the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.
Check out the photos from the first half:
The race for No. 1 overall seed heats up
About the only drama surrounding Michigan’s NCAA hopes is whether the Wolverines will be the top overall seed (and, presumably, get an easier path to Indy). There are really just three contenders for the spot, but they’re all still going on Friday:
Duke theoretically has the head-to-head over U-M, but could a Duke loss to a Clemson team it beat by 13 last month open the door enough for the Wolverines to squeeze in with a Big Ten tourney title? We’ll have to wait and see.
Tough luck, Rutgers: Final eight set for Big Ten quarterfinals
Never let it be said that Big Ten basketball isn’t generous to other conferences. While, yes, the Big Ten will be taking up approximately 15% of the 68-team field, with perhaps as many as 10 March Madness-bound squads – it will not, however, be advancing any bid-stealers from the cellar into the quarterfinals.
6-seed UCLA knocked off 14-seed Rutgers late Thursday at United Center to set the final quarterfinal matchup of Friday night: 3-seed Michigan State vs. UCLA, at approximately 9 p.m. (or 25 minutes after the end of the Purdue/Nebraska quarterfinal).
Here’s the full schedule in the Windy City:
Northwestern’s Cinderella run comes to an end
Northwestern, the 15-seed which won two games in three days to make it to the Big Ten’s third round, couldn’t make it 3-for-3 on Thursday against 7-seed Purdue. Nick Martinelli did his best to carry the Wildcats, putting up 25 points on 10-for-26 shooting.
But the Boilermakers had too much in the middle, with Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff scoring 19 points apiece to send Purdue to an 81-69 victory and a quarterfinal matchup with 2-seed Nebraska on Friday (6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network). A win over the Cornhuskers would likely lock in the Boilers as a 3-seed come Sunday; a big loss, meanwhile, could knock they down to a 4-seed.
Could Wisconsin push for a 5-seed in NCAA Tournament?
Survive and advance.
That’s the name of the game in March, and it doesn’t always have to be pretty.
The Badgers, who entered Thursday as the top-ranked 6-seed on Bracket Matrix, led by as many as 18 points vs. Washington in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament, but saw that dwindle and dwindle until all the sudden the game was in jeopardy. The Huskies had two shots at the line, down 81-79, and made just one and couldn’t get over the hump in the final minutes after that in a tough 85-82 loss.
A win is a win for Wisconsin, though, and now the Badgers have a chance for another statement win vs. Illinois on Friday in the quarterfinals.
Iowa’s NCAA Tournament resume is complete. Is it enough?
The Hawkeyes, who as of Thursday were a 9-seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to Bracket Matrix, are done trying to improve their resume.
The Hawkeyes, also the No. 9 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, made easy work of Maryland on Wednesday but came up just short against an Ohio State team also in the bubble range.
OSU is a 9-seed on Bracket Matrix as well, but now has a win over the Hawkeyes to feel slightly better about itself. The Buckeyes’ reward? A matchup with Michigan.
Michigan State, Michigan basketball bracketology latest
The Spartans and Wolverines both enter the weekend in a strong position.
Michigan likely can’t really improve their seeding since they’re already seen as a lock for a 1-seed, unless they can get up to the No. 1 overall seed, but that would likely require a Duke loss in the ACC Tournament, and maybe Arizona, too.
The Spartans meanwhile are No. 7 overall in Bracket Matrix’s rankings, which compiles dozens of brackets online and averages them out for a good idea of where a team sits. Iowa State and Illinois are the two teams behind MSU, but the Spartans would likely have to lose Friday to have a chance to move down to a 3-seed.
Michigan to face Ohio State in quarterfinals
Michigan’s NCAA Tournament resume is so strong, it will likely have to win the Big Ten Tournament to make a material jump to the No. 1 overall seed, as even a loss likely won’t knock them off the 1-line.
In order to get there, the Wolverines will have to do something they’ve never done before: beat Ohio State three times in one season.
Ohio State reached the quarterfinals after beating Iowa on Thursday, 72-69, and will be a big underdog against the Wolverines on the second leg of a back-to-back.
Big Ten men’s basketball tournament scores: Tuesday, March 10
Watch Big Ten Tournament on Peacock
Big Ten men’s basketball second round: Wednesday, March 11
Big Ten men’s basketball third round: Thursday, March 12
Big Ten men’s basketball quarterfinals: Friday, March 13
Big Ten men’s basketball semifinals: Saturday, March 14
Big Ten men’s basketball championship: Sunday, March 15
Big Ten Tournament basketball channel, TV schedule
The Big Ten men’s basketball tournament will air on multiple TV channels and streaming services, most predominantly on the Big Ten Network. Here’s the schedule:
Additionally, games on the Big Ten Network and CBS can be streamed on Fubo, which carries both channels. Games on the Big Ten Network can also be streamed on the Fox Sports App, while the final can also be streamed on Paramount+.
Big Ten men’s basketball location
Michigan is looking to repeat as conference champs after winning last year’s tournament in Indianaplis.
Big Ten men’s basketball tournament format
The Big Ten men’s basketball tournament will use a new, 18-team single-elimination bracket for the 2026 edition.
All 18 Big Ten teams will be invited to the conference tournament, with the No. 15-18 seeds playing on March 10 in the first round. The No. 9-14 seeds all get a bye and will play on March 11, a four-game day, while the No. 5-8 seeds get a double-bye and will play on March 12, another four-game day. The winner of those games advance to the fourth round on March 13, where the No. 1-4 seeds, who get a triple-bye, await.
The semifinal games will take place March 14 and will air on CBS, followed by the final on March 15 in its usual Sunday-afternoon slot as the final game on CBS before the NCAA reveal. That’s 17 total games over six days to determine a conference champion.
Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Big Ten Tournament bracketology live updates as semifinals begin
Reporting by Andrew Birkle and Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
