Big Ten Record in March Madness 2026: Michigan Dominates Tennessee to Give Big Ten a Pair in Final Four

The Big Ten is in prime position to snap a lengthy national title drought.

Yaxel Lendeborg absolutely dominated Tennessee in the Elite Eight to reach the Final Four. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

When the Final Four rolls around next weekend, the Big Ten will be present in both semifinal matchups.

The Big Ten is well-represented in the Big Dance once again, with nine teams in the field of 64, matching the record for the conference. Only the SEC (10) has more. No. 1 Michigan leads the way, with No. 2 Purdue, No. 3 seeds Michigan State and Illinois and No. 4 Nebraska littering the top seed lines of this year’s bracket.

No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 7 UCLA, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 9 Iowa fill out the Big Ten’s list of participants.

The left side of the bracket features six of the nine Big East teams, with three in the East Region and three in the South Region. Michigan is the lone Big Ten program in the Midwest as the No. 1 seed, meaning it would not get a conference rematch until the Final Four at the earliest. The West features a pair of Big Ten programs, including Purdue.

David Mirković led Illinois with 29 points, one of five Fighting Illini players in double digits as they exploded for 105 points against Penn. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Big Ten record in NCAA tournament after Elite Eight

The Big Ten has a long national championship drought dating back to Michigan State’s title in 2000. Nothing is certain, but this may be the best chance the league has had to capture a title in a long time. After its Elite Eight games, two Big Ten program have punched tickets to Indianapolis: No. 1 Michigan and No. 3 Illinois.

The Fighting Illini entered the tournament with a reputation as one of college basketball’s best offenses, and they flashed it with a 105–70 first-round win over No. 14 Penn. The next three games showed that Illinois can lock down on the other end as well. In wins over No. 11 VCU, No. 2 Houston and No. 9 Iowa, none of the Fighting Illini’s opponents have cracked 60 points.

Michigan had some trouble early with No. 16 Howard, but ultimately separated itself in the second half to win comfortably, 101–80, and made easy work of No 9 Saint Louis, which had just dominated Georgia the round before. The Wolverines withstood a hot start by No. 4 Alabama, dominating the second half en route to a 90–77 win and Elite Eight berth. Their game against No. 6 Tennessee was even more dominant. After a tight first few minutes, Michigan used a 21–0 first-half run to suck the life out of the Volunteers, rolling to a 95–62 victory.

The Big Ten’s tournament run didn’t begin well, however. No. 8 Ohio State played in the first game of the main 64-team bracket on Thursday against No. 9 TCU, a back and forth affair that ended with a poor Buckeyes possession, giving the Horned Frogs a 66–64 win. No. 5 Wisconsin was the fourth game to tip off on Thursday, and the Badgers ran into a buzzsaw in the form of No. 12 High Point, which hit 15 threes en route to an 83–82 upset victory.

No. 4 Nebraska was completely locked in and dominated No. 13 Troy, 76–47, behind a red-hot start for Pryce Sandfort in the first-round, winning the first NCAA tournament game in program history. They followed it up by winning perhaps the best game of March Madness so far, a 74–72 thriller against No. 5 Vanderbilt on a Braden Frager layup with two seconds left in the game. Their run came to an end against a familiar foe, Iowa, in the Sweet 16.

No. 3 Michigan State jumped all over No. 14 North Dakota State and cruised to a 92–67 win, following it up with a strong showing in a 77–69 win over No. 6 Louisville. The Spartans were at risk of being run off the floor by No. 2 UConn in the Sweet 16, but had an impressive comeback in the second half that fell short, 67–63.

No. 2 Purdue dominated No. 15 Queens 104–71, a game in which Braden Smith broke Bobby Hurley’s all-time NCAA assists record, to open the tournament. After gritty wins over No. 7 Miami (Fla.) and No. 11 Texas, the Boilermakers had No. 1 Arizona on the ropes in Saturday’s Elite Eight game, but the talent-rich Wildcats cruised in the second half, 79–64.

Iowa beat No. 8 Clemson 67–61 to open its impressive tournament run, following it up with perhaps the biggest upset win of the tournament, knocking off No. 1 Florida on Sunday evening, 73–72. The Hawkeyes looked like the better team for much of the game, and overcame a furious late run by the Gators, in which the two sides traded the lead back and forth, to win on a late three by Alvaro Folgueiras. After beating Nebraska in the Sweet 16, Iowa’s run came to an end at the hands of Illinois.

No. 7 UCLA held on to defeat No. 10 UCF in a thriller in the first round. The Bruins kept pace with UConn for a while in their second-round game but ultimately couldn’t keep up with a career night by Alex Karaban.

Which Big Ten teams are still alive?

Illinois and Michigan have each clinched spots in the Final Four. The Fighting Illini await their opponent, while the Wolverines will face fellow No. 1 seed Arizona.

The other seven Big Ten teams in the field have been eliminated..

Big Ten March Madness schedule

Below are all the details available for the two remaining Big Ten teams’ games for Sunday’s Elite Eight games and Illinois’s upcoming Final Four game. Big Ten programs are in bold. The full men’s NCAA tournament schedule and TV lineup is available here.

Game	Date	Time (ET)	Location	Channel
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 1 Arizona	Saturday, April 4	TBD	Indianapolis	TBS
No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 1 Duke/No. 2 UConn	Saturday, April 4	TBD	Indianapolis	TBS

Berke Büyüktuncel helped Nebraska to its first-ever men’s NCAA tournament victory with a dominant team performance against Troy. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Biggest wins and most disappointing losses

The teams at the top of the Big Ten have largely been getting the job done, with No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Purdue, Nos. 3 Michigan State and Illinois and No. 4 Nebraska all winning their first-round games by at least 20 points. The Wolverines and Fighting Illini deserve credit for contining to look the part, especially Michigan easily dispatching of some top SEC programs en route to the Final Four.

During the first weekend of the tournament, the league picked up perhaps its most impressive win, with No. 9 Iowa’s gritty win over No. 1 Florida, sending the defending national champions packing in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

The most disappointing loss has to go to Wisconsin, which has failed to get out of the first weekend in six straight tournament appearances, dating back to 2017, Greg Gard’s second season in Madison.

How the Big Ten compares to other conferences in the 2026 NCAA tournament

Through Saturday’s Elite Eight action, the Big Ten has the best record of any conference at 19–7. The SEC sits at 14–9, for second in the tournament, though head-to-head, it hasn’t even been close, as the Big Ten is 5–0 against its southern rival. The Big 12 is 10–7 after Arizona’s win on Saturday night. The ACC is 6–7 and now is down to just No. 1 Duke in the Elite Eight. The Big East, which landed a disappointing three teams in the field, has seen their top programs perform well, and is 5–2 with UConn remaining alive with the Final Four on the line.

All mid-majors were eliminated from the field ahead of the Sweet 16.

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