Gophers Basketball Big Ten Tournament Hub: Schedule, Bracket, Predictions

The Gophers overcame a multitude of injuries to scratch and claw their way to a 15-16 record in the regular season. They earned the 11 seed in this year's Big Ten tournament, which means they won't play until Wednesday night against Rutgers. Let's break it down.

Bracket

2026 Big Ten men's basketball tournament bracket. | Picture via: @tonyliebert (X)

This is the first year with all 18 teams participating in the conference tournament since the Big Ten expanded. The first round will take place on Tuesday night with a pair of games between Oregon and Maryland, then Northwestern and Penn State. The event will culminate with the championship game on Sunday afternoon.

Betting odds

Michigan (-105)
Illinois (+370)
Purdue (+700)
Michigan State (+700)
Nebraska (+1000)
Wisconsin (+2700)
UCLA (+5000)
Iowa (+6500)
Ohio State (+10000)
Indiana (+17500)
Northwestern (+30000)
Washington (+30000)
USC (+30000)
Oregon (+30000)
Minnesota (+30000)

FanDuel Sportsbook is offering Big Ten tournament title odds on just 15 teams. The Gophers are tied for the 11th-best odds at 300 to 1, which means a $10 wager would return $3000 in profit. Their implied probability of making an all-time run to win it all would be 0.33% at those odds.

Michigan is rightfully the heavy favorite, followed by Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State and then Nebraska. There's a big drop-off before Wisconsin at 27 to 1, then another drop-off to UCLA at 50 to 1, followed by Iowa at 65 to 1, Ohio State at 100 to 1 and then Indiana at 175 to 1.

Predictions

Minnesota picked up regular-season wins against Rutgers, UCLA and Michigan State, which could be its first three opponents en route to the semifinals. The only difference is that those games were played at Williams Arena. Potentially playing three nights in a row on a neutral floor in Chicago, Illinois, is a much different story.

I expect the shorthanded Gophers to take care of business against Rutgers on Wednesday night, but beating UCLA again might be too tough an ask for a team with just a six-man rotation. Playing on Thursday night would be a huge accomplishment for this team, given the circumstances.

As for the field as a whole, this tournament is obviously Michigan's to lose. The Wolverines might be the best chance for the Big Ten to snap its national title drought in quite some time, and I don't think they'll lose this week in Chicago. Wisconsin and Purdue are two lower seeds with the potential to make a run, and I think we see Michigan over the Boilermakers in the final.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.