Big Ten Reveals Tournament Bracket as Northwestern Gets No. 13 Seed

The 'Cats have a difficult, but winnable, road ahead.

Mar 8, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Ty Berry (3) drives to the basket against Maryland Terrapins center Derik Queen (25) during the first half at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Thanks to wins from UCLA, Iowa and Rutgers, Northwestern will be the No. 13 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. With the Wildcats falling to Maryland on Saturday afternoon, 13th was the highest possible seed NU could've received.

Oregon and Washington's Sunday matchup is inconsequential to the Big Ten Tournament, which means the conference competition's bracket is set in stone.

No. 13 Northwestern will play No. 12 Minnesota on Wednesday, March 12. The Wildcats previously beat the Golden Gophers, 75-63, on February 25. Junior forward and leading scorer in the Big Ten Nick Martinelli scored 29 points in that game, the second-most in his career.

If the 'Cats advance, they will play No. 5 Wisconsin. At 23-8, ESPN's Joe Lunardi currently projects the Badgers as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In the teams' lone matchup on February 1, Northwestern led by six at the half, but Wisconsin scored 50 in the second as the Badgers came out with the win, 75-69.

Wisconsin is a daunting opponent, but if Northwestern can get past the Badgers, the 'Cats would play No. 4 UCLA. Northwestern narrowly fell to the Bruins nearly a week ago as a late comeback fell just short, and the Wildcats would certainly welcome an opportunity at revenge.

At this point, Northwestern's NCAA Tournament hopes almost entirely hinge on an automatic bid by winning the Big Ten Tournament.

It'll be an incredibly difficult road, especially considering that NU hasn't won a Big Ten Tournament game since 2022. However, the opponents ahead are all teams that the Wildcats played closely this season, and anything is possible in March.