Big Ten Basketball Tournament Storylines: Schedule, Preview, TV Channel

The USC Trojans will be the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament that starts this week. USC is led by guard JuJu Watkins and clinched the Big Ten regular season championship their win Saturday night vs. the UCLA Bruins. The tournament will be played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana from March 5 through March 9.

How does the bracket shape up?

The 2025 TIAA Big Ten Women’s Basketball Torurnament bracket is set 👀

Get your tickets: https://t.co/JhPaf32GAJ @ifs x #B1GWBBT pic.twitter.com/AlEzc2a6se
— Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) March 3, 2025

Trojans Earn Double-Bye In Big Ten Tournament

It will be a new look Big Ten tournament in 2025. With the conference expanding to add USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington, not every team in the conference will be in the tournament. The top 15 out of 18 teams in the Big Ten qualified. The three teams that failed to make it were the Purdue Boilermakers, Northwestern Wildcats, and Penn State Nittany Lions.

With the No. 1 seed, USC will get a double bye in round one and round two. Their first game will be in the quarterfinals on Friday, March 7 at 12 p.m PT on the Big Ten Network. The Trojans will face the winner of the No. 8 Oregon Ducks and No. 9 Indiana Hoosiers.

The other three teams seeded in the top four that also earned double-byes are the No. 2 seed UCLA Bruins, No. 3 seed Ohio State, and No. 4 seed Maryland Terrapins.

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Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Dates and Location

Dec 3, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; The Big Ten Confernce B1G logo on the court at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

All games will be played in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the home of the Indiana Pacers.

First Round: Monday, March 5

Second Round: Tuesday, March 6

Third Round: Wednesday, March 7

Semifinals: Thursday, March 8

Final: Friday, March 9

How To Watch Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament

Feb 13, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb and her players celebrate defeating the UCLA Bruins at Galen Center. The Bruins came into the game ranked #1 in the country. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament will be broadcasted and streamed on multiple platforms:

First Round: Peacock

Second Round: Big Ten Network, Fox Sports App

Third Round: Big Ten Network, Fox Sports App

Semifinals: Big Ten Network, Fox Sports App

Final: CBS, Paramount Plus

USC No. 1 Seed In Latest NCAA Tournament Bracket Projections

Feb 13, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) reacts after scoring in the fourth quarter against the UCLA Bruins at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans are currently a No. 1 seed in ESPN’s Bracketolgoy according to Charlie Creme.

Creme has the Trojans as the No. 1 seed in the Spokane Region, playing No. 16 seed Hawaii. Even if USC were to get upset in their first game of the Big Ten tournament against Oregon or Indiana, it would be stunning to see them fall down to the No. 2 seed line.

The other one seeds according to Creme are Texas as the No 1 overall seed, South Carolina, and UCLA. The No. 2 seeds are NC State, LSU, UConn, and Notre Dame.

In 2024, USC was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They got all the way to the Elite Eight, where they fell to the No. 3 seeded UConn Huskies. Will they use that experience to help them get to the Final Four this season?