ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten Conference announced the bracket for the 2022 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament presented by TIAA that will take place March 9-13 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Illinois (22-8, 15-5 Big Ten) earned the top seed in the field and a double bye into the quarterfinals, which will be played on Friday, March 11. No. 2 Wisconsin (24-6, 15-5), No. 3 Purdue (25-6, 14-6) and No. 4 Rutgers (18-12, 12-8) also claimed double byes and will open postseason action on Friday.
The 25th annual tournament begins on Wednesday, March 9, with a pair of games. No. 12 seed Northwestern (14-15, 7-13) faces No. 13 Nebraska (10-21, 4-16) in the opener at 6 p.m. ET. No. 11 Penn State (12-16, 7-13) plays No. 14 Minnesota (13-16, 4-16) 25 minutes after the conclusion of the Northwestern-Nebraska game.
No. 8 seed Michigan (17-13, 11-9) and No. 9 Indiana (18-12, 9-11) will kick off the second round of the tournament at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 10. No. 5 seed Iowa (22-9, 12-8) will then open its tournament slate against the winner of the first-round game between Northwestern-Nebraska. In Thursday’s second session, No. 7 Michigan State (20-11, 11-9) plays No. 10 seed Maryland (15-16, 7-13) at 6:30 p.m., while No. 6 Ohio State (19-10, 12-8) takes on the Penn State-Minnesota winner 25 minutes after the conclusion of the Michigan State-Maryland game.
The Thursday winners will move on to play the tournament’s top four seeds on Friday in the quarterfinals.
The Big Ten Network (BTN) will televise the tournament’s first 10 games, with coverage spanning the first round of the tournament through the quarterfinals. CBS Sports will once again broadcast the semifinals and final. All BTN on-air games can be streamed via the web, smartphones, tablets, and connected devices through the FOX Sports App, while the CBS Sports broadcasts will also be available to stream live on Paramount+.