2018–19 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
The 2018–19 Big Ten men's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 6, 2018. The regular season ended on March 10, 2019.
| 2018–19 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| TV partner(s) | Big Ten Network, ESPN, Fox, FS1 CBS |
| 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season | |
| Regular season champions (shared) | Michigan State and Purdue |
| Season MVP | Cassius Winston, Michigan State |
| Top scorer | Carsen Edwards, Purdue |
| Tournament | |
| Champions | Michigan State |
| Runners-up | Michigan |
| Finals MVP | Cassius Winston |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 Michigan State † | 16 | – | 4 | .800 | 32 | – | 7 | .821 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Purdue | 16 | – | 4 | .800 | 26 | – | 10 | .722 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Michigan | 15 | – | 5 | .750 | 30 | – | 7 | .811 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Wisconsin | 14 | – | 6 | .700 | 23 | – | 11 | .676 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 13 | – | 7 | .650 | 23 | – | 11 | .676 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 10 | – | 10 | .500 | 23 | – | 12 | .657 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 9 | – | 11 | .450 | 22 | – | 14 | .611 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 8 | – | 12 | .400 | 20 | – | 15 | .571 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 8 | – | 12 | .400 | 19 | – | 16 | .543 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 7 | – | 13 | .350 | 14 | – | 18 | .438 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 7 | – | 13 | .350 | 12 | – | 21 | .364 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 7 | – | 13 | .350 | 14 | – | 17 | .452 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 6 | – | 14 | .300 | 19 | – | 17 | .528 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 4 | – | 16 | .200 | 13 | – | 19 | .406 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2019 Big Ten tournament winner Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2018–19 season marked the first time in Big Ten history that the teams played a 20-game conference schedule. With a win over Northwestern on March 9, 2019, Purdue won a share of the Big Ten regular season championship, its conference-leading 24th championship. Later that same day, Michigan State defeated Michigan to earn a share of the championship, marking back-to-back championships for the Spartans. Due to tie-breaking rules, Michigan State received the No. 1 seed for the Big Ten tournament.
The Big Ten tournament returned to its more traditional Midwest roots and was held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The Tournament was held from March 13 through March 19, 2019. Michigan State won the Big Ten tournament championship, defeating Michigan for the third time on the season in the championship game.
Michigan State guard Cassius Winston was named Big Ten Player of the Year. Winston, Ethan Happ and Carsen Edwards were 2019 consensus All-Americans. Purdue coach Matt Painter was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the fourth time and NABC Coach of the Year.
In addition to Michigan State, who received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the conference set a conference record by sending eight teams to the Tournament: Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin, Maryland, Iowa, Minnesota, and Ohio State. Michigan State advanced to the Final Four. The conference also sent two schools to the National Invitation Tournament: Indiana and Nebraska.
Following the season, Romeo Langford (14th overall), headlined a class of 6 Big Ten conference athletes that were drafted in the 2019 NBA draft. Michigan had two players drafted.