Big Ten men's basketball tournament
The Big Ten men's basketball tournament is held annually at the end of the men's college basketball regular season. The tournament has been played each year since 1998. The winner of the tournament is designated the Big Ten Tournament Champion, and receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Big Ten was one of the last NCAA Division I college basketball conferences to start a tournament.
| Big Ten men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Sport | College basketball |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Target Center |
| Current location | Minneapolis, MN |
| Played | 1998–present |
| Last contest | 2024 |
| Current champion | Illinois Fighting Illini (4) |
| Most championships | Michigan State (6) |
| TV partner(s) | CBS (semifinals/championship) Big Ten Network (second and third rounds) Peacock (first round) |
| Official website | Big Ten Men's Basketball |
| Sponsors | |
| SoFi | |
| Host stadiums | |
| United Center (1998–2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2023) Gainbridge Fieldhouse (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008–12, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022) Verizon Center (2017) Madison Square Garden (2018) Lucas Oil Stadium (2021) Target Center (2024) | |
The finals of the tournament are typically held immediately before the field for the NCAA Tournament is announced, although in 2018 it was held the week before Selection Sunday.
On seven occasions, the champion of the tournament has gone on to reach the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament (Michigan State in 1999, 2000, and 2019, Illinois in 2005, Ohio State in 2007, Wisconsin in 2015, and Michigan in 2018). In 2000, champion Michigan State won the NCAA tournament. The No. 1 seed has won the tournament ten times, the most of any seed. The lowest seed to win the tournament was Michigan as a No. 8 seed in 2017. Three schools have won two consecutive championships: Michigan State (1999, 2000), Ohio State (2010, 2011), and Michigan (2017, 2018).