The 2026 Big Ten men’s basketball tournament is expanding to include all 18 teams in the conference, the league announced on Thursday. The move comes after only 15 of the league’s 18 teams were included in the Big Ten tournament this past season in the first year that Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington joined the Big Ten from the Pac-12.
The tournament will begin one day earlier to accommodate the three new teams participating. While the men’s tournament is expanding starting in 2026, the women’s tournament will remain at 15 teams.
Last season, Nebraska, Penn State and Washington finished at the bottom of the Big Ten standings and didn’t participate in the conference tournament. Minnesota, Northwestern, USC, Iowa and Nebraska all finished with an identical 7-13 record in conference play, but the Cornhuskers were left out due to the tiebreaker.
Nebraska was on the NCAA Tournament bubble entering the final weekend of the regular season, but an 83-68 loss to Iowa derailed its hopes of dancing. The Cornhuskers went on to defeat UCF in the title game of the inaugural College Basketball Crown.
Entering the 2025-26 season, Purdue is considered the favorite to not only win the Big Ten but also capture the national title. The Boilermakers (+900) are the betting favorite to win the 2026 national title, per DraftKings.
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