Back in the Dance
Ohio State men’s basketball makes its first NCAA Tournament in four years as a No. 8 seed and will play TCU in Round 1.
Purdue – in a surprise run, given how it closed the regular season – is the 2026 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament champion.
The No. 7 seed Boilermakers upset No. 1 seed Michigan in the championship game, 80-72, to claim the conference's tournament crown and hand the Wolverines, who will likely still be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, just their third loss of the year.
Purdue's offense found success on the interior against Michigan, with forwards Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff scoring 20 and 19 points in the contest. Star guard Braden Smith orchestrated the show, racking up 11 assists alongside his 14 points. Michigan forward and Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg led the way in defeat for the Wolverines, with 20 points.
The game was tied at 38 heading into halftime, but Purdue took control in the first nine minutes of the second half and never relented. A 7-0 run started the period, then the Boilermakers – particularly Kaufman-Renn – kept scoring clumps of baskets between Michigan makes until they were ahead 60-46 with 11:25 to play. The Wolverines never cut the lead to less than five points from there, ultimately losing by eight.
Purdue defeated No. 15 seed Northwestern, No. 2 seed Nebraska and a streaking No. 6 seed UCLA to reach the Big Ten title game. The win could boost the Boilermakers to a higher seeding in the NCAA Tournament, with the Selection Show set to start at 6 p.m. on CBS. They were projected as a No. 3 seed in the Bracket Matrix entering Sunday.
