With the Big Ten Tournament set to run at Madison Square Garden for the first time from Feb. 28-March 4, the conference will tip off its season on Dec. 1 and condense its schedule this season.
All 14 teams will advance to the tournament, with two first-round games slated for Wednesday, Feb. 28. The top four teams will receive first and second round byes and advance to the quarterfinals on Friday, March 2.
The Big Ten has to complete its conference tournament in time for the Big East Tournament, which runs March 7-10 at the Garden.
The ACC Tournament will also be in New York City at Barclays Center March 6-10, meaning three major conference tournaments will run through the Big Apple from Feb. 28-March 10.
Big Ten teams which make the NCAA Tournament will then have at least a week off before the first round of the Big Dance begins March 15.
“Having the Big Ten Tournament at Madison Square Garden has enormous benefit for Rutgers and the conference,” said Rutgers AD Pat Hobbs. “As a result of the unique time frame, the league schedule is condensed. Rutgers will do everything necessary to ensure student-athlete welfare. We feel very comfortable that our student-athletes will not be negatively impacted by the condensed schedule.”
The Big Ten schedule gets underway with all 14 teams playing one conference home and road game between Dec. 1 and Dec. 5. On Friday, Dec. 1, Maryland will host defending Big Ten Champion Purdue, while Northwestern will entertain Illinois. On Saturday, Dec. 2, Iowa will welcome Penn State, Indiana will travel to Michigan and Wisconsin will entertain Ohio State. On Sunday, Dec. 3, Illinois will host the Terrapins, Nebraska will travel to Michigan State, Minnesota will welcome Rutgers and the Boilermakers will play host to Northwestern.
On Monday, Dec. 4, Indiana will entertain the Hawkeyes, Michigan will travel to Ohio State and Penn State will host the Badgers. The December stretch wraps up with Nebraska hosting Minnesota and Michigan State traveling to Rutgers on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The conference season will resume on Jan. 2, and conclude on Sunday, Feb. 25.
Television designations for the Big Ten men’s basketball conference schedule and Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will be announced at a later date. The conference will feature four major media partners: BTN, CBS Sports, ESPN and FOX Sports.
