2020 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2020 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Big Ten Conference of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The tournament remained in its more traditional Midwest roots as it was held at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.[1]
| 2020 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2019–20 |
| Teams | 14 |
| Site | Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Television | BTN, CBS |
| 2019–20 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 Wisconsin | 14 | – | 6 | .700 | 21 | – | 10 | .677 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Michigan State | 14 | – | 6 | .700 | 22 | – | 9 | .710 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Maryland | 14 | – | 6 | .700 | 24 | – | 7 | .774 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Illinois | 13 | – | 7 | .650 | 21 | – | 10 | .677 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 25 Iowa | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 20 | – | 11 | .645 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 21 | – | 10 | .677 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 Ohio State | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 21 | – | 10 | .677 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 20 | – | 11 | .645 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 10 | – | 10 | .500 | 19 | – | 12 | .613 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 9 | – | 11 | .450 | 16 | – | 15 | .516 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 9 | – | 11 | .450 | 20 | – | 12 | .625 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 8 | – | 12 | .400 | 15 | – | 16 | .484 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 3 | – | 17 | .150 | 8 | – | 23 | .258 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 2 | – | 18 | .100 | 7 | – | 25 | .219 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As of March 18, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll Note: The 2020 Big Ten Tournament was canceled prior to the second round due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The first games on March 11 were played with spectators in attendance. Later on March 11, the Big Ten conference announced that the remainder of the Big Ten tournament would proceed as scheduled but with no spectators in attendance. Indiana University was highest seeded team (11) to win a game and move on to 2nd round prior to its cancellation. Minnesota won as a 12 seed.[2][3]
Also on March 11, the NCAA announced that no fans would be able to attend the men's and women's 2020 NCAA tournament games due to concerns about the outbreak of COVID-19.[4] A number of college conferences followed suit by either cancelling their basketball tournaments entirely or limiting spectator attendance.[5]
On March 12, the Big Ten announced the cancellation of the remainder of the tournament.[6] The NCAA further announced that all remaining winter and spring championships for both men's and women's sports were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[7]
Seeds
All 14 Big Ten schools were scheduled to participate in the tournament. Teams were seeded by conference record, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with identical conference records. The top 10 teams received a first round bye and the top four teams received a double bye. Tiebreaking procedures remained unchanged from the 2019 tournament.[8]
| Seed | School | Conf. | Tiebreak 1 | Tiebreak 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wisconsin | 14–6 | 2–1 vs. Michigan State/Maryland | |
| 2 | Michigan State | 14–6 | 2–2 vs. Wisconsin/Maryland | |
| 3 | Maryland | 14–6 | 1–2 vs. Wisconsin/Michigan State | |
| 4 | Illinois | 13–7 | ||
| 5 | Iowa | 11–9 | 3–1 vs. Ohio State/Penn State/Rutgers | |
| 6 | Penn State | 11–9 | 3–3 vs. Iowa/Ohio State/Rutgers | 2–2 vs. Wisconsin/Michigan State/Maryland |
| 7 | Ohio State | 11–9 | 2–2 vs. Iowa/Penn State/Rutgers | 1–4 vs. Wisconsin/Michigan State/Maryland |
| 8 | Rutgers | 11–9 | 1–3 vs. Iowa/Penn State/Ohio State | |
| 9 | Michigan | 10–10 | ||
| 10 | Purdue | 9–11 | 2–0 vs. Indiana | |
| 11 | Indiana | 9–11 | 0–2 vs. Purdue | |
| 12 | Minnesota | 8–12 | ||
| 13 | Northwestern | 3–17 | ||
| 14 | Nebraska | 2–18 |
Schedule
| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup# | Television | Attendance | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – Wednesday, March 11 | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 6:00 pm | No. 13 Northwestern vs. No. 12 Minnesota | BTN | 57–74 | |
| 2 | 8:30 pm | No. 14 Nebraska vs. No. 11 Indiana | 64–89 | |||
| Second round – Thursday, March 12 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 12:00 pm | No. 9 Michigan vs. No. 8 Rutgers | BTN | Cancelled | |
| 4 | 2:30 pm | No. 12 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Iowa | ||||
| 3 | 5 | 6:30 pm | No. 10 Purdue vs. No. 7 Ohio State | |||
| 6 | 9:00 pm | No. 11 Indiana vs. No. 6 Penn State | ||||
| Quarterfinals – Friday, March 13 | ||||||
| 4 | 7 | 12:00 pm | Game 3 winner vs. No. 1 Wisconsin | BTN | Cancelled | |
| 8 | 2:30 pm | Game 4 winner vs. No. 4 Illinois | ||||
| 5 | 9 | 6:30 pm | Game 5 winner vs. No. 2 Michigan State | |||
| 10 | 9:00 pm | Game 6 winner vs. No. 3 Maryland | ||||
| Semifinals – Saturday, March 14 | ||||||
| 6 | 11 | 1:00 pm | Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner | CBS | Cancelled | |
| 12 | 3:30 pm | Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner | ||||
| Championship – Sunday, March 15 | ||||||
| 7 | 13 | 3:30 pm | Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner | CBS | Cancelled | |
*Game times in Eastern Time. #Rankings denote tournament seeding.
Bracket
| First round Wednesday, March 11 BTN |
Second round Thursday, March 12 BTN |
Quarterfinals Friday, March 13 BTN |
Semifinals Saturday, March 14 CBS |
Championship Sunday, March 15 CBS | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Wisconsin | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Rutgers | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Iowa | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Minnesota | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Minnesota | 72 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Northwestern | 57 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Michigan State | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Ohio State | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Purdue | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Maryland | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Penn State | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Indiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Indiana | 89 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Nebraska | 64 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Game summaries
First round
Second round
BTN |
March 12 12:00 pm |
| No. 8 Rutgers vs. No. 9 Michigan |
Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
BTN |
March 12 2:30 pm |
| No. 5 Iowa vs. No. 12 Minnesota |
Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
BTN |
March 12 6:30 pm |
| No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Purdue |
Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
BTN |
March 12 9:00 pm |
| No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 11 Indiana |
Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
Quarterfinals
BTN |
March 13 12:00 pm |
| No. 1 Wisconsin vs. TBD |
Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
BTN |
March 13 2:30 pm |
| No. 4 Illinois vs. TBD |
Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
BTN |
March 13 6:30 pm |
| No. 2 Michigan State vs. TBD |
Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
BTN |
March 13 9:00 pm |
| No. 3 Maryland vs. TBD |
Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
Semifinals
CBS |
March 14 3:30 pm |
| TBD vs. TBD |
Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
Championship
CBS |
March 15 3:30 pm |
| TBD vs. TBD |
Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
References
- "2020 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Central". Big Ten Conference. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
- Horner, Scott - Ten bans most fans for men's basketball tournament, starting Thursday. Indianapolis Star. March 11, 2020
- Big Ten reverses course, bans fans from hoops tournament, as well as all spring sporting events. Detroit News, March 11, 2020
- Tom Schad (March 11, 2020). "NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments will not include fans due to coronavirus concerns". USA Today. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- Blinder, Alan and Witz, Billy - Citing Coronavirus, Ivy League Cancels Basketball Tournaments. New York Times, March 10, 2020
- "Big Ten Conference Statement". bigten.org. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
- "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships" (Press release). NCAA. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
- "Big Ten Basketball Tournament Tiebreakers". Big Ten Conference. October 26, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2016.