The 2025 Big Ten Tournament is finally here, and a jam-packed week of Big Ten hoops is ready to get rolling from Indianapolis.

From Wednesday through Sunday, 15 teams will battle it out for the tournament title. With the B1G expanding to 18 teams, this will be the first year that 3 teams did not qualify for the conference tournament.

Michigan State enters the week as the No. 1 overall seed after capturing the outright regular-season title by 3 games. The Spartans are also the favorite to win the conference tournament at +250 per DraftKings. Maryland checks in at 2nd at +350 while Wisconsin, UCLA and Purdue all check in at +650.

Be sure to use the DraftKings Ohio promo code for all the best offers this week.

Before action gets rolling on Wednesday, let’s dive into a full breakdown of the bracket, predicting every game to be played. Let’s get to it!

The Bracket

Wednesday, March 12 (First Round)

(Game 1): No. 13 Northwestern vs. No. 12 Minnesota | 4 p.m., Peacock
(Game 2): No. 15 Iowa vs. No. 10 Ohio State | 25 minutes after Game 1, Peacock
(Game 3): No. 14 USC vs. No. 11 Rutgers | 9 p.m., Peacock

To advance: Northwestern, Ohio State, Rutgers

The opening round in Indianapolis appears about as clear-cut as possible. Then again, that’s why upsets this time of year are referred to as “madness.” Still, the picks here are the only way to go in the first round.

Minnesota went 1-4 over its final 5 games of the season. Included in that stretch is a 12-point loss — at home — to Northwestern, and not enough has changed since then for the Gophers to pull out a stunner.

Ohio State needs to stack at least a couple of wins this week to feel comfortable about its NCAA Tournament spot, but the Buckeyes are still a talented team that has underperformed this year. Iowa has just 3 wins in its last 11 games of the season and lost by 17 to OSU earlier in the season.

USC’s initial season in the Big Ten under Eric Musselman provided a few flashes — but certainly not enough. The Trojans have just one win against a team in the B1G Tournament since Jan. 18 (vs. Michigan State) and lost to Rutgers, 95-85. Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey combined for 39 points in that win, so look for more of the same in Indianapolis.

Thursday, March 13 (Second Round)

(Game 4): No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 8 Oregon | 12 p.m., BTN
(Game 5): No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Northwestern| 25 minutes after Game 4, BTN
(Game 6): No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 10 Ohio State | 6:30 p.m., BTN
(Game 7): No. 6 Purdue vs. No. 11 Rutgers | 25 minutes after Game 6, BTN

To advance: Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue

You might be thinking that’s a lot of chalk, and you are not wrong. But the line of demarcation in the B1G is pretty clear this season.

In fact, the best shot at an upset from this group is in the 7 vs. 10 game of Ohio State and Illinois, but the Illini have stabilized since a disastrous stretch in the middle of conference play. Brad Underwood’s group rattled off 3 straight to end the year, including impressive victories against Michigan and Purdue.

The 3 underdogs outside of Ohio State in this round have a total of 11 combined Quad 1 wins this season. For context, regular-season champ Michigan State has 11 on its own.

Anyone looking for an upset isn’t going to find it in this round.

Friday, March 14 (Quarterfinals)

(Game 8): No. 1 Michigan State vs. Oregon | 12 p.m., BTN
(Game 9): No. 4 UCLA vs. Wisconsin | 25 minutes after Game 8, BTN
(Game 10): No. 2 Maryland vs. Illinois | 6:30 p.m., BTN
(Game 11): No. 3 Michigan vs. Purdue | 25 minutes after Game 10, BTN

To advance: Michigan State, UCLA, Illinois and Purdue

Michigan State and Oregon played in a wild affair that the Ducks led for a long time before falling apart in the 2nd half. Nate Bittle battled foul trouble and was held to 8 points in that contest. I expect this to be one of the best games of the week and legitimately could go either way. For now, it’s hard to pick against the Spartans.

For all the attention placed on UCLA’s midseason woes, Mick Cronin responded with a quality finish to land the Bruins a double-bye in their first Big Ten season. And while I like the makeup of the Badgers, they have found some inconsistencies of late that have me worried entering tournament play.

If possible, Maryland might be one of the key under-the-radar teams in the entire country for March Madness. It just so happens the Terrapins have to face Illinois, a squad that was talented but weathered multiple storms in the regular season.

Maryland’s blowout win in the regular season came without Tomislav Ivisic available for the Illini and featured some rough 3-point shooting for Brad Underwood’s group. Expect the script to be flipped this time around in “win or go home” mode.

Purdue might have the most to play for of anyone in this tournament. With a shot to grab a 3rd straight B1G title, the Boilermakers suffered an uncharacteristic 4-game losing streak late in the year to fall off the league lead. On the flip side, Michigan is 2-4 overall since Dusty May received a contract extension and riding a 3-game losing streak into Indianapolis.

Saturday, March 15 (Semifinals)

(Game 12): No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 4 UCLA | 1 p.m., CBS
(Game 13): No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 6 Purdue | 25 minutes after Game 12, CBS

To advance: Michigan State, Purdue

Fans should be particularly happy if they get these two rematches in the semifinals.

On one side would be a battle of old-school March veterans in Mick Cronin and Tom Izzo. The Bruins and Spartans squared off in LA during the regular season, a nail-biter that saw the Bruins scrap out a 63-61 victory. Playing closer to home will aid MSU this time around.

On the other side would be a rematch of a fantastic regular-season finale between Purdue and Illinois. The Illini pulled off a late rally and finished off a win over the Boilermakers with a 9-1 run to end the game.

Look for a one-possession game with either Kasparas Jakucionis or Braden Smith pulling out a win, simply depending on who gets the ball last. For now, I’ll go with Matt Painter’s squad.

Sunday, March 16 (Championship)

(Game 14): No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 6 Purdue | 3:30 p.m., CBS

Purdue may have expected to be in the B1G Tournament final when the season started, but the Boilermakers did not expect a 6th-place finish to get there. Meanwhile, MSU was projected to finish in the middle of the pack for the conference before rolling to the league title by 3 games.

Ultimately, Purdue will have a chip on its shoulder in Indianapolis, and this will give the program a chance for a bit of revenge from a late-season loss to the Spartans.

Pick: Purdue

MOP — Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue

It’s hard to describe Trey Kaufman-Renn as overlooked. He’s the 3rd-leading scorer in the B1G and leads the Boilermakers with 19.7 points per game, but that’s the reality of playing alongside Braden Smith, the star point guard who impacts the game in a litany of ways.

However, the B1G Tournament gives Kaufman-Renn a chance to shine on the big stage, and he’s been heating up down the stretch.

Since the start of February (9 games), Kaufman-Renn is averaging 23.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 62.8% from the floor. Braden Smith undoubtedly influences those numbers, but it was Kaufman-Renn who had 29 points in the first game vs. Illinois and 24 points in the loss to MSU.

If we do get into a Purdue vs. MSU rematch, the Spartans have enough guards to throw at Smith to at least try and slow him down. Kaufman-Renn, however, is a problem for MSU’s frontcourt, and it could be the capping piece for B1G Tournament honors for the forward.

Dark horse to watch — Illinois

Just to be clear, for “dark horse” teams to be considered, they have to be playing in the first 2 days of the tournament. If your team has a double-bye, there’s no way they can be considered a dark horse when they are just 3 wins from the title.

Surprises can always happen, but there’s a reason the teams playing on the first day of the tournament do not have a bye. And I don’t see how any of those teams pull off a stunning deep run.

The pick here really comes down to 2 teams: Oregon and Illinois. I would not be shocked if the Ducks make a deep run to the championship game, but the potential matchup vs. Michigan State gives me pause.

Meanwhile, Illinois has a pretty good path, provided the Illini are at full strength. Their quarterfinal matchup would come against Maryland, and neither Michigan or Purdue should frighten Brad Underwood’s squad.

Illinois has more than enough talent to compete with anyone in the country, and I think that talent shows through this week.