# 2016 Big Ten women's basketball tournament

The 2016 Big Ten women's basketball tournament was a postseason tournament was held from March 2–6, 2016 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Maryland won their 2nd Big Ten Women's Tournament and earn an automatic trip to the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

## Seeds

All 14 Big Ten schools participate in the tournament. Teams were seeded by 2015–16 Big Ten Conference season record. The top 10 teams received a first-round bye and the top 4 teams received a double bye.
Seeding for the tournament was determined at the close of the regular conference season:
| Seed | School | Conf | Tiebreak 1 |
| #1 | Maryland | 16–2 | |
| #2 | Ohio State | 15–3 | |
| #3 | Michigan State | 13–5 | |
| #4 | Indiana | 12–6 | |
| #5 | Minnesota | 11–7 | |
| #6 | Purdue | 10–8 | |
| #7 | Nebraska | 9–9 | 1–0 vs. Michigan |
| #8 | Michigan | 9–9 | 0–1 vs. Nebraska |
| #9 | Iowa | 8–10 | 1–0 vs. Rutgers |
| #10 | Rutgers | 8–10 | 0–1 vs. Iowa |
| #11 | Penn State | 6–12 | |
| #12 | Northwestern | 4–14 | |
| #13 | Wisconsin | 3–15 | |
| #14 | Illinois | 2–16 | |

## Schedule

| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup$^#$ | Television | Attendance |
| First round - Wednesday, March 2 ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 1:30 pm | #13 Wisconsin vs. #12 Northwestern | BTN | |
| 1 | 2 | 4:00 pm | #14 Illinois vs. #11 Penn State | BTN | |
| Second round - Thursday, March 3 ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 12:00 pm | #9 Iowa vs. #8 Michigan | BTN | 4,783 |
| 2 | 4 | 2:30 pm | #12 Northwestern vs. #5 Minnesota | BTN | 4,783 |
| 3 | 5 | 6:30 pm | #10 Rutgers vs. #7 Nebraska | BTN | 5,011 |
| 3 | 6 | 9:00 pm | #11 Penn State vs. #6 Purdue | BTN | 5,011 |
| Quarterfinals - Friday, March 4 ||||||
| 4 | 7 | 12:00 pm | #9 Iowa vs. #1 Maryland | BTN | 6,606 |
| 4 | 8 | 2:30 pm | #12 Northwestern vs. #4 Indiana | BTN | 6,606 |
| 5 | 9 | 6:30 pm | #10 Rutgers vs. #2 Ohio State | BTN | 6,043 |
| 5 | 10 | 9:00 pm | #6 Purdue vs. #3 Michigan State | BTN | 6,043 |
| Semifinals - Saturday, March 5 ||||||
| 6 | 11 | 3:00 pm | #1 Maryland vs. #12 Northwestern | BTN | 6,285 |
| 6 | 12 | 5:30 pm | #2 Ohio State vs. #3 Michigan State | BTN | 6,285 |
| Championship - Sunday, March 6 ||||||
| 7 | 13 | 7:00 pm | #1 Maryland vs. #3 Michigan State | ESPN | 5,109 |
*Game times in Eastern Time. #Rankings denote tournament seeding.

## Bracket

| First round Wednesday, March 2 BTN | First round Wednesday, March 2 BTN | First round Wednesday, March 2 BTN | Second round Thursday, March 3 BTN | Second round Thursday, March 3 BTN | Second round Thursday, March 3 BTN | Quarterfinals Friday, March 4 BTN | Quarterfinals Friday, March 4 BTN | Quarterfinals Friday, March 4 BTN | | | Semifinals Saturday, March 5 BTN | Semifinals Saturday, March 5 BTN | Semifinals Saturday, March 5 BTN | Championship Sunday, March 6 ESPN | Championship Sunday, March 6 ESPN | Championship Sunday, March 6 ESPN |
| | | | | | | 1 | Maryland | 75 | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Michigan | 85 | 9 | Iowa | 55 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Iowa | 97 | | | | | | 1 | Maryland | 83 | |
| | | | | | | | | | 12 | Northwestern | 62 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Indiana | 73 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Minnesota | 74 | 12 | Northwestern | 79 | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Northwestern | 76$^{OT}$ | 12 | Northwestern | 84 | | | | | | | | 1 | Maryland | 60 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 72 | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 3 | Michigan State | 44 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Ohio State | 73 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Nebraska | 63 | 10 | Rutgers | 58 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 10 | Rutgers | 66 | | | | | | 2 | Ohio State | 63 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | Michigan State | 82 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Michigan State | 65 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Purdue | 70 | 6 | Purdue | 64 | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Penn State | 75 | 11 | Penn State | 59 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Illinois | 66 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |