# 2015 Big Ten men's basketball tournament

The 2015 Big Ten men's basketball tournament was held from March 11 through March 15 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. This was the eighteenth annual Big Ten tournament and was the first tournament to feature 14 teams of the expanded Big Ten to include Maryland and Rutgers. The championship was won by Wisconsin who defeated Michigan State in the championship game. As a result, Wisconsin received the Big Ten's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The win marked Wisconsin's third tournament championship and first since 2008.

## Seeds

All 14 Big Ten schools participated in the tournament. Teams were seeded by conference record, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with identical conference records. Seeding for the tournament was determined at the close of the regular conference season. The top 10 teams received a first round bye and the top four teams received a double bye. Tiebreaking procedures were unchanged from the 2014 tournament.
| Seed | School | Conf. | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Wisconsin | 16–2 | |
| 2 | Maryland | 14–4 | |
| 3 | Michigan State | 12–6 | 2–0 vs Pur, Iowa |
| 4 | Purdue | 12–6 | 1–1 vs MSU, Iowa |
| 5 | Iowa | 12–6 | 0–2 vs MSU, Pur |
| 6 | Ohio State | 11–7 | |
| 7 | Indiana | 9–9 | 1–0 vs Ill |
| 8 | Illinois | 9–9 | 0–1 vs Ind |
| 9 | Michigan | 8–10 | |
| 10 | Northwestern | 6–12 | 1–0 vs Minn |
| 11 | Minnesota | 6–12 | 0–1 vs NW |
| 12 | Nebraska | 5–13 | |
| 13 | Penn State | 4–14 | |
| 14 | Rutgers | 2–16 | |

## Game summaries
### First round

* ESPN2
* Mar 11 3:30 pm
* Recap
#13 Penn State 68, #12 Nebraska 65 :
| Scoring by half: 34–29, 34–36 |||
| Pts: D. J. Newbill 26 Rebs: Devin Foster 8 Asts: two tied with 2 | Pts: Tai Webster 29 Rebs: Shavon Shields 10 Asts: Shavon Shields 4 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 16,098 Referees: DJ Carstensen; Paul Szelc; Buddy Mayborg
* BTN
* Mar 11 6:00 pm
* Recap
#11 Minnesota 80, #14 Rutgers 68 :
| Scoring by half: 30–27, 50–41 |||
| Pts: Joey King 20 Rebs: Maurice Walker 10 Asts: DeAndre Mathieu 8 | Pts: Kadeem Jack 18 Rebs: Junior Etou 9 Asts: Myles Mack 3 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 16,098 Referees: Larry Scirotto; Bill Ek; Kelly Pfeifer

### Second round

* BTN
* Mar 12 11:00 am
* Recap
#9 Michigan 73, #8 Illinois 55 :
| Scoring by half: 40–23, 33–32 |||
| Pts: Aubrey Dawkins 18 Rebs: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman 8 Asts: Zak Irvin 6 | Pts: Malcolm Hill 13 Rebs: Rayvonte Rice 9 Asts: Jaylon Tate 2 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 16,028 Referees: Terry Wymer; Larry Scirotto; Glen Mayborg
* BTN
* Mar 12 1:30 pm
* Recap
#13 Penn State 67, #5 Iowa 58 :
| Scoring by half: 19–27, 48–31 |||
| Pts: D. J. Newbill 18 Rebs: Ross Travis 7 Asts: Geno Thorpe 3 | Pts: Aaron White 21 Rebs: Aaron White 13 Asts: Mike Gesell 5 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 16,028 Referees: Lamont Simpson; Bill Ek; Paul Szelc
* ESPN2
* Mar 12 5:30 pm
* Recap
#7 Indiana 71, #10 Northwestern 56 :
| Scoring by half: 36–22, 35–34 |||
| Pts: James Blackmon Jr. 25 Rebs: Troy Williams 12 Asts: James Blackmon Jr. 7 | Pts: Bryant McIntosh 13 Rebs: Alex Olah 7 Asts: Bryant McIntosh 5 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 16,549 Referees: Gene Steratore; Ray Perone; Chris Beaver
* ESPN2
* Mar 12 8:00 pm
* Recap
#6 Ohio State 79, #11 Minnesota 73 :
| Scoring by half: 35–35, 44–38 |||
| Pts: D'Angelo Russell 23 Rebs: Sam Thompson 7 Asts: Shannon Scott 6 | Pts: DeAndre Mathieu 16 Rebs: Andre Hollins 5 Asts: Andre Hollins 4 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 16,549 Referees: DJ Carstensen; Steve McJunkins; Rob Riley

### Quarterfinals

* ESPN
* Mar 13 11:00 am
* Recap
#1 Wisconsin 71, #9 Michigan 60 :
| Scoring by half: 31–26, 40–34 |||
| Pts: Sam Dekker 17 Rebs: Frank Kaminsky 12 Asts: Sam Dekker 6 | Pts: Zak Irvin 21 Rebs: Zak Irvin 11 Asts: Max Bielfeldt 4 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 17,290 Referees: Lamont Simpson; Chris Beaver; Lewis Garrison
* ESPN
* Mar 13 1:30 pm
* Recap
#4 Purdue 64, #13 Penn State 59 :
| Scoring by half: 32–37, 32–22 |||
| Pts: A. J. Hammons 23 Rebs: Jon Octeus 11 Asts: Dakota Mathias | Pts: D. J. Newbill 19 Rebs: Ross Travis 9 Asts: D. J. Newbill 3 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 17,290 Referees: Terry Wymer; Terry Oglesby; Rob Riley
* BTN
* Mar 13 5:30 pm
* Recap
#2 Maryland 75, #7 Indiana 69 :
| Scoring by half: 42–40, 42–33 |||
| Pts: Dez Wells 22 Rebs: Jake Layman 9 Asts: two tied with 3 | Pts: Yogi Ferrell 18 Rebs: Emmitt Holt 12 Asts: Yogi Ferrell 3 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 17,230 Referees: DJ Carstensen; Paul Szelc; Ray Perone
* BTN
* Mar 13 8:00 pm
* Recap
#3 Michigan State 76, #6 Ohio State 67 :
| Scoring by half: 36–28, 40–39 |||
| Pts: Denzel Valentine 23 Rebs: Branden Dawson 8 Asts: two tied with 7 | Pts: D'Angelo Russell 19 Rebs: two tied with 8 Asts: Shannon Scott 9 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 17,230 Referees: Gene Steratore; Larry Scirotto; Kelly Pfeifer

### Semifinals

* CBS
* Mar 14 12:00 pm
* Recap
#1 Wisconsin 71, #4 Purdue 51 :
| Scoring by half: 30–35, 41–16 |||
| Pts: Bronson Koenig 19 Rebs: Sam Dekker 8 Asts: two tied with 5 | Pts: A. J. Hammons 10 Rebs: two tied with 7 Asts: Jon Octeus 4 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 18,088 Referees: Gene Steratore; Lemont Simpson; Terry Oglesby
* CBS
* Mar 14 2:30 pm
* Recap
#3 Michigan State 62, #2 Maryland 58 :
| Scoring by half: 25–33, 37–25 |||
| Pts: Travis Trice 20 Rebs: Branden Dawson 8 Asts: Denzel Valentine 7 | Pts: Melo Trimble 22 Rebs: Dez Wells 7 Asts: Jake Layman 5 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 18,088 Referees: Terry Wymer; DJ Carsetensen; Paul Szelc

### Championship

* CBS
* Mar 15 2:30 pm
* Recap
#1 Wisconsin 80, #3 Michigan State 69 (OT) :
| Scoring by half: 31–32, 38–37 Overtime: 11–0 |||
| Pts: Nigel Hayes 25 Rebs: two tied with 5 Asts: Bronson Koenig 9 | Pts: Branden Dawson; Denzel Valentine 16 Rebs: Denzel Valentine 8 Asts: Denzel Valentine 6 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 17,213 Referees: Lamont Simpson; Terry Wymer; Gene Steratore

## Bracket

| First round Wednesday, March 11 ESPN2/BTN | First round Wednesday, March 11 ESPN2/BTN | First round Wednesday, March 11 ESPN2/BTN | Second round Thursday, March 12 ESPN2/BTN | Second round Thursday, March 12 ESPN2/BTN | Second round Thursday, March 12 ESPN2/BTN | Quarterfinals Friday, March 13 ESPN/BTN | Quarterfinals Friday, March 13 ESPN/BTN | Quarterfinals Friday, March 13 ESPN/BTN | | | Semifinals Saturday, March 14 CBS | Semifinals Saturday, March 14 CBS | Semifinals Saturday, March 14 CBS | Championship Sunday, March 15 CBS | Championship Sunday, March 15 CBS | Championship Sunday, March 15 CBS |
| | | | | | | 1 | Wisconsin | 71 | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Illinois | 55 | 9 | Michigan | 60 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Michigan | 73 | | | | | | 1 | Wisconsin | 71 | |
| | | | | | | | | | 4 | Purdue | 51 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Purdue | 64 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Iowa | 58 | 13 | Penn State | 59 | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Nebraska | 65 | 13 | Penn State | 67 | | | | | | | | 1 | Wisconsin | 80$^{OT}$ |
| 13 | Penn State | 68 | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 3 | Michigan State | 69 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Maryland | 75 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Indiana | 71 | 7 | Indiana | 69 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 10 | Northwestern | 56 | | | | | | 2 | Maryland | 58 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | Michigan State | 62 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Michigan State | 76 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Ohio State | 79 | 6 | Ohio State | 67 | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Minnesota | 80 | 11 | Minnesota | 73 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Rutgers | 68 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## All-Tournament Team

* Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin – Big Ten tournament Most Outstanding Player
* Branden Dawson, Michigan State
* Travis Trice, Michigan State
* D. J. Newbill, Penn State
* Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin