# 2021 Big Ten women's basketball tournament

The 2021 Big Ten women's basketball tournament was a postseason tournament held from March 9–13, 2021 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The winner of this tournament, Maryland earned an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

## Seeds

Only 13 out of the 14 Big Ten schools participated in the tournament. Ohio State did not compete this year due to a self-imposed postseason ban. Teams were seeded by 2020–21 Big Ten Conference season record. The top 11 teams received a first-round bye and the top four teams received a double bye.
| Seed | School | Conf |
| 1 | Maryland$^{‡##}$ | 17–1 |
| 2 | Indiana$^{##}$ | 16–2 |
| 3 | Rutgers$^{##}$ | 10–3 |
| 4 | Michigan$^{##}$ | 9–4 |
| 5 | Northwestern$^#$ | 11–7 |
| 6 | Iowa$^#$ | 11–8 |
| 7 | Michigan State$^#$ | 7–7 |
| 8 | Nebraska$^#$ | 9–10 |
| 9 | Minnesota$^#$ | 7–11 |
| 10 | Penn State$^#$ | 6–12 |
| 11 | Purdue$^#$ | 4–14 |
| 12 | Illinois | 2–16 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 2–17 |
| ‡ – Big Ten Conference regular season champions. ## – Received a double bye in the conference tournament. # – Received a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Overall record are as of the end of the regular season. ||||

## Schedule

| Game | Time | Matchup | Score | Television | Attendance |
| First round – Tuesday, March 9 ||||||
| 1 | 5:00 pm | No. 12 Illinois vs. No. 13 Wisconsin | 67−42 | BTN | 460 |
| Second round – Wednesday, March 10 ||||||
| 2 | 11:00 am | No. 8 Nebraska vs. No. 9 Minnesota | 72−61 | BTN | 716 |
| 3 | 25 min. after game 2 | No. 5 Northwestern vs. No. 12 Illinois | 67−42 | BTN | 716 |
| 4 | 6:30 pm | No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 Penn State | 75−66 | FS2 | 1,064 |
| 5 | 25 min. after game 4 | No. 6 Iowa vs. No. 11 Purdue | 83−72 | FS2 | 1,064 |
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 11 ||||||
| 6 | 11:00 am | No. 1 Maryland vs. No. 8 Nebraska | 83−73 | FS2 | 779 |
| 7 | 25 min. after game 6 | No. 4 Michigan vs. No. 5 Northwestern | 49−65 | FS2 | 779 |
| 8 | 6:30 pm | No. 2 Indiana vs. No. 7 Michigan State | 61−69 | FS2 | |
| 9 | 25 min. after game 8 | No. 3 Rutgers vs. No. 6 Iowa | 62−73 | FS2 | |
| Semifinals – Friday, March 12 ||||||
| 10 | 2:00 pm | No. 1 Maryland vs. No. 5 Northwestern | 85−52 | FS2 | |
| 11 | 25 min. after game 10 | No. 6 Iowa vs. No. 7 Michigan State | 87−72 | FS2 | |
| Championship – Saturday, March 13 ||||||
| 12 | 2:00 pm | No. 1 Maryland vs. No. 6 Iowa | 104−84 | ESPNU | 1,202 |
| Game times in Eastern Time. Rankings denote tournament seeding. ||||||

## Bracket

* All times are Eastern.
| First round Tuesday, March 9 BTN | First round Tuesday, March 9 BTN | First round Tuesday, March 9 BTN | Second round Wednesday, March 10 BTN/FS2 | Second round Wednesday, March 10 BTN/FS2 | Second round Wednesday, March 10 BTN/FS2 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 11 FS2 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 11 FS2 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 11 FS2 | | | Semifinals Friday, March 12 FS2 | Semifinals Friday, March 12 FS2 | Semifinals Friday, March 12 FS2 | Championship Saturday, March 13 ESPNU | Championship Saturday, March 13 ESPNU | Championship Saturday, March 13 ESPNU |
| | | | | | | 1 | Maryland | 83 | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Nebraska | 72 | 8 | Nebraska | 73 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Minnesota | 61 | | | | | | 1 | Maryland | 85 | |
| | | | | | | | | | 5 | Northwestern | 52 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Michigan | 49 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Northwestern | 67 | 5 | Northwestern | 65 | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Illinois | 67 | 12 | Illinois | 42 | | | | | | | | 1 | Maryland | 104 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 42 | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 6 | Iowa | 84 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Indiana | 61 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Michigan State | 75 | 7 | Michigan State | 69 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 10 | Penn State | 66 | | | | | | 7 | Michigan State | 72 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 6 | Iowa | 87 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Rutgers | 62 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Iowa | 83 | 6 | Iowa | 73 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 11 | Purdue | 72 | | | | | | | | | | | |
* denotes overtime period