# 2019 Big Ten men's basketball tournament

The 2019 Big Ten men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Big Ten Conference of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The tournament returned to its more traditional Midwest roots as it will be held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The tournament was held from March 13 through March 17, 2019.
Michigan State defeated Michigan 65–60 in the championship game to win the tournament, marking the school's sixth tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

## 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. The top 10 teams received a first round bye and the top four teams received a double bye. Tiebreaking procedures remain unchanged from the 2018 tournament.
| Seed | School | Conf. | Tiebreak 1 | Tiebreak 2 |
| 1 | Michigan State | 16–4 | 1–1 vs. Purdue | 2–0 vs. Michigan |
| 2 | Purdue | 16–4 | 1–1 vs. Michigan St | 0–1 vs. Michigan |
| 3 | Michigan | 15–5 | | |
| 4 | Wisconsin | 14–6 | | |
| 5 | Maryland | 13–7 | | |
| 6 | Iowa | 10–10 | | |
| 7 | Minnesota | 9–11 | | |
| 8 | Ohio State | 8–12 | 1–0 vs. Indiana | |
| 9 | Indiana | 8–12 | 0–1 vs. Ohio State | |
| 10 | Penn State | 7–13 | 3–1 vs. Illinois/Rutgers | |
| 11 | Illinois | 7–13 | 1–2 vs. Penn State/Rutgers | 1–1 vs. Mich St/Purdue |
| 12 | Rutgers | 7–13 | 1–2 vs. Penn State/Illinois | 0–3 vs. Mich St/Purdue |
| 13 | Nebraska | 6–14 | | |
| 14 | Northwestern | 4–16 | | |

## Schedule

| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup$^#$ | Television | Attendance | Score |
| First round – Wednesday, March 13 |||||||
| 1 | 1 | 5:30 pm | No. 13 Nebraska vs. No. 12 Rutgers | BTN | 16,473 | 68–61 |
| 1 | 2 | 8:00 pm | No. 14 Northwestern vs. No. 11 Illinois | BTN | 16,473 | 69–74 (OT) |
| Second round – Thursday, March 14 |||||||
| 2 | 3 | 11:30 am | No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 8 Ohio State | BTN | 16,207 | 75–79 |
| 2 | 4 | 2:00 pm | No. 13 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Maryland | BTN | 16,207 | 69–61 |
| 3 | 5 | 6:00 pm | No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 7 Minnesota | BTN | 16,535 | 72–77 (OT) |
| 3 | 6 | 8:30 pm | No. 11 Illinois vs. No. 6 Iowa | BTN | 16,535 | 62−83 |
| Quarterfinals – Friday, March 15 |||||||
| 4 | 7 | 11:30 am | No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Michigan State | BTN | 17,369 | 70−77 |
| 4 | 8 | 2:00 pm | No. 13 Nebraska vs. No. 4 Wisconsin | BTN | 17,369 | 62–66 |
| 5 | 9 | 6:00 pm | No. 7 Minnesota vs. No. 2 Purdue | BTN | 18,575 | 75–73 |
| 5 | 10 | 8:30 pm | No. 6 Iowa vs. No. 3 Michigan | BTN | 18,575 | 53–74 |
| Semifinals – Saturday, March 16 |||||||
| 6 | 11 | 12:00 pm | No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Wisconsin | CBS | 18,468 | 67–55 |
| 6 | 12 | 2:30 pm | No. 7 Minnesota vs. No. 3 Michigan | CBS | 18,468 | 49–76 |
| Championship – Sunday, March 17 |||||||
| 7 | 13 | 2:30 pm | No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 3 Michigan | CBS | 18,615 | 65–60 |
*Game times in Central Time. #Rankings denote tournament seeding.

## Bracket

| First round Wednesday, March 13 BTN | First round Wednesday, March 13 BTN | First round Wednesday, March 13 BTN | Second round Thursday, March 14 BTN | Second round Thursday, March 14 BTN | Second round Thursday, March 14 BTN | Quarterfinals Friday, March 15 BTN | Quarterfinals Friday, March 15 BTN | Quarterfinals Friday, March 15 BTN | | | Semifinals Saturday, March 16 CBS | Semifinals Saturday, March 16 CBS | Semifinals Saturday, March 16 CBS | Championship Sunday, March 17 CBS | Championship Sunday, March 17 CBS | Championship Sunday, March 17 CBS |
| | | | | | | 1 | Michigan State | 77 | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Ohio State | 79 | 8 | Ohio State | 70 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Indiana | 75 | | | | | | 1 | Michigan State | 67 | |
| | | | | | | | | | 4 | Wisconsin | 55 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Wisconsin | 66 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Maryland | 61 | 13 | Nebraska | 62 | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Rutgers | 61 | 13 | Nebraska | 69 | | | | | | | | 1 | Michigan State | 65 |
| 13 | Nebraska | 68 | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 3 | Michigan | 60 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Purdue | 73 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Minnesota | 77* | 7 | Minnesota | 75 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 10 | Penn State | 72 | | | | | | 7 | Minnesota | 49 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | Michigan | 76 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Michigan | 74 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Iowa | 83 | 6 | Iowa | 53 | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Illinois | 74* | 11 | Illinois | 62 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Northwestern | 69 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* denotes overtime period

## Game summaries
### First round

* BTN
* March 13 5:30 pm
No. 13 Nebraska 68, No. 12 Rutgers 61 :
| Scoring by half: 26−25, 42−36 |||
| Pts: James Palmer Jr., 34 Rebs: Isaiah Roby, 6 Asts: Glynn Watson Jr., 5 | Pts: Eugene Omoruyi, 16 Rebs: Myles Johnson, 11 Asts: Eugene Omoruyi, 5 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 16,473 Referees: Larry Scirott, Paul Szelc, Kelly Pfieffer
* BTN
* March 13 8:00 pm
No. 14 Northwestern 69, No. 11 Illinois 74 (OT) :
| Scoring by half: 27−30, 34−31 Overtime: 8−13 |||
| Pts: A.J. Turner, 21 Rebs: Anthony Gaines, 9 Asts: A.J. Turner, 5 | Pts: Giorgi Bezhanishvili, 26 Rebs: Andres Feliz, 10 Asts: Andres Feliz, 6 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 16,473 Referees: Terry Oglesby, Terry Wymer, Chris Beaver

### Second round

* BTN
* March 14 11:30 am
No. 9 Indiana 75, No. 8 Ohio State 79 :
| Scoring by half: 28−35, 47−44 |||
| Pts: Devonte Green, 26 Rebs: Juwan Morgan, 7 Asts: Romeo Langford, 5 | Pts: Keyshawn Woods, 18 Rebs: Kaleb Wesson, 13 Asts: C. J. Jackson, 5 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 16,207 Referees: Bo Boroski, Larry Scriotto, Bill Ek
* BTN
* March 14 2:00 pm
No. 13 Nebraska 69, No. 5 Maryland 61 :
| Scoring by half: 32−20, 37−41 |||
| Pts: James Palmer Jr., 21 Rebs: Tanner Borchardt, 9 Asts: 3 tied, 3 | Pts: Anthony Cowan Jr., 18 Rebs: Bruno Fernando, 8 Asts: Darryl Morsell, 5 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 16,207 Referees: Terry Wymer, Steve McJunkins, Rob Kueneman
* BTN
* March 14 6:00 pm
No. 10 Penn State 72, No. 7 Minnesota 77 (OT) :
| Scoring by half: 34−30, 27−31 Overtime: 11−16 |||
| Pts: Lamar Stevens, 24 Rebs: 2 tied, 7 Asts: Josh Reaves, 5 | Pts: Amir Coffey, 22 Rebs: Jordan Murphy, 14 Asts: 3 tied, 5 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 16,535 Referees: Terry Oglesby, Paul Szelc, Rob Riley
* BTN
* March 14 8:30 pm
No. 11 Illinois 62, No. 6 Iowa 83 :
| Scoring by half: 31−37, 31−46 |||
| Pts: Giorgi Bezhanishvili, 12 Rebs: Giorgi Bezhanishvili, 6 Asts: Ayo Dosunmu, 6 | Pts: Nicholas Baer, 17 Rebs: Joe Wieskamp, 7 Asts: Connor McCaffery, 8 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 16,535 Referees: D.J. Carstensen, Kelly Pfeifer, Courtney Green

### Quarterfinals

* BTN
* March 15 11:30 am
No. 1 Michigan State 77, No. 8 Ohio State 70 :
| Scoring by half: 36−30, 40−41 |||
| Pts: Cassius Winston, 18 Rebs: Cassius Winston, 7 Asts: Kenny Goins, 6 | Pts: Keyshawn Woods, 16 Rebs: 5 tied, 3 Asts: 2 tied, 2 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Referees: Terry Oglesby, Paul Szelc, Rob Riley
* BTN
* March 15 2:00 pm
No. 4 Wisconsin 66, No. 13 Nebraska 62 :
| Scoring by half: 34–29, 32–32 |||
| Pts: 2 tied, 14 Rebs: Ethan Happ, 7 Asts: 2 tied, 4 | Pts: Glynn Watson Jr., 23 Rebs: Isaiah Roby, 6 Asts: Glynn Watson Jr., 3 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Referees: D.J. Carstensen, Kelly Pfeifer, Bill Ek
* BTN
* March 15 6:00 pm
No. 2 Purdue 73, No. 7 Minnesota 75 :
| Scoring by half: 39-42, 34-33 |||
| Pts: Matt Haarms, 16 Rebs: Trevion Williams, 9 Asts: Ryan Cline, 8 | Pts: Jordan Murphy, 27 Rebs: Daniel Oturu, 10 Asts: 2 Tied, 4 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 17,369 Referees: Terry Wymer, Courtney Green, Lamont Simpson
* BTN
* March 15 8:30 pm
No. 3 Michigan 74, No. 6 Iowa 53 :
| Scoring by half: 40-27, 34-26 |||
| Pts: Ignas Brazdeikis, 15 Rebs: Jon Teske, 10 Asts: Zavier Simpson, 11 | Pts: 2 Tied, 14 Rebs: Tyler Cook, 6 Asts: Jordan Bohannon, 3 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 18,575 Referees: Bo Boroski, Larry Scirotto, Rob Kueneman

### Semifinals

* CBS
* March 16 12:00 pm
No. 1 Michigan State 67, No. 4 Wisconsin 55 :
| Scoring by half: 35-27, 32-28 |||
| Pts: Cassius Winston, 21 Rebs: Kenny Goins, 12 Asts: Cassius Winston, 6 | Pts: Ethan Happ, 20 Rebs: Ethan Happ, 6 Asts: 2 tied, 3 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 18,468 Referees: Terry Oglesby, Kelly Pfeifer, Courtney Green
* CBS
* March 16 2:30 pm
No. 7 Minnesota 49, No. 3 Michigan 76 :
| Scoring by half: 19-38, 30-38 |||
| Pts: Amir Coffey, 14 Rebs: Jordan Murphy, 6 Asts: Dupree McBrayer, 7 | Pts: Isaiah Livers, 21 Rebs: Jon Teske, 8 Asts: Zavier Simpson, 9 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 18,468 Referees: D.J. Carstensen, Terry Wymer, Rob Kueneman

### Championship

* CBS
* March 17 2:30 pm
No. 1 Michigan State 65, No. 3 Michigan 60 :
| Scoring by half: 23-31, 42-29 |||
| Pts: Matt McQuaid, 27 Rebs: Xavier Tillman, 12 Asts: Cassius Winston, 11 | Pts: Ignas Brazdeikis, 19 Rebs: Jon Teske, 10 Asts: Zavier Simpson, 10 |
* United Center Chicago, IL Attendance: 18,615 Referees: Bo Boroski, Larry Scirotto, Paul Szelc

## All-Tournament Team

* Cassius Winston, Michigan State – Big Ten tournament Most Outstanding Player
* Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan
* Zavier Simpson, Michigan
* Jordan Murphy, Minnesota
* James Palmer Jr., Nebraska