Big Ten Tournament 2025: TV Schedule and Early Men's Bracketology Predictions

It's almost madness time in the college basketball world.

The month of March is nearly upon us, meaning a thrilling regular season will soon give way to a rash of edge-of-your-seat tournaments. Before basketball's Big Dance gets underway, conference tournaments will tip off and shortly thereafter crown champions and send automatic qualifiers to the main event.

This year's Big Ten Tournament, which opens on March 12 and closes on Selection Sunday (March 16), should be a thriller, and not only because of which team rises to the top. There are also teams on the bubble who might need a conference tourney win or two to solidify their spot.

After laying out the broadcast schedule, we'll examine which teams already feel like tournament locks and which will have work to do in Indianapolis.

TV Schedule

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Wednesday, March 12 | First Round

Game 1 | 3:30 p.m. ET (Peacock)

Game 2 | 25 minutes after Game 1 (Peacock)

Game 3 | 25 minutes after Game 2 (Peacock)

Thursday, March 13 | Second Round

Game 4 | Noon ET (BTN/Fox Sports App)

Game 5 | 25 minutes after Game 4 (BTN/Fox Sports App)

Game 6 | 6:30 p.m. ET (BTN/Fox Sports App)

Game 7 | 25 minutes after Game 6 (BTN/Fox Sports App)

Friday, March 14 | Quarterfinals

Game 8 | Noon ET (BTN/Fox Sports App)

Game 9 | 25 minutes after Game 8 (BTN/Fox Sports App)

Game 10 | 6:30 p.m. ET (BTN/Fox Sports App)

Game 11 | 25 minutes after Game 10 (BTN/Fox Sports App)

Saturday, March 15 | Semifinals

Game 12 | 1 p.m. ET (CBS/Paramount+)

Game 13 | 25 minutes after Game 12 (CBS/Paramount+)

Sunday, March 16 | Championship

Game 14 | 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS/Paramount+)

Tournament Locks

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Regardless what happens in Indianapolis, the Big Ten should be well represented at the NCAA men's tournament.

The conference had five schools ranked in the latest AP Poll, and it has eight schools slotted among the top 34 in KenPom's efficiency ranks. All eight of those teams—Wisconsin, Michigan State, Maryland, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan, UCLA and Oregon—should feel great about their tournament chances.

Per ESPN's Neil Paine, seven of those schools have a 100 percent chance of making the tournament based on the BPI forecast. Interestingly, the only team that doesn't is defending champion Illinois (95 percent), which has the conference's fourth-highest ranking on KenPom (22nd).

If there are Big Ten teams sweating out Selection Sunday, they won't come from this group.

Bubble Watch

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Four teams fall in the "Work To Do" category of Paine's predictions, which represents "anywhere from 25 percent to 69 percent tourney odds per the BPI" or is a team featured in the latest Bracketology column from Joe Lunardi.

This model is highest on the Ohio State Buckeyes (63 percent), who snapped a three-game skid with a five-point road win over USC on Wednesday. The Buckeyes close with a home game against Nebraska and a road tilt at Indiana, and Ohio State will be breathing a lot easier if it finds a way to get both games.

Nebraska and Indiana are, coincidentally, the next two teams on the list with each holding 50 percent tournament hopes per the BPI forecast. The Huskers have dropped three of their last four and won't boost their resume much ahead of the tournament with games against Minnesota, Ohio State and Iowa remaining. The Hoosiers, meanwhile, have lacked quality wins overall, but they have won three of four, including key triumphs over Michigan State and Purdue.

Finally, Northwestern is clinging to life with only an 11 percent chance of getting in according to the BPI model. Back-to-back wins over Ohio State and Minnesota put the Wildcats back in the conversation, but they'll need to keep the good times rolling with Iowa, UCLA and Maryland left on the schedule.