Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo walks off the court after 77–74 loss to Wisconsin at the Big Ten Tournament semifinal at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. on Saturday, March 15, 2025. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The 2025 men’s NCAA tournament is underway, and eight Big Ten programs are set to compete to win the conference’s first national championship since Michigan State cut down the nets at the end of March Madness in 2000.
The coach that led the Spartans to that most recent title, Tom Izzo, is still leading the program, and is the conference’s favorite to win the Big Dance once again. Michigan State, the No. 2 seed in the South Region, is the highest seed of the league’s eight teams. Only the SEC has more programs in the tournament, with a record 14 teams.
Will the Big Ten finally break through? That is far from guaranteed, and no program will be favored to win its region, but all eight teams are top-seven seeds in the bracket, so there’s a fair chance that one of them can make a deep run. In March Madness, as we know, anything can happen.
With NCAA tournament play underway, here’s how the eight Big Ten programs have fared thus far:
The Big Ten’s overall record is 8–0.
The top teams remaining include Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue and Michigan. Not Big Ten teams have been eliminated through the round of 64.
All eight Big Ten teams have advanced to the round of 32. All Second round games are scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23.
MATCHUP
DATE/TIME
CHANNEL
No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 12 McNeese State
March 22, 12:10 p.m. ET
CBS
No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 4 Texas A&M
March 22, 5:10 p.m. ET
CBS
No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 6 BYU
March 22, 7:45 p.m. ET
CBS
No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 2 Tennessee
March 22, 9:40 p.m. ET
TBS
No. 6 Illinois vs. No. 3 Kentucky
March 23, 5:15 p.m. ET
CBS
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 12 Colorado State
March 23, 7:10 p.m. ET
TBS
No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 10 New Mexico
March 23, 8:40 p.m. ET
TNT
No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Arizona
March 23, 9:40 p.m. ET
TBS
Eight of the Big Ten’s 18 teams made the March Madness bracket. Below are all eight schools and their seeding in the Big Dance:
Team
Region
Seed
Michigan State
South
No. 2
Wisconsin
East
No. 3
Maryland
West
No. 4
Purdue
Midwest
No. 4
Michigan
South
No. 5
Oregon
East
No. 5
Illinois
Midwest
No. 6
UCLA
Midwest
No. 7
