The 2012 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament kicks off on March 8th, 2012 and the championship game occurs on March 11th, 2012. The tournament will be held at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN for the fifth consecutive year. This season will be the first to see the Nebraska Cornhuskers participating in Big Ten play with the league now set at 12 teams. The champion of the Big Ten basketball tournament will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA basketball tournament.
Big Ten Basketball Tournament History
The Big Ten Basketball Tournament has been held at neutral sites since it has been played. The first conference tourneys will held in the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Starting in 2002, the tournament started rotating venues between the Conseco Fieldhouse and the United Center. Starting in 2008, the Big Ten started a five year stay in Indianapolis. The 2013 and 2015 tournaments will be held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois and the 2014 and 2016 tourneys in Indy. Four past Big Ten champions have gone on to play in the NCAA Basketball Tournament Final Four to include Michigan State (1999, 2000), Illinois (2005), and Ohio State (2007).
Past Big Ten Basketball Tournament Champions
Year Champion Score Runner-up Site
1998 Michigan 76–67 Purdue United Center, Chicago, Illinois
1999 Michigan State 67–50 Illinois United Center
2000 Michigan State 76–61 Illinois United Center
2001 Iowa 63–61 Indiana United Center
2002 Ohio State 81–64 Iowa Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
2003 Illinois 72–59 Ohio State United Center
2004 Wisconsin 70–53 Illinois Conseco Fieldhouse
2005 Illinois 54–43 Wisconsin United Center
2006 Iowa 67–60 Ohio State Conseco Fieldhouse
2007 Ohio State 66–49 Wisconsin United Center
2008 Wisconsin 61–48 Illinois Conseco Fieldhouse
2009 Purdue 65–61 Ohio State Conseco Fieldhouse
2010 Ohio State 90–61 Minnesota Conseco Fieldhouse
2011 Ohio State 71–60 Penn State Conseco Fieldhouse
Changes in the Big Ten Basketball Tournament
The biggest change in the Big Ten basketball tournament for 2012 has been the addition of the Nebraska Cornhuskers to the conference. Nebraska previously participated in the Big 12 Conference and now give the conference a total of 12 teams. In the 2012 tournament format, the top four teams in the conference as determined by the regular season schedule earn a first round tournament bye and commence play on March 9th, 2012.
2012 Big Ten Basketball Tournament Schedule
Last Updated: March 11th, 2012
2012 Big Ten Tournament Schedule– First Round
Thad Matta, Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball Coach
Date: March 8th, 2012
Game 1: #8 Iowa 64, #9 Illinois 61
Game 2: #5 Indiana 75, #12 Penn State 58
Game 3: #10 Minnesota 75, #7 Northwestern 68
Game 4: #6 Purdue 79, #11 Nebraska 61
2012 Big Ten Tournament Schedule – Quarter Final Round
Date: March 9th, 2012
Game 5: #1 Michigan State 92 vs. #8 Iowa 75, Noon (ESPN)
Game 6: #4 Wisconsin 79 vs. #5 Indiana 71, 2:25 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 7: #2 Michigan 73 vs. #10 Minnesota 69, 6:30 p.m. (BTN)
Game 8: #3 Ohio State 88 vs. #6 Purdue 71, 8:55 p.m. (BTN)
2012 Big Ten Tournament Schedule – Semi Final Round
Date: March 10th, 2012
Semifinal 1 #1 MSU 65 vs #4 Wisconsin 52 1:40 p.m. CBS Sports
Semifinal 2 #2 Michigan 55 vs #3 Ohio State 77 *25 minutes after previous game (4:10 PM) CBS
2012 Big Ten Tournament Championship
Date: March 11th, 2012
#1 MSU vs #3 Ohio State Championship Game 3:30 PM CBS
Why don’t you just give us the brackets and we’ll fill it in over the weekend. Glenn
Glenn,
In this article, http://www.basketballtvschedule.com/2012-college-basketball-conference-tournament-tv-schedule.html, I have linked to either the conference bracket or the page the bracket is located on for both the 2012 Big Ten Tournament as well as the remainder of those starting this week or that have occurred in past weeks so you and others can fill in the blank brackets with your predictions.