2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament

2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament
2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	2020–21
Teams	14
Site	Lucas Oil Stadium; Indianapolis, IN
Champions	Illinois (3rd title)
Winning coach	Brad Underwood (1st title)
MVP	Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois)
Television	BTN, CBS
	Big Ten men's basketball tournaments ← 2020 2022 →

The 2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament was a postseason men's basketball tournament for the Big Ten Conference of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season which took place March 10–14, 2021. The tournament was originally to be held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. However, on February 9, the tournament was moved to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana to better deal with testing concerns raised by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.^[1]

2020–21 Big Ten Conference
men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 Michigan	14	–	3	.824	23	–	5	.821
No. 2 Illinois †	16	–	4	.800	24	–	7	.774
No. 8 Iowa	14	–	6	.700	22	–	9	.710
No. 20 Purdue	13	–	6	.684	18	–	10	.643
No. 7 Ohio State	12	–	8	.600	21	–	10	.677
Wisconsin	10	–	10	.500	18	–	13	.581
Rutgers	10	–	10	.500	16	–	12	.571
Maryland	9	–	11	.450	17	–	14	.548
Michigan State	9	–	11	.450	15	–	13	.536
Indiana	7	–	12	.368	12	–	15	.444
Penn State	7	–	12	.368	11	–	14	.440
Northwestern	6	–	13	.316	9	–	15	.375
Minnesota	6	–	14	.300	14	–	15	.483
Nebraska	3	–	16	.158	7	–	20	.259

† Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Illinois defeated Ohio State 91–88 in overtime in the championship game to win the tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Seeds edit

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 remained unchanged from the 2020 tournament.^[2]

Seed	School	Conference	Tiebreak 1
1	Michigan	14–3
2	Illinois	16–4
3	Iowa	14–6
4	Purdue	13–6
5	Ohio State	12–8
6	Wisconsin	10–10	1–0 vs. Rutgers
7	Rutgers	10–10	0–1 vs. Wisconsin
8	Maryland	9–11	1–0 vs. Michigan State
9	Michigan State	9–11	0–1 vs. Maryland
10	Indiana	7–12	1–0 vs. Penn State
11	Penn State	7–12	0–1 vs. Indiana
12	Northwestern	6–13
13	Minnesota	6–14
14	Nebraska	3–16

Schedule edit

Session	Game	Time*	Matchup^#	Television	Attendance	Score
First round – Wednesday, March 10
1	1	6:30 pm	No. 13 Minnesota vs. No. 12 Northwestern	BTN	5,909	51–46
1	2	9:00 pm	No. 14 Nebraska vs. No. 11 Penn State	BTN	5,909	66–72
Second round – Thursday, March 11
2	3	11:30 am	No. 9 Michigan State vs. No. 8 Maryland	BTN	6,206	57–68
2	4	2:00 pm	No. 13 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Ohio State		6,206	75–79
3	5	6:30 pm	No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 7 Rutgers		6,769	50–61
3	6	9:00 pm	No. 11 Penn State vs. No. 6 Wisconsin		6,769	74–75
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 12
4	7	11:30 am	No. 8 Maryland vs. No. 1 Michigan	BTN	7,634	66–79
4	8	2:00 pm	No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Purdue		7,634	87–78^OT
5	9	6:30 pm	No. 7 Rutgers vs. No. 2 Illinois		7,735	68–90
5	10	9:00 pm	No. 6 Wisconsin vs. No. 3 Iowa		7,735	57–62
Semifinals – Saturday, March 13
6	11	1:00 pm	No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 5 Ohio State	CBS	8,000	67–68
6	12	3:50 pm	No. 2 Illinois vs. No. 3 Iowa	CBS	8,000	82–71
Championship – Sunday, March 14
7	13	3:30 pm	No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Illinois	CBS	8,000	88–91^OT

*Game times in Eastern Time. #Rankings denote tournament seeding.

Bracket edit


First round Wednesday, March 10 BTN^[3]			Second round Thursday, March 11 BTN			Quarterfinals Friday, March 12 BTN			Semifinals Saturday, March 13 CBS			Championship Sunday, March 14 CBS



						1	Michigan	79

			8	Maryland	68	8	Maryland	66

			9	Michigan State	57				1	Michigan	67

									5	Ohio State	68

						4	Purdue	78

			5	Ohio State	79	5	Ohio State	87*

12	Northwestern	46	13	Minnesota	75							5	Ohio State	88

13	Minnesota	51										2	Illinois	91*

						2	Illinois	90

			7	Rutgers	61	7	Rutgers	68

			10	Indiana	50				2	Illinois	82

									3	Iowa	71

						3	Iowa	62

			6	Wisconsin	75	6	Wisconsin	57

11	Penn State	72	11	Penn State	74

14	Nebraska	66

* denotes overtime period

Game summaries edit

First round edit

BTN

March 10
6:30 pm

Recap

No. 13 Minnesota 51, No. 12 Northwestern 46
Scoring by half: 27−20, 24−26
Pts: Tre' Williams, 14 Rebs: Eric Curry, 12 Asts: Marcus Carr, 6		Pts: Miller Kopp, 9 Rebs: Pete Nance, 11 Asts: Boo Buie, 3

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 5,909
Referees: Larry Scirotto, Bo Boroski, Rob Riley

BTN

March 10
9:00 pm

Recap

No. 14 Nebraska 66, No. 11 Penn State 72
Scoring by half: 37−23, 29−49
Pts: Trey McGowens, 13 Rebs: Derrick Walker, 7 Asts: Derrick Walker, 6		Pts: Jamari Wheeler, 19 Rebs: John Harrar, 14 Asts: John Harrar, 4

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 5,909
Referees: Kelly Pfeifer, D.J. Carstensen, Paul Szelc

Second round edit

BTN

March 11
11:30 am

Recap

No. 9 Michigan State 57, No. 8 Maryland 68
Scoring by half: 30−34, 27−34
Pts: Malik Hall, 19 Rebs: Aaron Henry, 9 Asts: Rocket Watts, 4		Pts: Eric Ayala, 21 Rebs: Eric Ayala, 9 Asts: Eric Ayala, 4

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 6,206
Referees: Steve McJunkins, Rob Riley, Bo Boroski

BTN

March 11
2:00 pm

Recap

No. 13 Minnesota 75, No. 5 Ohio State 79
Scoring by half: 27−39, 48−40
Pts: Marcus Carr, 24 Rebs: Tre' Williams, Brandon Johnson 8 Asts: Marcus Carr, Isaiah Ihnen 4		Pts: Duane Washington Jr., Justice Sueing, 16 Rebs: Justice Sueing, 7 Asts: CJ Walker, 6

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 6,206
Referees: Kelly Pfeifer, D.J. Carstensen, Paul Szelc

BTN

March 11
6:30 pm

Recap

No. 10 Indiana 50, No. 7 Rutgers 61
Scoring by half: 32−33, 18−28
Pts: Trayce Jackson-Davis, 19 Rebs: Trayce Jackson-Davis, 9 Asts: Rob Phinisee, 7		Pts: Ron Harper Jr., Jacob Young 13 Rebs: Myles Johnson, 13 Asts: Geo Baker, 7

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 6,769
Referees: Lewis Garrison, Courtney Green, Paul Szelc

BTN

March 11
9:00 pm

Recap

No. 11 Penn State 74, No. 6 Wisconsin 75
Scoring by half: 31−41, 43−34
Pts: Sam Sessoms, 18 Rebs: John Harrar, 10 Asts: Myreon Jones, 4		Pts: Aleem Ford, 17 Rebs: Tyler Wahl, 5 Asts: D'Mitrik Trice, 9

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 6,769
Referees: Donnie Eppley, Rob Kueneman, Larry Scirotto

Quarterfinals edit

BTN

March 12
11:30 am

Recap

No. 8 Maryland 66, No. 1 Michigan 79
Scoring by half: 38−40, 28−39
Pts: Eric Ayala, 19 Rebs: Aaron Wiggins, 7 Asts: Aaron Wiggins, 5		Pts: Mike Smith, 18 Rebs: Austin Davis, 8 Asts: Mike Smith, 15

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 7,634
Referees: Edwin Young, Donnie Eppley, Larry Scirotto

BTN

March 12
2:00 pm

Recap

No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Purdue (OT)
Scoring by half: 49−31, 23−41 Overtime: 15−6
Pts: Duane Washington Jr., 20 Rebs: Justice Sueing, 10 Asts: CJ Walker, 7		Pts: Trevion Williams, 26 Rebs: Trevion Williams, 14 Asts: Trevion Williams, 5

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 7,634
Referees: Rob Kueneman, Courtney Green, Bo Boroski

BTN

March 12
6:30 pm

Recap

No. 7 Rutgers 68, No. 2 Illinois 90
Scoring by half: 28−47, 40−43
Pts: Ron Harper Jr., 21 Rebs: Myles Johnson, 5 Asts: Jaden Jones, 2		Pts: Ayo Dosunmu, 23 Rebs: Kofi Cockburn, 12 Asts: Ayo Dosunmu, 6

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 7,735
Referees: Steve McJunkins, Kelly Pfeifer, Paul Szelc

BTN

March 12
9:00 pm

Recap

No. 6 Wisconsin 57, No. 3 Iowa 62
Scoring by half: 32−26, 25−36
Pts: D'Mitrik Trice, 19 Rebs: Aleem Ford, Micah Potter, 8 Asts: Jonathan Davis, Brad Davison, 3		Pts: Luka Garza, 24 Rebs: Luka Garza, 9 Asts: Connor McCaffery, 6

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 7,735
Referees: Lewis Garrison, Rob Riley, D.J. Carstensen

Semifinals edit

CBS

March 13
1:00 pm

Recap

No. 1 Michigan 67, No. 5 Ohio State 68
Scoring by half: 27−26, 40−42
Pts: Hunter Dickinson, 21 Rebs: Hunter Dickinson, Brandon Johns Jr., 8 Asts: Mike Smith, Franz Wagner, 4		Pts: Duane Washington Jr., 24 Rebs: Duane Washington Jr., 6 Asts: Duane Washington Jr., CJ Walker, 4

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 8,000
Referees: Donnie Eppley, Courtney Green, Paul Szelc

CBS

March 13
3:30 pm

Recap

No. 2 Illinois 82, No. 3 Iowa 71
Scoring by half: 45−37, 37−34
Pts: Kofi Cockburn, 26 Rebs: Da'Monte Williams, 9 Asts: Ayo Dosunmu, 9		Pts: Luka Garza, 21 Rebs: Luka Garza, 12 Asts: Jordan Bohannon, 6

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 8,000
Referees: Lewis Garrison, Rob Riley, Bo Boroski

Championship edit

CBS

March 14
3:30 pm

Recap

No. 5 Ohio State 88, No. 2 Illinois 91 (OT)
Scoring by half: 35−40, 42−37 Overtime: 11−14
Pts: Duane Washington Jr., 32 Rebs: Duane Washington Jr., 8 Asts: CJ Walker, 6		Pts: 3 tied, 16 Rebs: Ayo Dosunmu, Kofi Cockburn, 9 Asts: André Curbelo, 5

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 8,000
Referees: Kelly Pfeifer, D.J. Carstensen, Larry Scirotto

All-Tournament Team edit

Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois – Big Ten tournament Most Outstanding Player
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois
Luka Garza, Iowa
EJ Liddell, Ohio State
Duane Washington Jr., Ohio State

^[4]

References edit

^ "Statement on Relocation of the 2021 Big Ten Conference's Men's Basketball Tournament". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Basketball Tournament Tiebreakers". Big Ten Conference. October 26, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
^ "Big Ten Announces 2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 18, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
^ Big Ten Media Guide 2022-23

[1] "Statement on Relocation of the 2021 Big Ten Conference's Men's Basketball Tournament". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.

[2] "Big Ten Basketball Tournament Tiebreakers". Big Ten Conference. October 26, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2020.

[3] "Big Ten Announces 2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 18, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.

[4] Big Ten Media Guide 2022-23

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