Big Ten tournament scores, updates: Michigan, Purdue advance to final

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Big Ten tournament scores, updates: Michigan, Purdue advance to final

Paul Myerberg and Nancy Armour, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Sat, Mar 14, 2026 ·

9 min read

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The Big Ten's No. 1 team Michigan and the nation's preseason No. 1 Purdue will meet in the Big Ten tournament final on Sunday.

Purdue may be the No. 7 seed, but the Boilers were the preseason favorite and seem to have found something in the Big Ten tournament with back-to-back impressive performances against Northwestern and Nebraska, and a gritty win over UCLA in Saturday's semifinal.

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Michigan was pushed to the limit Saturday against Wisconsin, but prevailed thanks to a last-second 3-pointer from Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg .

Here's how Saturday's semifinals were won:

Oscar Cluff leads Purdue past UCLA, into Big Ten final

Oscar Cluff scored eight of Purdue's last 11 points as the Boilermakers held off UCLA 73-66 to advance to the title game of the Big Ten tournament.

Purdue will play Michigan, which beat the Boilermakers in their only meeting this season.

UCLA was playing without leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau, who injured his knee in Friday night's quarterfinal game. But the Bruins tied the game at 62 on a Brandon Williams dunk with 3:41 to play.

Then Cluff went to work. He scored on a tip-in then, after a driving layup by C.J. Cox, scored on a putback. After a basket by Skyy Clark pulled UCLA back within four, Cluff made a pair of free throws to put Purdue back up 70-64. Two Trent Perry free throws made it a four-point game again, but Braden Smith made the first of two free throws and Cluff sealed the win with two more at the line.

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Purdue leads UCLA at halftime

Jack Benter made a 3-pointer as time expired to widen Purdue's lead over UCLA to 34-27 at halftime of the semifinals of the Big Ten conference tournament.

Another Benter 3 gave the Boilermakers a 9-point lead with 1:30 left in the half. But UCLA, which is playing without leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau, got a field goal from Trent Perry and a 3 by Eric Freeny to get within four. Purdue spent several seconds looking for a last shot, and it looked as if Braden Smith might take it. Instead, Smith passed it to Benter on the wing and he knocked it down. Those 3s are the only shots Benter has taken in the game.

Yaxel Lendeborg 3 in final second lifts Michigan past Wisconsin

Relatively quiet during the Big Ten tournament, conference player of the year Yaxel Lendeborg showed up when it counted.

Lendeborg made a 3-pointer with less than a second left to give Michigan a 68-65 win over Wisconsin on Saturday, March 14. The Wolverines will play either Purdue or UCLA on Sunday, March 15, for the Big Ten tournament title.

Michigan led by 15 with just under 10 minutes to play, but Ethan Rapp went on an epic heater. He made a career-high six 3-pointers, including five in a row, to erase Michigan's lead and put Wisconsin up 62-58 with 3:50 left.

Aday Mara, who carried Michigan a day earlier, made two big buckets to tie the game. Elliot Cadeau missed a 3, but Lendeborg came up with the monster rebound and kicked it back out to Cadeau, who was good from deep this time to put Michigan up 65-62.

Nick Boyd tied it again with 29 seconds left. Cadeau dribbled around for almost the entire shot clock, and it looked as if Michigan might pay for it. But he found Lendeborg on the perimeter and Lendeborg delivered.

Wisconsin, Michigan tied at 28-28 at halftime

Yaxel Lendeborg's 3 with 10 seconds left capped a 12-5 run that allowed Michigan to go into halftime tied with Wisconsin at 28.

It was Lendeborg's first basket of the game, and the Wolverines are going to need more from him if they're going to avenge their one conference loss during their regular season. More accuracy from everyone, too, with Michigan shooting less than 27% in the first half.

Wisconsin isn't much better, but it's been able to hit from deep. The Badgers are 7-of-17 from 3-point range, and 3 of 14 from inside the arc. That includes three 3s by Aleksas Bieliauskas, who killed Michigan with a career-high 17 points, all but two from long range, in Wisconsin's win in January.

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Tyler Bilodeau injury update: UCLA star questionable vs Purdue

UCLA's leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau is listed as questionable for the Bruins' semifinal game against Purdue at the Big Ten conference tournament.

That's good news, after Bilodeau left the game with a non-contact injury to his right knee in the first half of Friday night's win over Michigan State. Still, don't expect Bilodeau to play against the Boilermakers. UCLA coach Mick Cronin said it would take "literally a miracle" for the senior to play against Purdue with the start of the NCAA tournament just days away.

"Right now I'm just ... trying to stay positive that he's got some sort of sprain," Cronin said. "But it would take a modern miracle for him to play tomorrow."

Big Ten tournament schedule, bracket, scores

All times Eastern

Play-in round

Tuesday, March 10

Game 1:No. 17 Maryland 70, No. 16 Oregon 60
Game 2:No. 15 Northwestern 76, No. 18 Penn State 66

First round

Wednesday, March 11

Game 3:No. 9 Iowa 75, No. 17 Maryland 64
Game 4:No. 12 Washington 83, No. 13 USC 79
Game 5:No. 15 Northwestern 74, No. 10 Indiana 61
Game 6:No. 14 Rutgers 72, No. 11 Minnesota 67

Second round

Thursday, March 12

Game 7:No. 8 Ohio State 72, No. 9 Iowa 69
Game 8:No. 5 Wisconsin 85, No. 12 Washington 82
Game 9:No. 7 Purdue 81, No. 15 Northwestern 68
Game 10:No. 6 UCLA 72, No. 14 Rutgers 59

Quarterfinals

Friday, March 13

Game 11:No. 1 Michigan 71, No. 8 Ohio State 67
Game 12:No. 5 Wisconsin 91, No. 4 Illinois 88, OT
Game 13:No. 7 Purdue 74, No. 2 Nebraska 58
Game 14:No. 6 UCLA 88, No. 3 Michigan State 84

Semifinals

Saturday, March 14

Game 15:No. 1 Michigan 68, No. 5 Wisconsin 65
Game 16:No. 7 Purdue vs. No. 6 UCLA, 3:30 p.m., CBS

Championship game

Sunday, March 15

Game 17:No. 1 Michigan vs Game 16 winner, 3:30 p.m., CBS

March Madness bracketology: NCAA tournament bubble picture gets shakeup

How to watch Big Ten tournament

TV:BTN/CBS
Streaming:Peacock

The first round and the first two games of the second round will be streaming on Peacock.

The second half of the second round, the third round and the quarterfinals will air on the Big Ten Network. CBS will carry the two semifinals and Sunday's championship game.

Big Ten basketball tournament favorite

Michiganis the favorite after dropping just one Big Ten game and winning the regular-season title by four games over Nebraska, Michigan Stateand Illinois.

The Wolverines head into the quarterfinals having taken 14 of their past 15 games, with the loss coming in non-conference play against Dukeon Feb. 21.

UM also went 4-0 against the Cornhuskers , Spartans and Illini, winning all but one matchup by a double-digit margin. It leads the Big Ten in scoring (88.4 ppg), field-goal percentage (51%) and field-goal defense (38%), ranking second nationally in the final category.

Big Ten basketball tournament top players

Lamar Wilkerson, G, Indiana— IU will need Wilkerson to get hot to make a run in Chicago. He's topped 20 points 16 times, 12 times in Big Ten play.

Jaxon Kohler, F, Michigan State— The second-year starter has evolved into a 3-point threat (39.5% from deep) and become a more capable scorer (12.8 points per game). Kohler posted 12 double-doubles during the regular season.

Braden Smith, G, Purdue— One of this week's subplots involves Smith's push to set the NCAA career assist record. He's currently averaging 8.7 per game, tying his career high, and is 48 away from breaking former Duke guard Bobby Hurley's record.

Sam Hoiberg, G, Nebraska— Hoiberg is the glue behind the Cornhuskers' record-setting regular season after setting new career bests in scoring (9.4 points per game), rebounding (5.2), assists (4.4) and steals (2.1).

Yaxel Lendenborg, F, Michigan— The Alabama-Birmingham transfer has met lofty expectations by stuffing the box score: Lendenborg leads Michigan in scoring (14.7 points) while adding 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game.

March Madness bubble storylines for Big Ten

The Big Ten has six locked-in tournament teams in Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan State, Illinois, Wisconsinand Purdue. Another three teams are in very good shape in UCLA, Iowaand Ohio State, though the Buckeyes could stand to add a win against the Hawkeyes in the second round to officially secure their place in the field.

For nearly every team outside the top nine of the standings, the only possible ticket to March Madness will come via a conference title. The one exception is Indiana, which has spent most of the season on the tournament bubble.

What's holding the Hoosiers back is a 3-11 mark in Quad 1 games. They'll have chances to improve that record by advancing to the third round to face UCLA. With a win there, the Hoosiers will take on Michigan State in the quarterfinals. IU needs at least three wins this week to get back into at-large consideration.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Big 10 basketball tournament bracket, semifinals scores, schedule

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