INDIANAPOLIS — The top four teams in the Big Ten joined the 15-team bracket Friday at the 2026 Big Ten Tournament. While none of the four teams played to win a spot in the NCAA Tournament — and with all of their involvement, and hosting duties, practically set — they descended on Indiana to start their road to potential conference hardware.
The last time a team outside of the top four seeds of the annual tournament won the conference crown was 2011, when No. 5 seeded Ohio State upset the No. 2 seeded Penn State in the final. But that was in the final season of the conference’s 11-school setup, meaning the Buckeyes also got a bye to the quarterfinals and only needed to win three games in a row. The road is much harder now for lower-seeded runs.
But not impossible. Friday’s action saw those same Buckeyes helped facilitate a quick exit for one team and continue a low-seeded run, plus a first half threat for the UCLA Bruins, and the wins that created a rematch between the Hawkeyes and Wolverines.
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UCLA and a lack of toughness
Friday’s first game of the day featured the No. 1 seed in the conference and a contender for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the UCLA Bruins. The Big Ten regular season ended with a perfect 18-0 record for head coach Cori Close’s side, but it did not look like it for much of the team’s introduction to the 2026 edition of the tournament.
It went beyond the fact that the No. 8 seed Washington Huskies played the day before and had familiarity with the court and the basketballs. The Huskies doubled the Bruins’ four rebounds, forced six turnovers and outscored the undisputed Big Ten regular season champions 15-6.
“It’s okay to make mistakes sometimes, but it’s never okay to not be the tougher, more together, more aggressive team from the jump,” Close told reporters.
Ultimately, it was a non-issue as UCLA battled back and went ahead to cruise to a 78-60 victory. But for the first 20 minutes, the Washington Huskies looked ready to do what no team did in the Big Ten regular season. On defense, forwards Brynn McGaughy and Yulia Grabovskaia did not try to contain Betts. Instead, they wanted to keep her out of the paint to create offense further away from the basket.
That was also an effective rebounding strategy as the Huskies only had a negative one rebounding margin (15-14) in the first half. McGaughy had two and Grabovskaia had none, but their work to box center Lauren Betts out allowed guards Avery Howell and Elle Ladine to grab rebounds, while Betts had two.
At halftime, Close and the UCLA coaching staff took forward Timea Gardner and literally showed Betts how her coach wanted her to play in the second half.
“I demonstrated how [Betts] needed to seal, go after people. ‘Do not call for the ball until you have contact, till you have somebody behind you, because we’re not giving it to you unless you do that,’” said Close.
Betts, the 25-26 Big Ten Player and Defensive Player of the Year, took the instruction and put it to good use in the second half. In 15 minutes, Betts scored 14 of her 16 points inside the paint. When the duo of Washington forwards went one-on-one with the 6-foot-7 UCLA center, having the strength of the senior pushing them towards the basket, Betts’ 8-for-10 second half shooting showed it was nearly impossible for the Huskies to stop.
Howell was a bright spot for the Huskies, despite the result. Head coach Tina Langley’s offense was not designed to exclusively go through Howell, but the Idaho native had a knack for turning loose ball situations into Huskies points or possessions. Howell had six points off her three offensive rebounds and led Washington with 18 points.
Late in the fourth quarter, when the UCLA lead increased to 14 points, Washington designed two plays for Howell that ended with five points for the guard, which is puzzling to think more opportunities are not created for the former USC Trojan.
“We want [Howell] to be able to handle the ball and create opportunities, and we want to set screens for her and help her to be open,” Langley said, but it did not look that way often in the guard’s 38 minutes on the court.
Washington needs to wait for a couple weeks for its next chance. But the Huskies are expected to make the NCAA Tournament field for the second year in a row, the first consecutive seasons for Washington in March Madness since Langley took over the program in 2021.
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Halftime turnaround for the Buckeyes
The second game of the day was the No. 4 seed Minnesota Golden Gophers and No. 5 seed Ohio State Buckeyes. On Feb. 18, in Minneapolis, the Golden Gophers handed the Buckeyes their second worst loss of the Big Ten season in a 74-61 Minnesota victory. In that win, center Sophie Hart led an inside attack with 18 points, most of the Golden Gophers’ 32 points in the paint in the victory.
Ohio State center Elsa Lemmilä grabbed 10 rebounds and was the only player with a positive plus/minus for the Scarlet and Gray. Even so, a 15-rebound margin in the Gophers’ favor did not help. Making matters even worse, normally a matchup against Ohio State is a good way to increase a team’s average turnovers per game. Minnesota only gave the ball up nine times, so without extra possessions from boards or turnovers, the Buckeyes did not stand a chance.
“We just didn’t play basketball,” guard Kennedy Cambridge told reporters. “We didn’t play our game. We shouldn’t have lost that game. So credit to them for not letting up. But we knew we had to get a get back for this game.”
Head coach Kevin McGuff’s side did just that in the 60-55 victory Friday over the Gophers.
Minnesota went back to what worked a little over two weeks prior and played aggressively under the basket. All of the Gophers’ 28 points in the first half were scored in the paint, but this time Ohio State got its turnovers with an effective press. After 20 minutes, the Buckeyes already forced 11 turnovers but it only meant a four-point lead.
Assistant coach Ryan Murray took the team’s bigs aside at halftime to see if the Buckeyes could cut away at the Minnesota inside threat with Hart already at a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double in 16 first half minutes.
“[Murray] broke down exactly what he wanted us to do against Sophie Hart, because we obviously did not execute very well our defense in the first half against her,” Lemmilä told reporters. “We kept getting stuck behind, and it was just about getting around and getting in front.”
That simple change made a game-changing difference. In the second half, Hart was held to just two points and Ohio State outscored Minnesota 16-6 in the paint. Lemmilä was key, tied with a team-high eight points, plus three offensive rebounds, five total rebounds and a late block on a Minnesota fast break that would have put the Gophers within a possession.
After the win, when the 17-point, 11-rebound double-double for Lemmilä matched point guard Jaloni Cambridge for a team high in scoring, Lemmilä had to make the media rounds. The sophomore is more comfortable on a basketball court than in an interview and the 6-foot-6 center twirled her hoodie string as she fielded questions. Lemmilä’s growing confidence on the court will create many more uncomfortable moments in front of a camera and microphone.
Lemmilä has at least 10 rebounds in the last six games, and four double-doubles. In her previous 26 appearances, the Finnish center had two double-doubles and four total games with double-digit rebounds.
On Saturday, Lemmilä has her biggest test of the season against UCLA center Lauren Betts. Even if the moment seems larger than life, Lemmilä’s performance on Friday, and support from her teammates, could create an interesting inside matchup.
“We know [Lemmilä’s] a great player, and I think her getting rebounds gets her going offensively too. Easy put backs or easy shots just lay up,” senior Chance Gray told reporters. “We just try to keep all confidence in her we can, because she we know what she’s capable of.”
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The Hawkeyes’ home sweet home
In a conference where teams stretch from one coast of the United States to the other, a tournament that is hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away for some programs can cause some attendance issues. That is unless the Iowa Hawkeyes are on the court. Although Iowa City is over 350 miles away, further from Indianapolis than eight different Big Ten campuses, the roar of the crowd for the Hawkeyes far eclipses any other team.
Even when the Indiana Hoosiers played, from only an hour down the highway, their support paled in comparison to a sea of Black and Gold for the No. 2 seed on Friday night. Even before Friday, a lot of the fans on day two were also Iowa-clad, showing the program’s impact on the sport.
That normally spells a home court advantage, but eight days prior the Illinois Fighting Illini took Iowa to the brink. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Illini had a six-point lead. When Iowa and No. 10 seed Illinois met Friday, it was a completely different story, despite the close 64-58 final scoreline.
“We weren’t quite as sharp defensively. We didn’t remember who were drivers and who were shooters,” Iowa head coach Jan Jensen said about the matchup in Iowa City. “They were all so crazy hot that night. I think they hit nine threes in a row. That usually not as high of an aspect for them, so they were really good that night.”
Friday night, Iowa got its scouting report right from the jump when Jensen’s side scored 13 of the first 18 points, while the crowd sat on the edge of their seats. Every make sounded like a game-winning shot. Illinois forward Cearah Parchment, who was key in Thursday’s win over the Maryland Terrapins, had too much to handle in the duo of center Ava Heiden and forward Hannah Stuelke.
The Hawkeye duo’s presence made the inside/outside game run smoothly. Before that game, many of the teams new to the tournament needed time to adjust, but not Iowa. Of the Hawkeyes 21 points, 10 came in the paint, with six points from Heiden. Guard Chit-Chat Wright and Kylie Feuerbach combined for 11 in the first 10 minutes. For all the flow Iowa brought to the start, Illinois tried to force itself into the game.
Illinois shot 27.8% from the field to start the game and entered the second quarter already down 10 points.
“To start the game, we came out flat and got behind and dug ourselves a 10-point hole and just didn’t have enough to really fight back,” said Illinois head coach Shauna Green.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Iowa had a 23-point lead. While Illinois did outscore the Hawkeyes 27-11, thanks to a 15-point run to end the game, no starter played more than six minutes of the quarter. All of them were out of the game when that final run began for the Illini.
To find any problem with Iowa’s performance would be nitpicking as four of the Hawkeyes’ starters scored double-digit points. Guard Taylor Stremlow was the lone holdout with nine points, but she also added six assists to make her offensive impact rival anyone on the court. It was a performance worthy of the 40 minutes of raucous cheers.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from the Hawkeye fans,” Stremlow told reporters. “We never take it for granted, they travel wherever we go.”
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Michigan moves on, focused on Iowa
Like Iowa’s win over Illinois, when the fresh No. 3 seed Michigan Wolverines faced the No. 11 seed Oregon Ducks in the final game of the season, it looked like a rested side facing a team playing its third game in three days. The Ducks tied the game twice in the first 4:02 of the game, but never found a lead in the 80-58 Michigan victory.
On Dec. 29, 2025, in Eugene, Oregon, the two programs battled through two overtimes before the Wolverines came out on top. While much of the storyline surrounded missed free throws that nearly gave the Ducks the upset victory, there was nothing that truly challenged head coach Kim Barnes Arico’s side.
Normally, a team is not too open about getting into the details of the next opponent. Coaches opt for the “one game at a time” mentality, but there was one game that sat in the minds of the Wolverines after their quarterfinal victory, a rematch against the Iowa Hawkeyes after an 18-point defeat in Iowa City on Feb. 22.
“That was the first time in that type of environment on Senior Day on a Sunday at 11:00 a.m,” Barnes Arico told reporters. “[Iowa] jumped on us. They were super physical. The score didn’t indicate really how close the game was, but they’re a tough team to play there for sure.”
All but two players on Michigan’s roster were in Iowa City for the first time in their NCAA careers. Hawkeye Carver Arena is a well known tough place to play, which the Wolverines see as part of the reason why the Maize and Blue suffered its worst loss of the season. Add the fact that the crowd was there to specifically celebrate three seniors, including forward Hannah Stuelke, for one of the last times of their careers and there was no lack of motivation for the Hawkeyes.
On Saturday, the crowd gets slightly smaller, but it will be loud and still heavily favored in the Hawkeyes’ direction, if Friday’s win over Illinois is any indication. Although, the people in the stands will not be the ones on the court. The players on Barnes Arico’s team are excited for the rematch. Just talking about it put a smile on the face of forward Kendall Dudley.
“We want to get this back. We didn’t feel great about how we showed up in the last game, just off the rebounding battle and a bunch of little things,” said Dudley.
That disruption for Michigan was clear in Iowa, but how the Wolverines played Friday could bode well for a competitive game on Saturday. In the near loss to Oregon in the regular season, the Wolverines had a career high 24 turnovers — the same number Michigan had in that fateful matchup on Iowa’s Senior Day. Friday’s complete performance for Michigan included only nine turnovers, their second lowest total of the season.
Those turnovers helped Iowa earn 21 points last month. Saturday will show if the Wolverines learned their lesson.