Two Big Team teams are still active in the postseason with Michigan advancing to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament and Penn State moving on to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The Big Ten is the only conference with a team in the semifinals of both tournaments.
Over the last 14 years, the Big Ten has sent 11 different teams to the Final Four, including at least one participant in five of the past seven years. Illinois and Michigan State advanced to the Final Four in 2005, followed by Ohio State in 2007 and 2012, the Spartans in 2009, 2010 and 2015, Michigan in 2013 and 2018 and Wisconsin in 2014 and 2015.
Since 2005, five Big Ten teams have advanced to the NCAA Tournament championship game. Illinois reached the final in 2005, Ohio State played in the 2007 title game, Michigan State reached the national championship game in 2009, Michigan played in the final in 2013 and Wisconsin advanced to the title game in 2015.
Current Big Ten programs have combined for 52 Final Four appearances, including eight in the last 10 seasons.
Michigan, the Big Ten Tournament Champion, enters the Final Four riding a 13-game win streak including four wins in the Big Ten Tournament followed by four wins in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines have the second-longest active win streak in the NCAA behind their Final Four opponent, Loyola Chicago, which has won 14 in a row.
With programs in both the NCAA Final Four and NCAA Frozen Four, Michigan became the sixth school to have teams in the men's basketball and men's ice hockey national semifinals in the same season. The most recent occurrences came in 2001 and 1999 when Michigan State competed in both. Michigan has achieved the feat for the fourth time overall (1964, 1992, 1993).
Michigan won the 2018 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament title for a second consecutive year to become the third team to win back-to-back Big Ten Tournament crowns and the first since 2010-11 (Ohio State). Junior Moritz Wagner, who scored a team-high 17 points to lead Michigan to a 75-66 win in the championship game vs. third-seeded Purdue, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
This was the 11th straight year, the Big Ten sent multiple conference teams to the Sweet 16, which is the longest active streak in men's college basketball. Michigan advanced to regional semifinal round for the fourth time in the past six years, Purdue competed in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.
Penn State, playing in its sixth NIT semifinals, is seeking its second NIT Championship as the Nittany Lions last won the title in 2009.
Current Big Ten schools have captured 10 NIT Championships with Minnesota last winning the crown in 2014.
Ohio State's Chris Holtmann was named a finalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year. With a 9-0 start in Big Ten play this year, Holtmann became the first coach in 95 years to win his first seven conference games and propelled the Buckeyes to their first top-10 ranking in four years.
Michigan State's Miles Bridges, Ohio State's Keita Bates-Diop and Purdue's Carsen Edwards were honored on the NABC, Sporting News, USBWA and USA Today All-America teams. Bridges earned Second Team recognition on all of the lists, Bates-Diop is listed on the Second Team by the NABC, Sporting News andUSBWA while Edwards was a Second Team honoree by the NABC and USA Today as well as a Third Team honoree on the Sporting News' list.