The confetti has fallen in Chicago and Indianapolis, the brackets are set and the Big Ten’s best teams have made their cases as March Madness is finally upon us. From Washington’s overtime stunner over USC on the men’s side, to UCLA’s 51-point domination in the women’s championship game, the Big Ten tournament delivered all the chaos you could’ve asked for. Purdue hoisted the championship trophy as the No. 7 seed while the Bruins made it look easy on the women’s side. This edition marks the final Big Ten Weekly of the 2025-26 season — here’s how it went down.
Men’s basketball
Game of the week: Washington Huskies defeat USC, 83-79
While not the highest-profile matchup of the week, it’s hard to pass up on this overtime bout. Down 13 at the half, the Huskies leaned on freshman guard Zoom Diallo, who finished with 22 points, 11 assists and the go-ahead bucket in OT in his first-ever Big Ten Tournament game, despite playing most of the latter stretch with four fouls. Quimari Peterson’s five triples and yet another double-double from Hannes Steinbach were just enough for Washington to survive a late push from USC.
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Player of the week: Nick Boyd (Wisconsin)
It was a toss-up between Boyd and his teammate John Blackwell — who had a career-high 34 points against Washington — but I went with Boyd based on his performance across all three contests. Boyd was no slouch in the game against the Huskies either, putting up 23 of his own on 5-for-6 from deep along with nine assists before outdoing Blackwell in their comeback win over Illinois with 38. Even in the loss to Michigan, Boyd was the catalyst for the offense, posting 14-5-5 and hitting a triple that gave the Badgers life in the final minute before ultimately falling. Both Boyd and Blackwell have the makings of a March Madness legend, and the Wisconsin should be a team to watch in terms of making a run.
Team of the week: Purdue Boilermakers
In a season that’s been full of plenty of ups and downs, the Boilermakers may have finally found themselves when it matters most, going 4-0 this week in Chicago to win the Big Ten Tournament. Entering as a No. 7 seed, Purdue never trailed in its wins over Northwestern and Nebraska and survived a late push from UCLA before closing out top-seeded Michigan to claim the tournament title. Braden Smith continues to inch forward toward Bobby Hurley’s all-time assist record with plenty of help from Oscar Cluff, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer’s dominance in the paint and from deep. Four games in, four days with three double-digit wins, and a trophy makes Purdue the clear winner of the team of the week.
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Freshman of the week: David Mirkovic (Illinois)
Even in the loss, Mirkovic showed his worth alongside fellow freshman teammate Keaton Wagler. The forward had 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting alongside five rebounds and five assists. He did the most damage in the Illini’s biggest moments, scoring all 10 of the team’s points in overtime and nearly dragging Illinois back from a seven-point deficit in the final 20 seconds.
Clutch performance of the week: Austin Rapp (Wisconsin vs. Michigan)
Despite this being yet another honor given to a player that lost, I’d be remiss to not give this to Rapp. The sophomore nearly flipped the game on its head, as he detonated for 18 points via six second-half threes going on his own 15-2 run that turned a double-digit deficit into a game that the Badgers nearly stole. In a tournament that gave us a lot of big numbers and overall performances, no stretch changed the game like Rapp’s shooting barrage.
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Women’s basketball
Game of the week: Oregon Ducks defeat Maryland Terrapins, 73-68
If you want chaos, this was the game for you. Oregon’s Ehis Etute and Katie Fiso were nowhere to be found in the first half with a combined two points, before going off in the second for 34 that erased a five-point deficit entering the final quarter. Etute put together a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds — including 10 straight — as the Ducks secured the win in a thriller.
Player of the week: Lauren Betts (UCLA)
The Betts sisters both made the Big Ten Tournament look like their own playground, but I’m opting for the older of the two in Lauren. Operating as the center of gravity for a team that is likely to compete for a national championship by the end of the month, Betts led the Bruins through a dominant run in Indianapolis. She opened by bullying Washington with 26 points and eight rebounds in just 27 minutes after UCLA flipped a 10-point deficit into an 18-point win. She followed that up with 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists against Ohio State before the sisters demolished Iowa in a top-10 matchup that turned into a 51-point avalanche. Across the three games played, Betts looked like the best player on the floor for what could possibly be the best team in the nation.
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Team of the week: UCLA Bruins
There was really only one acceptable choice here. After going undefeated in conference play, the Bruins continued by rolling through the competition in Indianapolis as they captured their second Big Ten Tournament title in as many years as they’ve been a part of the conference. UCLA won all three of its games by double digits and dominated their best opponent on paper by 51 points — the largest margin ever in the championship game. As mentioned above, Lauren and Sienna Betts overwhelmed their opponents in the frontcourt while Kiki Rice and Gianna Kneepkens held down the backcourt.
Freshman of the week: Cearah Parchment (Illinois)
Parchment continued to impress in her first year in college basketball. She opened by scoring 14 points and six rebounds against Wisconsin and then had a game-high 15 points against Michigan State — all of which came in the first half — toppling a ranked opponent in the Spartans to move on. In the quarterfinals against Iowa where the Illini came up short, she remained a consistent piece pushing Illinois within six of the top-10 Hawkeyes. After all was said and done, Parchment set Illinois’ all-time scoring record, the program’s all-time freshman rebounding record and has a chance to add on in its first-round matchup against Colorado next Saturday.
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Clutch performance of the week: Ehis Etute (Oregon vs. Maryland)
Etute scored 10 straight for the Ducks in her 20-point performance to power Oregon’s comeback. Down five entering the final quarter of play, Etute single-handedly willed the Ducks to the win in the back-and-forth battle. Avary Cain sealed the win with a clutch three in the final seconds, but without Etute’s takeover that moment would’ve never come to fruition.
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