(UW ATHLETICS) – The Wisconsin men’s basketball team get set to tip off the 2026 Big Ten Tournament presented by TIAA, playing either No. 12 seeded Washington or No. 13 seeded USC on Thursday at the United Center in Chicago around 1:30 p.m. CT. The Badgers come in as the No. 5 seed in the tournament.
Wisconsin has been the No. 5 seed in each of the last two years and has made it to the Big Ten title game both times.
The Badgers are looking for their fourth Big Ten tournament title, winning the championship in 2004, 2008 and in 2015.
The Badgers enter postseason action ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll and are also No. 23 in the KenPom rankings, its highest ranking in KenPom since Thanksgiving.
Wisconsin will play its first Big Ten Tournament game against either Washington or USC on Thursday with both teams joining the league last year. Wisconsin went 1-1 against their potential opponents on Thursday, falling 73-71 at home to USC on Jan. 25 while defeating Washington 90-73 on Feb. 28 in Seattle.
USC enters the tournament with an 18-13 record and a 7-13 league record, but has lost seven-straight games. The Trojans are also without their leading scorer, Chad Baker-Mazara, who is no longer with the program.
Washington is 15-16 this season and also went 7-13 in Big Ten play. The Huskies are led by freshman Hannes Steinbach, who earned third-team All-Big Ten honors and all-freshman honors this season.
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