Big Ten Makes NCAA Tournament History with Purdue's Win Over McNeese State

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | Last updated Mar 22, 2025 2:44 PM ET

College basketball fans have been relatively frustrated for the lack of close games that took place during the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, but supporters of one conference in particular are certainly feeling satisfied so far.

The Big Ten Conference got eight teams into March Madness this year, and it didn't take long for them to make NCAA tournament history.

With the Purdue Boilermakers' 76-62 win over the McNeese State Cowboys, Big Ten teams officially have gone 9-0 in the tournament thus far, No conference has ever gone 9-0 to start the tournament thus far. There is a chance that the conference can better that mark over the next few hours as well.

This afternoon, the No. 5 seed Michigan Wolverines will take on the No. 4 seed Texas A&M Aggies at 5:15 p.m. ET with a chance to make it 10-0 for the Big Ten.

Should the Wolverines win that, then it would fall on the No. 3 seed Wisconsin Badgers to beat the No. 6 seed BYU Cougars on Saturday night at 7:45 p.m. ET to extend the record to 11-0. With a Wisconsin win, the No. 7 seed UCLA Bruins would then have a chance to extend the record to 12-0 with a game against the No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night at 9:40 p.m. ET.

Should this extend into Sunday, there are more chances for history, with the No. 6 seed Illinois Fighting Illini taking on the No. 3 seed Kentucky Wildcats at 5:15 p.m ET, the No. 4 seed Maryland Terrapins taking on the No. 12 seed Colorado State Rams at 7:10 p.m. ET, the No. 2 seed Michigan State Spartans takingon the No. 10 seed New Mexico Lobos at 8:40 p.m. ET, and the No. 5 seed Oregon Ducks taking on the No. 4 seed Arizona Wildcats at 9:40 p.m. ET.

A 16-0 weekend would be incredibly unlikely, but seeing as no Big Ten team plays an intra-conference matchup, it technically is possible.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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