Big Ten Teams Break March Madness Record

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kedrick Stumbris | Last updated Mar 22, 2025 4:07 PM ET

The Big Ten was not the most-heralded conference entering the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. That superlative would have gone to the SEC. After an impressive regular season and conference tournament, the Southeastern Conference sent 14 teams to March Madness - the most from one conference ever.

However, the SEC has been slightly disappointing compared to its expectations since the tournament began. The Texas Longhorns lost in the First Four, blowing a 13-point lead to the Big East's Xavier Musketeers. The six-seed Missouri Tigers were upset in the First Round by the No. 11 Drake Bulldogs. No. 8 Mississippi State fell to the No. 9. Baylor Bears in a game the Bulldogs trailed by as many as 11 in the second half.

In all, the eight SEC teams advanced to the Second Round. The Big Ten has the same number of teams in the round of 32, but how the B1G matched that number was much more impressive.

Big Ten Starts March Madness With 9-0 Record

Eight Big Ten teams made the NCAA Tournament. All eight remained in the field after the first two days of the Big Dance, setting a new record. Never before had a conference started the tournament 8-0. Six wins without a loss was the previous-best mark by teams from the SEC (1999), ACC (2004, 2015), and Big 12 (2009, 2022).

The first game of the Second Round between the No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers and No. 12 McNeese State Cowboys put the conference's 8-0 record on the line. With a 22-point performance from Purdue forward Trey-Kaufman-Renn, the Boilermakers easily advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

Two SEC teams, the Auburn Tigers and Florida Gators, received No. 1 seeds in March Madness. The Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Volunteers also earned spots on the two-line. From the Big Ten, only two teams, the No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers and No. 2 Michigan State Spartans, were seeded higher than fourth in their respective regions.

The rival conferences clash later today. No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 3 Michigan will play at 5:15 p.m. central. The winner will advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the South Regional, which will be televised on CBS.

Tennessee and the UCLA Bruins wrap up the first day of second-round matchups at 9:40 p.m. on TBS. Earlier, Wisconsin and the Big 12's BYU Cougars play in primetime on CBS. Tipoff in that matchup is scheduled for approximately 7:45 p.m.

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

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