CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference released the full bracket for the 30th Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament presented by TIAA, set for March 1-5 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, with the No. 25-ranked Fighting Illini set to open as the sixth seed.
The Illini earned a first-round bye by virtue of the team's top-10 regular-season conference finish, and will open postseason play in primetime Thursday night in a matchup versus the winner of a Wednesday's Round 1 game between 11th-seeded Rutgers and 14th-seeded Northwestern. Illinois' first-round bye is the first since the 2014-15 Illini squad finished 10th.
Illinois' No. 6 seed is the best for the program since earning the same spot in the 2013 Big Ten Tournament. The last time UI was seeded better than sixth was back in 2007, when Illinois earned the No. 4 seed.
All 13 games of this year's Big Ten Tournament will be televised live to a national audience, with the first round through semifinal games from Wednesday through Saturday broadcast on the Big Ten Network, as well as on the FOX Sports app. The Big Ten Tournament championship game on March 5 will tip off at 4 p.m. (CT) and will be televised live on ESPN, as well as the ESPN app.
2023 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, March 1 (First Round)
Game 1 (#12 Minnesota vs. #13 Penn State) – 1 p.m. CT (BTN)
Game 2 (#11 Rutgers vs. #14 Northwestern) – 25 minutes following Game 1 (BTN)
Thursday, March 2 (Second Round)
Game 3 (#8 Nebraska vs. #9 Michigan State) – 11:30 a.m. CT (BTN)
Game 4 (#5 Michigan vs. Game 1 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 3 (BTN)
Game 5 (#7 Purdue vs. #10 Wisconsin) – 5:30 p.m. CT (BTN)
Game 6 (#6 Illinois vs. Game 2 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 5 (BTN)
Friday, March 3 (Quarterfinals)
Game 7 (#1 Indiana vs. Game 3 winner) – 11:30 a.m. CT (BTN)
Game 8 (#4 Ohio State vs. Game 4 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 7 (BTN)
Game 9 (#2 Iowa vs. Game 5 winner) – 5:30 p.m. CT (BTN)
Game 10 (#3 Maryland vs. Game 6 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 9 (BTN)
Saturday, March 4 (Semifinals)
Game 11 (Game 7 vs. Game 8 winner) – 1:30 p.m. CT (BTN)
Game 12 (Game 9 vs. Game 10 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 11 (BTN)
Sunday, March 5 (Championship)
Game 13 (Game 11 vs. Game 12 winner) – 4 p.m. CT (ESPN)
NOTES: All times are approximate and subject to change … BTN games are also available on the FOX Sports app … ESPN game is also available on the ESPN app … for more information, please visit the tournament web site at bigten.org/WBBT.
