The Big Ten had a perfect first round in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
All eight Big Ten teams who made the Big Dance this year won their first-round games. The Big Ten became the first conference ever to have eight or more wins in the first round of an NCAA Tournament without a single loss.
8-0 start for @B1GMBBall is the most wins without a loss in Round 1 for any conference in NCAA Tourney history
— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) March 22, 2025
The Big Ten tied the SEC for the most first-round wins of any conference in this year’s tournament even though the SEC had six more teams in the field with a record-setting 14.
Michigan was the only Big Ten team who even came close to losing as the Wolverines survived a scare with a 68-65 win over UC San Diego. Each of the Big Ten’s other wins came by double digits as Maryland (81-49 over Grand Canyon), Oregon (81-56 over Liberty), Michigan State (87-62 over Bryant), UCLA (72-47 over Utah State), Wisconsin (85-66 over Montana), Illinois (86-73 over Xavier) and Purdue (75-63 over High Point) all won decisively.
The Big Ten has had a reputation in recent years for struggling in the NCAA Tournament, and it remains to be seen whether any of the conference’s teams can make a run at becoming the Big Ten’s first national champion in 25 years (Michigan State, 2000). But the conference couldn’t have asked for a better start than it got in Round 1.
