2026 NCAA tournament: Previewing Big Ten Elite Eight matchups

Illinois freshman guard Keaton Wagler.

Nine Big Ten programs made the NCAA tournament this season, including regular-season champion Michigan and tournament champion Purdue.

After the first weekend of March Madness, Ohio State, Wisconsin and UCLA were eliminated, leaving six programs entering Thursday and Friday’s Sweet Sixteen games.

Four Big Ten teams now remain in the Elite Eight after Nebraska was eliminated on Thursday and Michigan State fell on Friday.

Iowa beat Nebraska on Thursday, Purdue beat Texas and Illinois beat Houston to advance to the Elite Eight. On Friday, Michigan beat Alabama while Michigan State fell to UConn.

Here’s a look at the matchups involving Big Ten programs in the NCAA tournament Elite Eight:

No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 9 Iowa (Houston, Saturday, 6:09 p.m., TBS/TruTV)

For the second straight game, Iowa will play a Big Ten team. The Hawkeyes, who upset Florida in the round of 32 to reach the Sweet Sixteen, beat Nebraska on Thursday night to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987. Up next for Iowa is a shot at the No. 3 seed Fighting Illini with a trip to the Final Four in Indianapolis on the line.

This will be the second meeting of the season between Illinois and Iowa. The Fighting Illini won the first matchup 75-69 on January 11 in Iowa City. Illinois enters Saturday’s game as the favorite after beating Houston 65-55 on Thursday. It was a lockdown defensive effort by Illinois, which held the Cougars to just 40.6 percent shooting on 2s and .94 points per possession. The Fighting Illini did an excellent job of forcing Houston into tough jump shots, which they will need to repeat against Iowa.

This NCAA tournament run has proven that Iowa can play with anyone in the country and that Bennett Stirtz is one of the best guards in the country, but Illinois has more weapons and more size than the Hawkeyes. Expect a grind-it-out contest that Illinois should win, thanks to its rim protection and an elite offense capable of putting up points in a hurry.

KenPom: Illinois 76, Iowa 69
DraftKings: Illinois -7.5

No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 2 Purdue (San Jose, Saturday, 8:49 p.m., TBS/TruTV)

The betting favorite to win the national championship, the Wildcats cruised into the Elite Eight with a 109-88 beatdown of Arkansas on Friday night. Purdue, meanwhile, needed a tip-in from Trey Kaufman-Renn to get past No. 11 seed Texas in the closing seconds of a 79-77 victory.

Arizona has been the nation’s most complete team, ranking No. 4 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 3 in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com. The Wildcats punish teams inside with one of the nation’s best free-throw rates and a relentless approach on the offensive glass. As great as Purdue has been late this season, the Boilermakers aren’t an elite defensive team, which will be a problem against an Arizona offense that creates mismatches all over the floor.

The matchup between Braden Smith and Brayden Burries will be fun to watch, but Purdue is going to have to hold its own in the frontcourt and in the paint to have a chance at the upset. A win would advance the Boilermakers to a Final Four being held less than 100 miles from its campus, but this feels like the year that Tommy Lloyd finally breaks through.

KenPom: Arizona 80, Purdue 76
DraftKings: Arizona -6.5

No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 6 Tennessee (Chicago, Sunday, 2:15 p.m., CBS)

Tennessee is the last SEC team left standing in the field after it knocked off Iowa State 76-62 on Friday night. The Cyclones were without their best player, Joshua Jefferson, for a second straight game. This is Tennessee’s third straight Elite Eight appearance.

Michigan, meanwhile, trailed Alabama by two at halftime before crushing the Crimson Tide over the final 20 minutes in a comfortable 90-77 win. The Wolverines, one of the three best teams in the country all season, are now just 40 minutes away from a Final Four under Dusty May, who is in his second season in Ann Arbor.

Tennessee beat Iowa State on the strength of its frontcourt as Jaylen Carey and Felix Okpara were simply too much for the Cyclones to handle down low. That won’t be the case against Michigan, which has the nation’s most formidable frontcourt with Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg. The Volunteers have two players who can take over offensively: Ja’Kobi Gillespie and freshman star Nate Ament and both will need to play well to pull off the upset on Sunday afternoon.

The key for the Wolverines will be to limit Tennessee’s second-chance opportunities. The Volunteers are the nation’s best offensive rebounding team and don’t generate much offense from 3-pointers. That’s not a recipe for success against a Michigan team with the fourth-best 2-point field goal percentage defense in the country.

KenPom: Michigan 77, Tennessee 70
DraftKings: Michigan -7.5

(Photo credit: Illinois Athletics)

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