| 2018–19 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season | |
| Color: |
|
| Color Text: |
|
| League: | NCAA Division I |
| Sport: | Basketball |
| Pixels: | 150 |
| No Of Teams: | 14 |
| Tv: | Big Ten Network, ESPN, Fox, FS1 CBS |
| Season: | 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season |
| Season Champs: | Michigan State and Purdue |
| Season Champ Name: | Regular season champions (shared) |
| Mvp: | Cassius Winston, Michigan State |
| Mvp Link: | Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year |
| Top Scorer: | Carsen Edwards, Purdue |
| Finals: | Tournament |
| Finals Link: | 2019 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament |
| Finals Champ: | Michigan State |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Michigan |
| Finals Mvp: | Cassius Winston |
| Finals Mvp Link: | Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament#Results by year |
| Seasonslistnames: | Basketball |
| Prevseason Year: | 2017–18 |
| Nextseason Year: | 2019–20 |
The 2018–19 Big Ten men's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 6, 2018. The regular season ended on March 10, 2019.
The 2018–19 season marked the first time in Big Ten history that the teams played a 20-game conference schedule.[1] With a win over Northwestern on March 9, 2019, Purdue won a share of the Big Ten regular season championship, its conference-leading 24th championship.[2] Later that same day, Michigan State defeated Michigan to earn a share of the championship, marking back-to-back championships for the Spartans.[3] Due to tie-breaking rules, Michigan State received the No. 1 seed for the Big Ten tournament.
The Big Ten tournament returned to its more traditional Midwest roots and was held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.[4] The Tournament was held from March 13 through March 19, 2019. Michigan State won the Big Ten tournament championship, defeating Michigan for the third time on the season in the championship game.[5]
Michigan State guard Cassius Winston was named Big Ten Player of the Year.[6] Winston, Ethan Happ and Carsen Edwards were 2019 consensus All-Americans. Purdue coach Matt Painter was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the fourth time and NABC Coach of the Year.
In addition to Michigan State, who received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the conference set a conference record by sending eight teams to the Tournament: Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin, Maryland, Iowa, Minnesota, and Ohio State. Michigan State advanced to the Final Four. The conference also sent two schools to the National Invitation Tournament: Indiana and Nebraska.
Following the season, Romeo Langford (14th overall), headlined a class of 6 Big Ten conference athletes that were drafted in the 2019 NBA draft. Michigan had two players drafted.
There were no coaching changes following the 2017–18 season.
The following are the preseason coaching summaries for all conference teams entering the 114th season of Big Ten Conference men's basketball. The table includes former NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament champion coach Tom Izzo and former Big Ten Conference champion coaches Izzo, John Beilein and Matt Painter. 10 of the 14 coaches have had NCAA tournament appearances at their current school.[7]
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Big Ten record | Big Ten titles | NCAA tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style= | Illinois | Oklahoma State | 2 | 14–18 | 4–14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| style= | Indiana | Archie Miller | Dayton | 2 | 16–15 | 9–9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| style= | Iowa | Fran McCaffery | Siena | 9 | 151–120 | 68–76 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| style= | Maryland | Mark Turgeon | Texas A&M | 8 | 157–81 | 49–30* | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| style= | Michigan | John Beilein | West Virginia | 12 | 248–143 | 111–87 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | |
| style= | Michigan State | Tom Izzo | 24 | 574–225 | 269–122 | 8 | 21 | 7 | 1 | ||
| style= | Minnesota | Florida International | 6 | 90–78 | 31–59 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| style= | Nebraska | Tim Miles | Colorado State | 7 | 97–97 | 46–62 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| style= | Northwestern | Chris Collins | 6 | 88–77 | 36–54 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| style= | Ohio State | Butler | 2 | 25–9 | 15–3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| style= | Penn State | Pat Chambers | Boston University | 8 | 113–122 | 38–87 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| style= | Purdue | Matt Painter | 14 | 295–149 | 142–88 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | ||
| style= | Rutgers | Steve Pikiell | Stony Brook | 3 | 30–37 | 6–30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| style= | Wisconsin | Greg Gard | 4 | 57–36 | 31–23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Big Ten players received significant preseason accolades. Carsen Edwards was named Preseason National Player of the Year by the Associated Press (AP) and Ethan Happ joined him on the preseason AP All-American team.[9]
Prior to the conference's annual media day, unofficial awards and a preseason poll were chosen by a panel of 28 writers, two for each team in the conference. Michigan State was the consensus preseason selection to win the conference, receiving 22 of 28 first place votes.[10]
| Rank | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan State (22) | ||
| 2 | Michigan (4) | ||
| 3 | Indiana (1) | ||
| 4 | Nebraska | ||
| 5 | Purdue (1) | ||
| 6 | Wisconsin | ||
| 7 | Maryland | ||
| 8 | Ohio State | ||
| 9 | Minnesota | ||
| 10 | Iowa | ||
| 11 | Penn State | ||
| 12 | Northwestern | ||
| 13 | Illinois | ||
| 14 | Rutgers | ||
| (first place votes) | |||
On October 11, 2018, a panel of conference media selected a 10-member preseason All-Big Ten Team and Player of the Year. Junior Edwards who had averaged 18.5 points and tallied 97 three point shots as a sophomore was selected as player of the year. He and Happ were unanimous selections by the Big Ten Conference basketball media to the Preseason All-Big Ten team. Indiana and Michigan State each had two preseason All-Big Ten selections.[11] [12]
| Honor | Recipient | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Preseason Player of the Year | Carsen Edwards
| ||
| Preseason All-Big Ten Team | Carsen Edwards, Purdue | ||
Ethan Happ
| |||
| Romeo Langford, Indiana | |||
| Juwan Morgan, Indiana | |||
| Anthony Cowan Jr., Maryland | |||
| Charles Matthews, Michigan | |||
| Nick Ward, Michigan State | |||
| Cassius Winston, Michigan State | |||
| Jordan Murphy, Minnesota | |||
| James Palmer Jr., Nebraska | |||
| |||
Several Big Ten players were selected to notable preseason watchlists.[9] Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
| Wooden | Naismith | Robertson | Cousy | West | Erving | Malone | Abdul-Jabbar | Olson | Tisdale | Notes | ||
| Carsen Edwards, Purdue | [13] [14] [15] | |||||||||||
| Ethan Happ, Wisconsin | [16] | |||||||||||
| Romeo Langford, Indiana | [17] | |||||||||||
| Charles Matthews, Michigan | ||||||||||||
| Juwan Morgan, Indiana | [18] | |||||||||||
| Jordan Murphy, Minnesota | ||||||||||||
| James Palmer Jr., Nebraska | ||||||||||||
| Jalen Smith, Maryland | ||||||||||||
| Lamar Stevens, Penn State | [19] | |||||||||||
| Nick Ward, Michigan State | ||||||||||||
| Aaron Wiggins, Maryland | ||||||||||||
| Cassius Winston, Michigan State |
| Sporting News[20] | AP | Athlon Sports[21] | Bleacher Report | Blue Ribbon Yearbook[22] | CBS Sports[23] | Coaches | ESPN | Lindy's Sports[24] | NBC Sports[25] | SBNation[26] | Sports Illustrated[27] | USBWA | ||
| Illinois | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 23 | 25 | 25 | |||||||||||
| Iowa | ||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 21 | |||||||||||||
| Michigan | 10 | 19 | 24 | 23 | 17 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 21 | 18 | ||||
| Michigan State | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 10 | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 25 | 25 | ||||||||||||
| Northwestern | ||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | ||||||||||||||
| Penn State | ||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 24 | 19 | 22 | 17 | 22 | 20 | ||||||||
| Rutgers | ||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin |
| Date | Time | ACC team | B1G team | Score | Location | Television | Attendance | Challenge leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 26 | 7:00 pm | 68–66 | 6,974 | B1G (1–0) | |||||
| 9:00 pm | 68–56 | ESPN2 | 4,389 | Tied (1–1) | |||||
| Nov 27 | 7:00 pm | 76–74 | 8,053 | ACC (2–1) | |||||
| 7:00 pm | 63–62 | ESPN2 | 8,373 | Tied (2–2) | |||||
| 7:30 pm | 82–78 OT | ESPN | 15,477 | ACC (3–2) | |||||
| 9:00 pm | NC State | 79–75 | ESPN2 | 17,012 | Tied (3–3) | ||||
| 9:00 pm | 69–68 | ESPNU | 10,158 | B1G (4–3) | |||||
| 9:30 pm | 90–69 | ESPN | 9,314 | Tied (4–4) | |||||
| Nov 28 | 7:00 pm | 57–54 | ESPNU | 6,376 | B1G (5–4) | ||||
| 7:00 pm | 72–62 | ESPN2 | 16,962 | Tied (5–5) | |||||
| 7:30 pm | No. 4 Virginia | 76–71 | ESPN | 17,950 | ACC (6–5) | ||||
| 9:15 pm | No. 15 Florida State | 73–72 | ESPN2 | 9,978 | ACC (7–5) | ||||
| 9:15 pm | 67–61 | ESPNU | 6,378 | ACC (7–6) | |||||
| 9:30 pm | 84–67 | ESPN | 12,707 | Tied (7–7) | |||||
| Winners are in bold Game times in EST Wake Forest did not play due to the ACC having one more team than the B1G. | |||||||||
| Date | Time | Big East team | Big Ten team | Score | Location | Television | Attendance | Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue., Nov. 13 | Xavier | Wisconsin | 77–68 | Cintas Center • Cincinnati, OH | 10,312 | ||||
| Georgetown | Illinois | 88–80 | State Farm Center • Champaign, IL | FS1 | 14,656 | Tied (1–1) | |||
| No. 18 Michigan | 73–46 | FS1 | 6,501 | Big Ten (2–1) | |||||
| Nebraska | 80–57 | 15,713 | Big Ten (3–1) | ||||||
| 96–73 | FS1 | 17,222 | Big Ten (4–1) | ||||||
| Thu., Nov. 15 | 69–60 | FS1 | 17,146 | Big Ten (5–1) | |||||
| FS1 | 3,926 | Big Ten (5–2) | |||||||
| Fri., Nov. 16 | 84–65 | BTN | 7,102 | Big Ten (5–3) | |||||
| WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll (Nov 12). Did not participate: Butler; Providence (Big East); Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue (Big Ten) | |||||||||
See also: 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.
Weekly sourced rankings can be found at the above article. Several Big Ten teams were among the preseason ranked teams in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. Michigan State, Michigan, Purdue and Nebraska were ranked in at least one poll, while Indiana, Maryland and Wisconsin also received votes.[28] [29] After the regular season Michigan State, Michigan (both top 10), Purdue and Wisconsin were in the AP Poll.[30] After the season the final Coaches Poll was published they continued to be ranked as was Maryland and Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio State received votes.[31]
| Improvement in ranking | ||
| Drop in ranking | ||
| Not ranked previous week | ||
| align=center style="width:20px; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; background:white;" | RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll |
| (Italics) | Number of first place votes |
| Pre/ Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Wk 20 | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25T | 22 | 23 | 21 | 22 | 25 | ||||||||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 22 | 24 | 25 | RV | |||||||||||
| Iowa | AP | 20 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 24 | RV | 23 | 19 | RV | 20 | 21 | 21 | 22 | n/a | |||||
| C | 22 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 24 | 21 | 20T | 25 | 24 | 21 | 25 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 21 | RV | RV | |||||
| Maryland | AP | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | 19 | 13 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 17 | 24 | 21 | RV | n/a | ||
| C | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 23 | 24 | RV | 22 | 16 | 24 | RV | 25 | 25T | 20 | 24 | 21 | RV | 22 | ||||
| Michigan | AP | 19 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5(1) | 4(1) | 2(9) | 2(9) | 2(9) | 2(9) | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 8 | n/a |
| C | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5(1) | 5(3) | 5(3) | 4(4) | 4(4) | 4(6) | 4(6) | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 11 | ||
| Michigan State | AP | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 (2) | 6 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 5 | n/a |
| C | 10 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 3 | ||
| Minnesota | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | n/a | ||||||||||||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | RV | 25 | RV | 24 | RV | RV | RV | RV | ||||||||
| C | 25 | 24 | RV | 25 | 25 | 22 | 23 | 23T | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||
| Northwestern | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | AP | RV | 23 | 16 | 19 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 16 | RV | n/a | ||||||||||
| C | 23 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 17 | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||
| Penn State | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | AP | 24 | 23 | 24 | 16 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 17 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 13 | n/a |
| C | 22 | 19 | 16 | 24 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 18 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 8 | ||||
| Rutgers | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | AP | RV | RV | 25 | 22 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 21 | n/a |
| C | RV | RV | 22 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 23T | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 18 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 24 |
Throughout the conference regular season, the Big Ten offices named one or two players of the week and one or two freshmen of the week each Monday. On December 18, Juwan Morgan earned United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week recognition.[32]
11 of the 14 Big Ten teams participated in early season tournaments. Each team's finish is noted below. Indiana, Ohio State, and Rutgers did not participate in a tournament.[51] Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, and Wisconsin participated in the Gavitt Tip-Off Games against Big East Conference teams for a fourth consecutive year. The result was a 5 - 3 victory for the Big Ten.[52] [53] All Big Ten teams also participated in the ACC–Big Ten Challenge against Atlantic Coast Conference teams, the 20th year for the event. The 2018 results were a 7 - 7 tie.[54]
| Team | Tournament | Finish | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | Maui Invitational | 8th | |
| Iowa | 2K Sports Classic | 1st | |
| Maryland | Veterans Classic[55] | 1–0 | |
| Michigan | Hall of Fame Tip-Off | 1st | |
| Michigan State | 1st | ||
| Minnesota | Vancouver Showcase | 3–0 | |
| Nebraska | CBE Hall of Fame Classic | 2nd | |
| Northwestern | Wooden Legacy | 5th | |
| Purdue | Charleston Classic | 2nd | |
| Penn State | Cancún Challenge | 2nd | |
| Wisconsin | Battle 4 Atlantis | 2nd |
| Date | Time | ACC team | B1G team | Score | Location | Television | Attendance | Challenge leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 26 | 7:00 pm | 68–66 | 6,974 | B1G (1–0) | |||||
| 9:00 pm | 68–56 | ESPN2 | 4,389 | Tied (1–1) | |||||
| Nov 27 | 7:00 pm | 76–74 | 8,053 | ACC (2–1) | |||||
| 7:00 pm | 63–62 | ESPN2 | 8,373 | Tied (2–2) | |||||
| 7:30 pm | 82–78 OT | ESPN | 15,477 | ACC (3–2) | |||||
| 9:00 pm | NC State | 79–75 | ESPN2 | 17,012 | Tied (3–3) | ||||
| 9:00 pm | 69–68 | ESPNU | 10,158 | B1G (4–3) | |||||
| 9:30 pm | 90–69 | ESPN | 9,314 | Tied (4–4) | |||||
| Nov 28 | 7:00 pm | 57–54 | ESPNU | 6,376 | B1G (5–4) | ||||
| 7:00 pm | 72–62 | ESPN2 | 16,962 | Tied (5–5) | |||||
| 7:30 pm | No. 4 Virginia | 76–71 | ESPN | 17,950 | ACC (6–5) | ||||
| 9:15 pm | No. 15 Florida State | 73–72 | ESPN2 | 9,978 | ACC (7–5) | ||||
| 9:15 pm | 67–61 | ESPNU | 6,378 | ACC (7–6) | |||||
| 9:30 pm | 84–67 | ESPN | 12,707 | Tied (7–7) | |||||
| Winners Are In Bold Game times in EST Wake Forest did not play due to the ACC having one more team than the B1G. | |||||||||
| Date | Time | Big East team | Big Ten team | Score | Location | Television | Attendance | Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue., Nov. 13 | Xavier | Wisconsin | 77–68 | Cintas Center • Cincinnati, OH | 10,312 | ||||
| Georgetown | Illinois | 88–80 | State Farm Center • Champaign, IL | FS1 | 14,656 | Tied (1–1) | |||
| No. 18 Michigan | 73–46 | FS1 | 6,501 | Big Ten (2–1) | |||||
| Nebraska | 80–57 | 15,713 | Big Ten (3–1) | ||||||
| 96–73 | FS1 | 17,222 | Big Ten (4–1) | ||||||
| Thu., Nov. 15 | 69–60 | FS1 | 17,146 | Big Ten (5–1) | |||||
| FS1 | 3,926 | Big Ten (5–2) | |||||||
| Fri., Nov. 16 | 84–65 | BTN | 7,102 | Big Ten (5–3) | |||||
| Winners Are In Bold. Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll (Nov 12). Did not participate: Butler; Providence (Big East); Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue (Big Ten) | |||||||||
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team will play 20 conference games, and at least one game against each opponent. The 2018–19 season marked the first time in Big Ten history that the teams played a 20-game conference schedule.[56] The new schedule included a regional component to increase the frequency of games among teams in similar areas. Over the course of a six-year cycle (12 playing opportunities), in-state rivals will play each other 12 times, regional opponents will play 10 times, and all other teams will play nine times. Three in-state series will be guaranteed home-and-homes: Illinois and Northwestern, Indiana and Purdue, and Michigan and Michigan State will always play twice.[57] The conference opponent list was released on April 19, 2018.[58]
| Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Maryland | Michigan | Michigan St | Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern | Ohio St | Penn St | Purdue | Rutgers | Wisconsin | ||
| vs. Illinois | – | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Indiana | 0–2 | – | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | |
| vs. Iowa | 0–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| vs. Maryland | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | |
| vs. Michigan | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | |
| vs. Michigan St | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | – | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | |
| vs. Minnesota | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | – | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | |
| vs. Nebraska | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| vs. Northwestern | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| vs. Ohio State | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | |
| vs. Penn State | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| vs. Purdue | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | |
| vs. Rutgers | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | – | 1–0 | |
| vs. Wisconsin | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | – | |
| Total | 7–13 | 8–12 | 10–10 | 13–7 | 15–5 | 16–4 | 9–11 | 6–14 | 4–16 | 8–12 | 7–13 | 16–4 | 7–13 | 14–6 |
The Big Ten led the nation in average attendance with 12,691 patrons, outpacing the SEC (11,527), ACC (10,912), Big 12 (10,170) and Big East (9,999). Of the 351 schools that host Division I basketball competition, Wisconsin (5th, 17,170), Nebraska (10th, 15,341), Indian (12th, 15,206), Michigan State (13th, 14,797), Purdue (14th, 14,467), Maryland (18th, 14,009), Ohio State (19th, 13,922), Iowa (23rd, 12,869), Michigan (24th, 12,505), and Illinois (25th, 12,456) were all among the top 25 in attendance.[59] It marked the 43rd consecutive season that the Big Ten has led the nation in attendance.[60]
On March 11, 2019, the Big Ten announced most of its conference awards, with separate slates of awards from the media and the coaches.[6] Cassius Winston was selected as Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year. Winston and Carsen Edwards were unanimous first team All-Big Ten selections by both the coaches and the media. Purdue coach Matt Painter was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the fourth time, which tied him for third most in conference history behind Gene Keady and Bobby Knight, with 7 and 5, respectively.
| Honor | Coaches | Media | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Cassius Winston, Michigan State | Cassius Winston, Michigan State | |
| Coach of the Year | Matt Painter, Purdue | Matt Painter, Purdue | |
| Freshman of the Year | Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan | Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan | |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Josh Reaves, Penn State | align=center | Not Selected |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Xavier Tillman, Michigan State | align=center | Not Selected |
| All-Big Ten First Team | Carsen Edwards, Purdue | Carsen Edwards, Purdue | |
| Bruno Fernando, Maryland | Bruno Fernando, Maryland | ||
| Ethan Happ, Wisconsin | Ethan Happ, Wisconsin | ||
| Lamar Stevens, Penn State | Jordan Murphy, Minnesota | ||
| Cassius Winston, Michigan State | Cassius Winston, Michigan State | ||
| All-Big Ten Second Team | Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan | Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan | |
| Anthony Cowan Jr., Maryland | Tyler Cook, Iowa | ||
| Romeo Langford, Indiana | Anthony Cowan Jr., Maryland | ||
| Jordan Murphy, Minnesota | Zavier Simpson, Michigan | ||
| Zavier Simpson, Michigan | Lamar Stevens, Penn State | ||
| All-Big Ten Third Team | Jordan Bohannon, Iowa | Amir Coffey, Minnesota | |
| Amir Coffey, Minnesota | Romeo Langford, Indiana | ||
| Tyler Cook, Iowa | Juwan Morgan, Indiana | ||
| James Palmer Jr., Nebraska | James Palmer Jr., Nebraska | ||
| Nick Ward, Michigan State | Nick Ward, Michigan State | ||
| All-Big Ten Honorable Mention | Geo Baker, Rutgers | Geo Baker, Rutgers | |
| Ryan Cline, Purdue | Jordan Bohannon, Iowa | ||
| Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois | Ryan Cline, Purdue | ||
| Kenny Goins, Michigan State | Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois | ||
| Matt McQuaid, Michigan State | Trent Frazier, Illinois | ||
| Juwan Morgan, Indiana | Luka Garza, Iowa | ||
| Dererk Pardon, Northwestern | Kenny Goins, Michigan State | ||
| Jordan Poole, Michigan | Matt Haarms, Purdue | ||
| Jon Teske, Michigan | Vic Law, Northwestern | ||
| Kaleb Wesson, Ohio State | Matt McQuaid, Michigan State | ||
| Not Selected | Charles Matthews, Michigan | ||
| Eugene Omoruyi, Rutgers | |||
| Dererk Pardon, Northwestern | |||
| Jordan Poole, Michigan | |||
| Josh Reaves, Penn State | |||
| Jon Teske, Michigan | |||
| D'Mitrik Trice, Wisconsin | |||
| Kaleb Wesson, Ohio State | |||
| All-Freshman Team | Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan | Not Selected | |
| Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois | |||
| Romeo Langford, Indiana | |||
| Jalen Smith, Maryland | |||
| Joe Wieskamp, Iowa | |||
| All-Defensive Team | Nojel Eastern, Purdue | Not Selected | |
| Bruno Fernando, Maryland | |||
| Matt McQuaid, Michigan State | |||
| Josh Reaves, Penn State | |||
| Zavier Simpson, Michigan |
On March 12, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association released its 2018–19 Men's All-District Teams, based upon voting from its national membership. There were nine regions from coast to coast, and a player and coach of the year were selected in each. The following lists all the Big Ten representatives selected within their respective regions.[61]
District II (NY, NJ, DE, DC, PA, WV)
District V (OH, IN, IL, MI, MN, WI)
Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-District Team
District VI (IA, MO, KS, OK, NE, ND, SD)
The National Association of Basketball Coaches announced their Division I All-District teams on March 21, recognizing the nation's best men's collegiate basketball student-athletes. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, the selections on this list were then eligible for NABC Coaches' All-America Honors. The following list represented the District 7 players chosen to the list.[62]
Happ, Edwards and Winston were 2019 consensus All-Americans (second team).[63] Brazdeikis was an Associated Press All-American honorable mention selection.[64] Matt Painter was named NABC Coach of the Year.[65]
See main article: 2019 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament. Michigan State emerged as the champion of the 2019 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament by defeating in-state rival Michigan 65 - 60 in the championship game.[66] As the top seed,[67] [68] their path included a double bye and victories over Ohio State and Wisconsin.[69]
* denotes overtime period
See main article: 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
The winner of the Big Ten tournament, Michigan State, received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Eight Big Ten teams received bids to the NCAA tournament, the most of any conference in the tournament and the most in the conference's history.[70] [71] Seven teams reaching the round of 32 established another conference record.[72] Michigan State reached the final four for the 10th time.[73] In the postseason, the Big Ten had a 13 - 8 record in the NCAA tournament.[72]
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First Round | Second Round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | East | Michigan State | N/A | defeated (15) Bradley 76–65 | defeated (10) Minnesota 70–50 | defeated (3) LSU 80–63 | defeated (1) Duke 68–67 | lost to (3 W) Texas Tech 51–61 | ||
| 2 | West | Michigan | N/A | defeated (15) Montana 74–55 | defeated (10) Florida 64–49 | lost to (3) Texas Tech 44–63 | ||||
| 3 | South | Purdue | N/A | defeated (14) Old Dominion 61–48 | defeated (6) Villanova 87–61 | defeated (2) Tennessee 99–94OT | lost to (1) Virginia 75–80OT | |||
| 5 | South | Wisconsin | N/A | lost to (12) Oregon 54–72 | ||||||
| 6 | East | Maryland | N/A | defeated (11) Belmont 79–77 | lost to (3) LSU 67–69 | |||||
| 10 | East | Minnesota | N/A | defeated (7) Louisville 86–76 | lost to (2) Michigan State 50–70 | |||||
| 10 | South | Iowa | N/A | defeated (7) Cincinnati 79–72 | lost to (2) Tennessee 77–83OT | |||||
| 11 | Midwest | Ohio State | N/A | defeated (6) Iowa State 20–14 | lost to (3) Houston 59–74 | |||||
| W–L (%): | Total: |
See main article: 2019 National Invitation Tournament. Two Big Ten teams received invitations to the National Invitation Tournament.[74] The conference had a 3 - 2 record in the NIT tournament.[72]
| Seed | Bracket | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indiana | Indiana | defeated (8) Saint Francis (PA) 89–72 | defeated (5) Arkansas 63–60 | lost to (6) Wichita State 63–73 | |||
| 4 | TCU | Nebraska | defeated (5) Butler 80–76 | lost to (1) TCU 72–88 | ||||
| W–L (%): | Total: |
See main article: 2019 NBA draft. Six players were drafted from Big Ten teams during the 2019 NBA draft. Two players were drafted from Michigan and two were drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers.[75]
| Round | Pick | Overall | Player | NBA Club | B1G team | |
| 1 | 14 | 14 | Boston Celtics(from Sacramento via Philadelphia) | Indiana | ||
| 1 | 28 | 28 | Michigan | |||
| 2 | 3 | 33 | Philadelphia 76ers(from Cleveland via New York and Orlando; traded to Boston) | Purdue | ||
| 2 | 4 | 34 | Philadelphia 76ers (from Chicago via L.A. Lakers; traded to Atlanta) | Maryland | ||
| 2 | 15 | 45 | Detroit Pistons(from Detroit via Oklahoma City and Boston; traded to Dallas) | Nebraska | ||
| 2 | 17 | 47 | Sacramento Kings(from Orlando via New York; traded to New York) | Michigan |
Prior to the day of the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of draft picks between the teams below.
Draft-day trades were made on June 20, 2019, the day of the draft.
The following trades were reportedly agreed prior to and on the day of the draft and were completed at a later date. Due to salary cap reasons, most of these trades were officially announced on July 6, after the NBA moratorium period ended.
Following the season, Fred Hoiberg was named coach of Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball where his grandfather, Jerry Bush, had coached for nine years and in Lincoln, Nebraska where he was born.[76] Following the season, Juwan Howard was named coach of Michigan Wolverines men's basketball where he had been an All-American in 1994 as a player.[77]