1 seed has won the tournament ten times, the most of any seed.

In 2000, champion Michigan State won the NCAA tournament. On seven occasions, the champion of the tournament has gone on to reach the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament ( Michigan State in 1999, 2000, and 2019, Illinois in 2005, Ohio State in 2007, Wisconsin in 2015, and Michigan in 2018). The finals of the tournament are typically held immediately before the field for the NCAA Tournament is announced, although in 2018 it was held the week before Selection Sunday. The Big Ten was one of the last NCAA Division I college basketball conferences to start a tournament. The winner of the tournament is designated the Big Ten Tournament Champion, and receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The tournament has been played each year since 1998.

The Big Ten men's basketball tournament is held annually at the end of the men's college basketball regular season. College basketball tournament Big Ten men's basketball tournamentīig Ten Network (second and third rounds)