Top Seed UCLA Dominates #2 Seed Iowa to Repeat as Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Champions The Top Seed UCLA Bruins dominated the #2 Seed Iowa Hawkeyes 96-45 Sunday Afternoon in the Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. UCLA has won Back-to-Back Championships and will receive the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins are 31-1 and will be one of the number 1 seeds when the NCAA Tournament Field of 68 is announced next Sunday Night at 8 PM on ESPN. Iowa is 26-6 and was playing in the Big Ten Championship for the 9th time and the 5th time since 2021. UCLA is first team to repeat since Iowa did it three straight times form 2022-2024. There have been 10 teams winning back-to-back Big Ten Tournament Championships with Penn State in 1995-96, Purdue 1998-1999, Purdue 2003-04 and 2007-08, Ohio State 2010-11, Purdue 2013-14, Maryland 2015-17 and 2020-21.
UCLA’s Kiki Rice was named the tournament’s most outstanding player as she becomes the second Bruin to win the award with Lauren Betts winning the award a season ago. Betts was looking to become the fourth player in Big Ten Tournament History to win the most outstanding player award joining Shereka Wright of Purdue in 2003-04, Jantel Lavender of Ohio State in 2009-11 and Caitlin Clark of Iowa who did it three times from 2022-24. Rice along with Lauren Betts of UCLA, Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke of Iowa and Chance Gray of Ohio State were named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team as voted on by Media. The Bruins dominated start to finish setting the record for the largest margin of victory in a Big Ten Championship game winning by 51 points. The Burins set a championship game record with 34 assists on 40 field goals and scored the third most points in championship game history behind Maryland’s 104 points in 2021 and Iowa’s 105 points in 2023. UCLA has been a force since arriving in the Big Ten since the start of 2024-25 season going 34-2 in the Regular Season with both losses to crosstown rival USC last year and 6-0 in the Big Ten Tournament and taking back-to-back Titles.
Taylor Stremlow’s triple gave Iowa a 3-0 lead 56 seconds into the game. Kiki Rice scored the next two baskets to give UCLA a 4-3 lead with 7:30 left in the first quarter as the Bruins did not trail for the rest of the game. UCLA outscored Iowa 18-2, the rest of the quarter of a 22-5 lead after ten minutes. UCLA outscored Iowa 22-15 in the second quarter as the Bruins led 42-20 at halftime. UCLA outscored Iowa 54-25 in the second half. UCLA led 67-36 after the third quarter as the Bruins outscored the Hawkeyes 25-16 in the period and closed out the fourth quarter with a 29-9 run as UCLA hit their last nine shots from the field and missed their last six shots and did not hit a field goal for the last 2:41. Gianna Kneepkens scored 19 Points led the Bruins along 15 points from Kiki Rice. Sienna Betts scored14 Points, Gabriela Jaquez added 12 Points along with 11 points from Charlise Ledger Walker and Lauren Betts had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Ava Heiden led Iowa with 15 Points and Addie Deal scored 11 Points for the Hawkeyes. UCLA beat USC 72-67 a season ago and now they leave Indianapolis with back-to-back championships and head back to Los Angeles to get ready for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
This was 27th time that Indianapolis hosted the Big Ten Tournament in 3 different venues. Hinkle Fieldhouse 1995-96, RCA Dome 1997-99, Conseco Fieldhouse 2000 and 2002-11 Bankers Life Fieldhouse 2012, 2014 and 2016-21 and Gainbridge Fieldhouse 2022 and 2025-26 which is all the same budling with different names throughout the years. Five times the tournament has been held outside of Indianapolis. Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids Michigan hosted in 2001, Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois in 2013 and 2015 and the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2023 and 2024. Next Year the Big Ten Tournament heads to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Nevada and the following year it will be in Detroit, Michigan at Little Caesars Arena in 2028.
Three Indiana University Wrestlers Clinch NCAA Tournament Bids on Day 1 of the Big Ten Championships After a full day of wrestling on Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center, Indiana has clinched three NCAA qualifiers with much more to wrestle for heading into tomorrow. The Hoosiers wrestled through the semifinals of the championship bracket, reaching the consolation semifinals and one round of 9th place bracket matches on Saturday evening. After today’s action, six Hoosiers will continue wrestling tomorrow. No. 4 Seed Jacob Moran (125) clinched his second career bid to the National Tournament in Cleveland earlier today in Session I. His 2-0 start in the tournament pitted him against No. 1 Seed Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) where Lilledahl won by major decision, 11-3. Moran is now in the consolation semifinals and will wrestle in that round tomorrow morning.
Following Session I, No. 11 Seed Bryce Lowery (157) and No. 8 Seed Gabe Sollars (197) were on the backside of the bracket with more work to do. And they did just that winning both of their consolation matches in Session II to reach the consolation semifinals and also clinch their bids to the NCAA Championships. Lowery defeated No. 12 Seed Darius Marines (Michigan State) in a 5-4 decision to punch his first career ticket to NCAAs before he majored No. 8 Luke Mechler (Wisconsin), 9-1, to advance again. In Sollars’ two wins in the wrestlebacks, he did not give up a takedown. He defeated No. 10 Seed Hayden Walters (Michigan) by decision, 6-1, to earn his second career NCAA spot. To reach the consolation semifinals, he defeated No. 4 Seed Branson John (Maryland) in a 2-1 decision where Sollars rode John out the entire second period.
Each member of the three qualifiers could finish as high as third place, but no lower than sixth place at their weight class. In addition to the group wrestling for their podium spot, No. 9 Seed Tyler Lillard (165), No. 6 Seed Derek Gilcher and No. 9 Seed Sam Goin (184) all will wrestle tomorrow. None will be on the podium, but they will compete in the extra ninth place brackets. There is an NCAA bid available at 165 lbs. for the wrestler that finishes in ninth place while the 174 lbs. bracket has bids available for the ninth and tenth place finishers. There are only eight spots at 184 lbs. and the extra ninth place bracket does not guarantee an NCAA bid to its winner. The action will resume tomorrow at noon for Session III which will feature the consolation semifinals and the seventh-place matches. Session IV will be at 4:30 p.m. and include the placing matches for all spots outside of seventh place and extra bracket bouts.
TEAM SCORES (THROUGH SESSION II)
1. Penn State (146.5)
T-2. Nebraska (112)
T-2. Ohio State (112)
4. Iowa (70)
T-5. Illinois (69.5)
T-5. Minnesota (69.5)
7. Michigan (68.5)
8. Rutgers (56.5)
9. Wisconsin (43.5)
10. Indiana (33.0)
11. Maryland (28.0)
12. Purdue (23.0)
13. Northwestern (14.5)
14. Michigan State (10.5)
2026 TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament Backet is Released The Big Ten Conference has announced the full bracket for the 2026 TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, set to take place March 10-15 at the United Center in Chicago. All seating for the 29th edition of the tournament is reserved. Fan can purchase all-session and single session at the United Center box office or online at Ticketmaster.com . All ticket packages are subject to Ticketmaster and facility fees. For more information on this year’s tournament, visit the Big Ten Tournament Central page at bigten.org/MBBT . All 17 games of this year’s Big Ten Tournament will be broadcast live, with Tuesday’s first round broadcast on Peacock. Wednesday’s first session will also air on Peacock, with Big Ten Network airing the day’s second session. Big Ten Network will also broadcast all eight third round and quarterfinal games on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The Big Ten Tournament semifinal and championship games will be televised live on CBS and the Paramount+ app.
Michigan (29-2, 19-1 Big Ten) earned the No. 1 seed and the program’s 16th Big Ten regular season title. The Wolverines are looking to become the first back-to-back Big Ten Tournament winners since they did it in 2017 and 2018. Nebraska (26-5, 15-5 Big Ten) earned the No. 2 seed. This is the second top three Big Ten finish in the last three years, the first time that has happened for the Huskers in the Big Ten era and first the first time since the early 1990s (1990-91, 3rd; 1992-93, t-2nd). Michigan State (25-6, 15-5 Big Ten) claimed the No. 3 seed. The Spartans are led by its four captains, Carson Cooper, Jaxon Kohler, Coen Carr, and Jeremy Fears Jr., who have combined for 64.2% of the team’s scoring (1,567 of 2,442 points) and average nearly 50 points, 24 rebounds and 13 assists per game. Illinois (24-7, 15-5 Big Ten) secured the No. 4 seed after posting 15 conference wins to tie the 2022 Illinois squad for second most league wins in program history, one shy of the team mark set in 2021. It’s 24 wins are also the most during the regular season in program history. Each of the tournament’s top four seeds have earned triple-byes and will open tournament play in Friday’s quarterfinal round.
The 2026 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, March 10 (First Round)
Game 1 (#17 Maryland vs. #16 Oregon) – 4 p.m. CT (Peacock)
Game 2 (#18 Penn State vs. #15 Northwestern) – 25 minutes following Game 1 (Peacock)
Wednesday, March 11 (Second Round)
Game 3 (#9 Iowa vs. Game 3 winner) – 11 a.m. CT (Peacock)
Game 4 (#12 Washington vs. #13 USC) – 25 minutes following Game 3 (Peacock)
Game 5 (#10 Indiana vs Game 2 winner) – 5:30 p.m. CT (BTN)
Game 6 (#11 Minnesota vs. #14 Rutgers) – 25 minutes following Game 5 (BTN)
Thursday, March 12 (Third Round)
Game 7 (#8 Ohio State vs. Game 3 winner) – 11 a.m. CT (BTN)
Game 8 (#5 Wisconsin vs. Game 4 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 7 (BTN)
Game 9 (#7 Purdue vs. Game 5 winner)– 5:30 p.m. CT (BTN)
Game 10 (#6 UCLA vs. Game 6 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 9 (BTN)
Friday, March 13 (Quarterfinals)
Game 11 (#1 Michigan vs. Game 7 winner) – 11 a.m. CT (BTN)
Game 12 (#4 Illinois vs. Game 8 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 11 (BTN)
Game 13 (#2 Nebraska vs. Game 9 winner) – 5:30 p.m. CT (BTN)
Game 14 (#3 Michigan State vs. Game 10 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 13 (BTN)
Saturday, March 14 (Semifinals)
Game 15 (Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner) – 12 p.m. CT (CBS)
Game 16 (Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner) – 25 minutes following Game 15 (CBS)
Sunday, March 15 (Championship)
Game 14 (Game 15 winner vs. Game 16 winner) – 2:30 p.m. CT (CBS)
NOTES: All times are approximate and subject to change … BTN games are also available on the FOX Sports app … CBS games are also available on the Paramount+ app … for more information, please visit the tournament web site at ( bigten.org/MBBT ).
Former Indiana Hoosier Kyle Schwarber Blasts a Home Run for Team USA over Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic Team USA has steamrolled the competition so far in the World Baseball Classic. Former Indiana Hoosier Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer and Gunnar Henderson had four hits and two RBIs in a 9-1 victory over Britain on Saturday night. The U.S. improved to 2-0 in Pool B at Houston. Britain fell to 0-2. Nate Eaton homered on Tarik Skubal’s first pitch to give Britain a quick lead it held until the fifth inning, but his teammates couldn’t muster anything else at the plate. U.S. hitters had managed just one single when Ernie Clement reached on an error by third baseman Ivan Johnson to start the fifth. Pete Crow-Armstrong doubled before Clement scored on a wild pitch by Andre Scrubb to tie it at 1. Schwarber followed with a 427-foot drive that landed near the back of the second deck in right field to put the United States on top 3-1. There were two outs in the inning when Henderson’s two-run single made it 5-1. Aaron Judge, who homered in Friday night’s win over Brazil, knocked out a panel on the metal scoreboard with a 109.6 mph RBI single in a three-run sixth that pushed it to 8-1. Skubal allowed two hits with five strikeouts in three innings. It’s scheduled to be the only start of the tournament for the two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner, who will return to spring training with the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. Britain playsed Italy on Sunday. The Americans are off until reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes pitches tonight against Mexico.
Ball State University Women’s Basketball Shares the Mid-American Regular Season Championship with Miami (Ohio) The Ball State women’s basketball team closed out the 2025-26 regular season with an exclamation point on Saturday afternoon, defeating arch-rival Toledo 78-71 at John F. Savage Arena. The victory marks the Cardinals’ 25th win of the season and solidifies their position as the No. 2 seed heading into next week’s Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament. In a high-stakes rematch of the 2025 MAC Championship game, Ball State (25-6, 16-2 MAC) relied on a dominant interior presence to overcome the Rockets (15-14, 9-9 MAC). The Cardinals outscored Toledo 40-16 in the paint and controlled the glass with a 50-38 rebounding advantage. Tessa Towers anchored the interior for Ball State, sparking a 47% team shooting performance with a dominant 22-point, 12-rebound showing—her 10th double-double this season. Supporting the offense, Zhen Verburgt and Karsyn Norman added 14 and 11 points, respectively. Bree Salenbien capped the balanced attack, posting 10 points and 10 boards for her seventh double-double of the year.
The regular-season finale in Toledo served as an ideal preparation for the Ball State Cardinals, who secured a victory to lock in the No. 2 seed for next week’s Mid-American Conference Tournament. Although Towers put Ball State on the board first with an early layup, the game quickly evolved into a back-and-forth struggle with their rivals. The lead exchanged hands multiple times, with the Cardinals stretching their advantage to seven points (14-7) midway through the first quarter following another interior basket by Towers. However, the Toledo Rockets rallied before the media timeout, closing the gap to take an 18-16 lead by the end of the period. A flurry of quick shots under the basket sparked a Ball State run, as Tagayi hooked up with Salenbien to put the Cardinals up 23-18 in the second quarter. The momentum held through the break; bolstered by a clutch triple from bench standout Verburgt, Ball State headed to the locker room leading Toledo, 35-26.
Following the intermission, the Cardinals maintained their momentum, clearly intent on finishing the regular season with a statement win. Ball State dominated the third quarter, firing on all cylinders as Towers and Salenbien proved impossible for the Rockets to contain inside. Capping off the frame with another Verburgt bucket, the Cardinals carried a commanding 56-39 lead into the final stretch. Ball State effectively sealed its 25th win of the year after building a dominant 62-43 lead with just over seven minutes remaining, capped by a layup from Towers. Toledo was unable to recover from the nearly 20-point deficit, allowing the Cardinals to potentially claim a share of the 2026 MAC regular-season crown. Miami of Ohio and Ball State share the Mid-American Conference Championship and Miami is the overall number 1 seed due to the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Ball State women’s basketball team is set to defend its 2025 MAC Tournament title this week in Cleveland. As the No. 2 seed, the Cardinals will compete in a quarterfinal matchup against the No. 7 seed at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday, March 11, in the third game of the day.
Indianapolis Colts Trade Linebacker Zaire Franklin to the Green Bay Packers With the 2026 NFL league year now officially here, the Indianapolis Colts made the Zaire Franklin for Colby Wooden trade official. The news of this trade was first reported over the weekend. Moving on from Franklin created for the Colts $5.75 million in salary cap space, but left a huge void at linebacker. Currently, Jaylon Carlies, with just over 200 career snaps, is the most experienced player at this position. In return for Franklin, the Colts received Wooden, an undersized but often effective run defender from the Packers.
After playing fewer than 300 snaps in his first two seasons, Wooden took on a much larger role in 2025, playing 622 snaps, while making 16 starts. He ranked 38th out of 146 defensive tackles in PFF’s run-stop rate metric but mustered just 14 pressures as a pass rusher. Wooden will be a rotational member of the Colts’ defensive front behind DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart. As a run defender, he will be the next man up behind Stewart. The 2024 season was Franklin’s most decorated as a defender. He led the NFL in tackles, made his first Pro Bowl, and was named a second-team All-Pro. Franklin finished his Colts career appearing in 132 games, which included 82 starts. He recorded 738 total tackles, 34 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks. Franklin also forced 10 fumbles, came away with three interceptions, and had 26 pass deflections.
Ball State University Dismisses Men’s Basketball Head Coach Michael Lewis Ball State University has announced a change in men’s basketball leadership, with Michael Lewis who is a former Indiana University Men’s Basketball Player ending his four-year stint as the Cardinals’ head coach, following an 12-19 record this past season. A national search for the next Ball State men’s basketball coach begins immediately, according to Ball State Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell. “We are grateful to Coach Lewis for the passion and commitment he brought to our program the past four years,” said Mitchell. “We appreciate the time and effort he invested in our student-athletes.” Lewis guided Ball State to a 20-12 record in his first campaign (2022-23) while leading the Cardinals to their first 20-win season in six years. The program has since endured consecutive seasons with 15, 14 and 12 wins. He finished with a 61-64 mark as head coach of the Cardinals.