The 2017–18 Big Ten men's basketball season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. The 2018 Big Ten tournament was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Due to the Big East's use of that venue for the 2018 Big East tournament, the Big Ten tournament took place one week earlier than usual, ending the week before Selection Sunday. As a result, the conference season began on December 1, 2017 and concluded on February 25, 2018. Each team played one road game and one home conference game in the first week of December. With a win over Wisconsin on February 25, 2018, Michigan State clinched the outright Big Ten championship, their eighth under Tom Izzo.

The Big Ten tournament was held from February 28 through March 4, 2018 at Madison Square Garden. Michigan defeated Purdue to win its second consecutive tournament. As a result, the Wolverines received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Four Big Ten schools (Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Purdue) were invited to the NCAA tournament, the fewest Big Ten teams selected for the Tournament since 2008. Michigan was the National Runner-up, losing to Villanova in the NCAA championship game. Nebraska and Penn State received invitations to the National Invitation Tournament. Penn State won the NIT championship.

Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop was named Big Ten Player of the Year. Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Bates-Diop and Michigan State forward Miles Bridges were consensus All-Americans, while Purdue guard Carsen Edwards earned second and third team All-American recognition. Edwards won the Jerry West Award.

The season also marked the last time the conference played an 18-game conference schedule. The 2018–19 season marked the first time in Big Ten history that the teams will play a 20-game conference schedule.

Head coaches

Coaching changes On March 11, 2017, Illinois fired head coach John Groce. On March 18, the school hired Brad Underwood as the new head coach.

On March 16, 2017, Indiana fired Tom Crean after nine years as head coach. On March 25, 2017, the school hired Archie Miller as head coach.

On June 5, 2017, Ohio State announced that head coach Thad Matta would not return as head coach after 13 years in Columbus. On June 9, the school hired Chris Holtmann as head coach.

Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Big Ten record Big Ten titles NCAA tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsIllinois Brad Underwood Oklahoma State114–184–14 0 0 0 0Indiana Archie Miller Dayton116–15 9–9 0 0 0 0Iowa Fran McCaffery Siena8151–12068–76 03 0 0Maryland Mark Turgeon Texas A&M7157–81 49–30* 03 0 0Michigan John Beilein West Virginia11248–143111–87 28 2 0Michigan State Tom Izzo Michigan State (Asst.)23574–225269–122 821 7 1Minnesota Richard Pitino Florida International590–7831–59 01 0 0Nebraska Tim Miles Colorado State697–9746–62 0 1 0 0Northwestern Chris Collins Duke (Asst.)588–7736–54 01 0 0Ohio StateChris HoltmannButler125–915–30100Penn State Pat Chambers Boston University7113–12238–87 0 0 0 0Purdue Matt Painter Purdue (Assoc.)13295–149142–88 210 0 0RutgersSteve PikiellStony Brook230–376–30 0 0 0 0WisconsinGreg GardWisconsin (Assoc.)357–3631–230200 Notes: All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Year at school includes 2017–18 season. Overall and Big Ten records are from time at current school and are through the end of the season. Turgeon's ACC conference record excluded since Maryland began Big Ten Conference play in 2014–15. Source:

Preseason

Preseason All-Big Ten Prior to the conference's annual media day, unofficial awards and a poll were chosen by a panel of 28 writers, two for each team in the conference. Michigan State was a unanimous selection to win the conference, receiving all 28 votes. The Spartans' Miles Bridges was also a unanimous selection for Preseason Player of the Year.

Preseason conference poll RankTeam1Michigan State (28)2Purdue3Minnesota4Northwestern5Maryland5Michigan7Wisconsin8Iowa 9Indiana10Penn State11Ohio State12Illinois13Nebraska14Rutgers(first place votes)

Preseason All-Big Ten On October 19, 2017, a panel of conference media selected a 10-member preseason All-Big Ten Team and Player of the Year. Honor Recipient Preseason Player of the Year Miles Bridges, Michigan State Preseason All-Big Ten Team Miles Bridges*, Michigan State Amir Coffey, Minnesota Vincent Edwards, PurdueEthan Happ*, WisconsinJustin Jackson, MarylandScottie Lindsey, NorthwesternNate Mason, MinnesotaBryant McIntosh*, NorthwesternMoritz Wagner, MichiganNick Ward, Michigan State*Unanimous selections

Preseason watchlists Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists. WoodenNaismithRobertsonCousyWestErvingMaloneAbdul-JabbarOlsonTisdaleNotes Jordan Bohannon, Iowa Miles Bridges, Michigan State Vincent Edwards, Purdue Isaac Haas, Purdue Ethan Happ, Wisconsin Jaren Jackson Jr., Michigan State Justin Jackson, Maryland Nate Mason, Minnesota Bryant McIntosh, Northwestern Jordan Murphy, Minnesota Moritz Wagner, Michigan Nick Ward, Michigan State

Preseason national polls

AP AthlonSports BleacherReport Blue RibbonYearbook CBS Sports Coaches ESPN Lindy'sSports NBC Sports SBNation SportsIllustrated USBWAIllinois Indiana Iowa Maryland Michigan Michigan State222242311321Minnesota15162018131510222018 17Nebraska Northwestern1924252314201815212222 20Ohio State Penn State Purdue2018 142421 252117 18Rutgers Wisconsin

Regular season

2017 ACC–Big Ten Challenge (ACC 11–3) DateTimeACC teamB1G teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceChallengeleaderNov 27 7:00 pm Syracuse Maryland72–70 Carrier Dome • Syracuse, New York ESPN2 20,852ACC (1–0) 9:00 pm No. 18 Virginia Wisconsin49–37 John Paul Jones Arena • Charlottesville, Virginia ESPN2 13,911ACC (2–0)Nov 28 7:00 pm Florida State Rutgers78–73 Louis Brown Athletic Center • Piscataway, New Jersey ESPNU 4,853ACC (3–0) 7:15 pm Georgia Tech Northwestern52–51 McCamish Pavilion • Atlanta, Georgia ESPN2 5,562 ACC (4–0) 8:00 pm No. 17 Louisville Purdue66–57 Mackey Arena • West Lafayette, Indiana ESPN 14,804ACC (4–1) 9:00 pm Wake Forest Illinois 80–73 LJVM Coliseum • Winston-Salem, North Carolina ESPN2 5,782 ACC (5–1) 9:15 pm Virginia Tech Iowa79–55 Cassell Coliseum • Blacksburg, Virginia ESPNU 7,101ACC (6–1)Nov 29 7:15 pm Clemson Ohio State79–65 Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio ESPN2 17,189ACC (7–1) 7:15 pm NC State Penn State85–78 PNC Arena • Raleigh, North Carolina ESPNU 15,270ACC (8–1) 7:30 pm No. 13 North CarolinaMichigan86–71 Dean Smith Center • Chapel Hill, North Carolina ESPN 19,036ACC (9–1) 9:00 pm No. 10 Miami No. 12 Minnesota86–81 Williams Arena • Minneapolis, Minnesota ESPN2 14,625 ACC (10–1) 9:15 pm Boston College Nebraska71–62 Pinnacle Bank Arena • Lincoln, Nebraska ESPNU 10,742ACC (10–2) 9:30 pm No. 1 Duke Indiana91–81 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall • Bloomington, Indiana ESPN 17,222 ACC (11–2)Nov 30 7:00 pm No. 5 Notre Dame No. 3 Michigan State81–63 Breslin Center • East Lansing, Michigan ESPN 14,797ACC (11–3) Winners are in boldGame times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll (Nov 27).Pittsburgh did not play due to the ACC having one more team than the B1G. Source

2017 Gavitt Tipoff Games (Tied 4–4) DateTimeBig East teamBig Ten teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeaderMon., Nov. 13 Providence No. 14 Minnesota 86–74 Dunkin' Donuts Center • Providence, RI FS1 10,214 Big Ten (1–0) Tue., Nov. 14 Marquette No. 19 Purdue 86–71 BMO Harris Bradley Center • Milwaukee, WI FS1 13,307 Big Ten (2–0) No. 22 Seton Hall Indiana 84–68 Prudential Center • Newark, NJ FS1 8,452 Big Ten (2–1) Butler Maryland 79–65 Xfinity Center • College Park, MD FS1 16,317 Big Ten (3–1) Creighton No. 20 Northwestern 92–88 Allstate Arena • Rosemont, IL BTN 6,384 Big Ten (3–2) Thu., Nov. 16 St. John's Nebraska 79–56 Carnesecca Arena • New York City, NY FS1 4,652 Tied (3–3) No. 15 Xavier Wisconsin 80–70 Kohl Center • Madison, WI FS1 17,287 Fri., Nov. 17 DePaul Illinois 82–73 State Farm Center • Champaign, IL BTN 11,254 Tied (4–4) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD.Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll (Nov 13). Sources:Did not participate: Georgetown; Villanova (Big East); Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers (Big Ten)

Rankings

+ Legend     Improvement in ranking   Drop in ranking   Not ranked previous week RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll (Italics) Number of first place votes

  Pre/Wk 1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 Wk19 FinalIllinois AP C Indiana AP C Iowa AP C Maryland AP RVRVRV RV C RV RVRV Michigan AP RVRVRV RV RV RV 23 25 24 20 22 17 15 7 7 CRV RV RVRV RV RV RV RV 24 25 25 20 21 16 13 7 7 2Michigan State AP 2 (13)2 (13)43 32 (19) 2 (15) 2 (15) 1 (43) 4 9 6 5 4 2 (21) 2 (19) 2 (17) 4 5 C2 (9) 2 (9)53 3 (1) 2 (10) 2 (6) 2 (5) 1 (25) 4 9 6 4 4 1 (17) 1 (20) 2 (15) 5 5 11Minnesota AP 151414 1214 RV RV RV C151515 12 15RV Nebraska AP RV RV RV C RV RV RV Northwestern AP 1920RVRV C2020 RV Ohio State AP RV 22 13 17 14 8 16 13 17 17 C RV 22 13 18 16 9 15 14 16 17 21Penn State AP RV C RVPurdue AP 201918 RV 21 17 16 14 13 5 3 (1) 3 (1) 3 (1) 3 (1) 6 9 8 10 11 C21 2116 RV 21 17 16 13 12 7 3 (1)3 (1) 3 (1) 3 (1) 7 9 8 10 11 9Rutgers AP C Wisconsin AP RVRV CRVRV RV

Player of the week 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.

Week Player of the week Freshman of the week November 13, 2017 Jordan Murphy, MINN Luka Garza, IOWA November 20, 2017 Jordan Murphy (2), MINN Darryl Morsell, MDNovember 27, 2017Jordan Murphy (3), MINN Jaren Jackson Jr., MSU Brad Davison, WISC December 4, 2017 Isaac Haas, PUR Kaleb Wesson, OSU December 11, 2017 Keita Bates-Diop, OSU Jaren Jackson Jr. (2), MSU December 18, 2017 Juwan Morgan, IND Geo Baker, RUT December 26, 2017 Miles Bridges, MSU Trent Frazier, ILL January 2, 2018 Nick Ward, MSU Luka Garza (2), IOWAJanuary 8, 2018Keita Bates-Diop (2), OSUBruno Fernando, MDJanuary 15, 2018Keita Bates-Diop (3), OSUJaren Jackson Jr. (3), MSUJanuary 22, 2018James Palmer Jr., NEBKaleb Wesson (2), OSUCarsen Edwards, PURJanuary 29, 2018Vincent Edwards, PURJaren Jackson Jr. (4), MSUFebruary 5, 2018Keita Bates-Diop (4), OSUIsaiah Washington, MINN February 12, 2018Miles Bridges (2), MSUTrent Frazier (2), ILL February 19, 2018 Tony Carr, PSU Bruno Fernando (2), MDFebruary 26, 2018Carsen Edwards (2), PURBrad Davison (2), WISC

Early season tournaments Eleven of the 14 Big Ten teams participated in early season tournaments. Each team's finish is noted below. Illinois, Indiana, and Rutgers did not participate in a tournament. Eight Big Ten teams participated in the Gavitt Tip-Off Games against Big East Conference teams for the third consecutive year. All Big Ten teams participated in the ACC–Big Ten Challenge against Atlantic Coast Conference teams, the 19th year for the event. Team Tournament Finish IowaCayman Islands Classic7th MarylandEmerald Coast Classic3rd MichiganMaui Invitational5th Michigan StatePhil Knight Invitational Victory Bracket1st MinnesotaBarclays Center Classic2–0 NebraskaAdvoCare Invitational5th NorthwesternHall of Fame Tip Off Naismith Bracket2nd Ohio StatePhil Knight Invitational Motion Bracket6th Penn StateLegends Classic2nd PurdueBattle 4 Atlantis7th WisconsinCBE Hall of Fame Classic4th

Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team played 18 conference games, and at least one game against each opponent.

Illinois Indiana Iowa Maryland Michigan Michigan St Minnesota Nebraska Northwestern Ohio St Penn St Purdue Rutgers Wisconsin vs. Illinois – 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–02–01–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–00–0 0–2 2–0 vs. Indiana 1–1 – 0–2 0–1 1–02–00–2 1–0 0–1 2–0 0–11–0 0–1 1–0 vs. Iowa