The 2016–17 Big Ten men's basketball season began with practices in October 2016, followed by the start of the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. The Conference held its preseason media day on October 13 in Washington, D.C. The season began on November 11 and conference play started on December 27.

With a win over Indiana on February 28, 2017, Purdue clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular season championship. With Wisconsin's loss on March 2, Purdue clinched an outright championship, their 23rd championship, the most in Big Ten history.

The Big Ten tournament was held from March 8 through March 12 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. It was the first Big Ten Conference tournament not held in Indianapolis or Chicago. Michigan won the Big Ten tournament over Wisconsin, becoming the first eight seed and lowest seeded team to win the conference tournament and marking their first win since their vacated win in the inaugural tournament. As a result, Michigan received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Purdue forward Caleb Swanigan was named Big Ten Player of the Year and a second team Academic All-America. Minnesota coach Richard Pitino was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Swanigan earned consensus first team All-American recognition and Wisconsin forward Ethan Happ was a third team All-American by multiple media outlets.

Seven Big Ten schools (Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, and Wisconsin) were invited to the NCAA tournament, marking the seventh consecutive year the Big Ten had at least six teams in the Tournament. Northwestern received a bid for the first time in school history. Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa represented the conference in the National Invitation Tournament. The conference achieved an 8–7 record in the NCAA tournament and a 3–3 record in the NIT, highlighted by Michigan, Purdue, and Wisconsin reaching the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and Illinois making the NIT quarterfinals.

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Wisconsin On December 15, 2015, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan announced he would retire effective immediately leaving associate head coach Greg Gard as interim head coach. Shortly after the regular season, Greg Gard had the interim tag removed as he was announced as the permanent head coach.

Rutgers On March 20, 2016, the school fired head coach Eddie Jordan after three years at Rutgers. On March 19, the school hired Steve Pikiell, former head coach at Stony Brook, 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 John Groce Ohio595–7537–53 0 1 0 0Indiana Tom Crean Marquette9166–13571–9124 0 0Iowa Fran McCaffery Siena7137–10164–62 04 0 0Maryland Mark Turgeon Texas A&M6138–6838–18* 03 0 0Michigan John Beilein West Virginia10215–13598–82 27 1 0Michigan State Tom Izzo Michigan State 22544–220256–119 720 7 1Minnesota Richard Pitino Florida International466–5527–45 0 0 0 0Nebraska Tim Miles Colorado State572–7533–57 0 1 0 0Northwestern Chris Collins Duke 475–6130–42 0 0 0 0Ohio State Thad Matta Xavier13337–123150–78 5 9 2 0Penn State Pat Chambers Boston University687–10929–78 0 0 0 0Purdue Matt Painter Purdue 12265–142127–8539 0 0RutgersSteve PikiellStony Brook115–183–15 0 0 0 0WisconsinGreg GardWisconsin (Assoc.)242–1824–120200 Notes: Year at school includes 2016–17 season. Overall and Big Ten records are from time at current school and are through the end the 2016–17 season. Turgeon's ACC conference record excluded since Maryland began Big Ten Conference play in 2014–15. Following the conclusion of the Big Ten tournament, Illinois fired head coach John Groce. Assistant coach Jamall Walker will coach the team in the NIT. Source for Media Guides.

Preseason

Preseason All-Big Ten On October 11, 2016, 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 Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin Preseason All-Big Ten Team Malcolm Hill, Illinois James Blackmon Jr., Indiana Thomas Bryant, Indiana Peter Jok, Iowa Melo Trimble, Maryland Derrick Walton Jr., Michigan Caleb Swanigan, Purdue Ethan Happ, Wisconsin Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin Bronson Koenig, Wisconsin

Preseason watchlists Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists. WoodenNaismithRobertsonCousyWestErvingMaloneAbdul-JabbarOlsonTisdaleNotes OG Anunoby James Blackmon Jr. Miles Bridges Thomas Bryant Vincent Edwards Isaac Haas Ethan Happ Eron Harris Nigel Hayes Malcolm Hill Peter Jok Bronson Koenig Caleb Swanigan Jae'Sean Tate Melo Trimble

Preseason All-American teams CBSAPTSNUSAToday SBNationBlueRibbonAthlonSportsBleacherReportNBCSports SportingNewsBigTen.orgBTNSportsIllustratedLindy'sSports OG Anunoby 3rd 2nd 3rd Miles Bridges 2nd Thomas Bryant 3rd 1st3rd 2nd Nigel Hayes3rd1st2ndMelo Trimble2nd1st2nd1st

Preseason polls

AP Coaches CBS NBC SportingNews SportsIllustrated Blue RibbonYearbook BleacherReport AthlonSports Lindy'sSports ESPN USBWAIllinois Indiana1112 914131518912 1413Iowa Maryland2521 25 24 Michigan Michigan State129 151011 111411111311Minnesota Nebraska Northwestern Ohio State Penn State Purdue1515 2015101191414122114Rutgers Wisconsin910 11118867106128

Regular season

2016 ACC–Big Ten Challenge (ACC 9–5) DateTimeACC teamB1G teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceChallengeleaderNov 28 7:00 pm Florida State Minnesota 75–67 Donald L. Tucker Civic Center • Tallahassee, Florida ESPNU 5,993 ACC (1–0) 9:00 pm Wake Forest Northwestern 65–58 Welsh-Ryan Arena • Evanston, Illinois ESPNU 6,386 Tied (1–1)Nov 29 7:00 pm Pittsburgh Maryland 73–59 Xfinity Center • College Park, Maryland ESPN2 17,144 ACC (2–1) 7:00 pm Georgia Tech Penn State 67–60 Bryce Jordan Center • University Park, Pennsylvania ESPNU 6,032 Tied (2–2) 7:30 pm No. 22 Syracuse No. 17 Wisconsin 77–60 Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin ESPN 17,287 B1G (3–2) 9:00 pm Notre Dame Iowa 92–78 Edmund P. Joyce Center • Notre Dame, Indiana ESPN2 7,660 Tied (3–3) 9:00 pm NC State Illinois 88–74 State Farm Center • Champaign, Illinois ESPNU 13,481 B1G (4–3) 9:30 pm No. 5 Duke Michigan State 78–69 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, North Carolina ESPN 9,314 Tied (4–4)Nov 30 7:00 pm No. 14 Louisville No. 15 Purdue 71–64 KFC Yum! Center • Louisville, Kentucky ESPN 21,841 ACC (5–4) 7:00 pm Virginia Tech Michigan 73–70 Crisler Center • Ann Arbor, Michigan ESPN2 9,981 ACC (6–4) 7:00 pm Miami Rutgers73–61 Watsco Center • Coral Gables, Florida ESPNU 7,064 ACC (7–4) 9:00 pm Clemson Nebraska 60–58 Littlejohn Coliseum • Clemson, South Carolina ESPNU 6,545 ACC (8–4) 9:00 pm No. 6 Virginia Ohio State 63–61 John Paul Jones Arena • Charlottesville, Virginia ESPN2 14,566 ACC (9–4) 9:00 pm No. 3 North Carolina No. 13 Indiana 76–67 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall • Bloomington, Indiana ESPN 17,222 ACC (9–5) Winners are in boldGame times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll (Nov 28).Boston College did not play due to the ACC having one more team than the B1G. Source

2016 Gavitt Tipoff Games (Tied 4–4) DateTimeBig East teamBig Ten teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeaderMon., Nov. 14 No. 3 Villanova No. 15 Purdue 79–76 Mackey Arena • West Lafayette, IN BTN 14,846 Tue., Nov. 15 Georgetown Maryland 76–75 Verizon Center • Washington, D.C. FS1 13,145 Tied (1–1) No. 22 Creighton No. 9 Wisconsin 79–67 CenturyLink Center • Omaha, NE FS1 17,879 Butler Northwestern 70–68 Hinkle Fieldhouse • Indianapolis, IN FS1 7,858 Thu., Nov. 17 Providence Ohio State 72–67 Value City Arena • Columbus, OH BTN 11,089 DePaul Rutgers 66–59 Allstate Arena • Rosemont, IL FS1 4,057 Tied (3–3)Seton Hall Iowa91–83Carver–Hawkeye Arena • Iowa City, IABTN10,391Fri., Nov. 18 St. John's Minnesota 92–86 Williams Arena • Minneapolis, MN BTN 8,873 Tied (4–4) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD.Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll (Nov 14). Sources:Did not participate: Marquette, Xavier (Big East); Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State (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 APCIndiana AP 11 6 (1) 3 (2) 13 9 9 16 16 25T RVC 12 5 5 (2) 10 9 9 16 16 25 RV RV RV RVIowa AP RVCMaryland AP 25 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 22 17 21 23 24 25C 21 24 23 22 RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 23 17 22 24 24RV RV RV RVMichigan AP RV 25T RVRV RV RV 23C RV RV 24 RV RV RV RV RV 17Michigan State AP 12 13 24 RV RV RVRV RVC 9 13 20 RV RV RV RV RV RVMinnesota AP RV RV RV RV RV RV 24 RVRV RV RVC RV RV RV RV 24 RVRV RV RVNebraska APC RVNorthwestern AP RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 RV RV RV RVCRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV RV RV RVOhio State AP RV RV RV RV RV RVC RV RV RVPenn State APCPurdue AP 15 15 17 15 18 15 15 15 20 17 21 20 23 16 16 1416 13 15C 15 15 19 16 19 16 15 15 20 19 22 20 24 18 16 14 16 12 15 15Rutgers AP RV RVCWisconsin AP 9 9 16 17 17 14 14 14 13 18 17 15 10 7 9 1622 24 25C 10 11 14 17 17 14 14 14 11 17 17 15 9 5 10 1521 23 22 16

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 14, 2016 Malcolm Hill, ILL Curtis Jones Jr., IND James Blackmon Jr., IND Miles Bridges, MSU November 21, 2016 Peter Jok, IOWA Amir Coffey, MINN November 28, 2016 Melo Trimble, MD Miles Bridges (2), MSU Caleb Swanigan, PUR December 5, 2016 Nigel Hayes, WIS Nick Ward, MSU December 12, 2016 Peter Jok (2), IOWA Isaiah Moss, IOWA December 19, 2016 Caleb Swanigan (2), PUR Mike Watkins, PSU December 26, 2016 Caleb Swanigan (3), PUR Nick Ward (2), MSU January 2, 2017 Nate Mason, MINN Nick Ward (3), MSU Tai Webster, NEB January 9, 2017 Caleb Swanigan (4), PUR Amir Coffey (2), MINN January 16, 2017 Scottie Lindsey, NW Miles Bridges (3), MSU Mike Watkins (2), PSU January 23, 2017 Ethan Happ, WIS Justin Jackson, MD James Blackmon Jr. (2), IND Carsen Edwards, PUR January 30, 2017 Ethan Happ (2), WIS Miles Bridges (4), MSU February 6, 2017 Caleb Swanigan (5), PUR Jordan Bohannon, IOWA February 13, 2017Derrick Walton, Jr., MICHLamar Stevens, PSUJordan Murphy, MINN February 20, 2017 Melo Trimble (2), MD Miles Bridges (5), MSUFebruary 27, 2017Nick Ward, MSUNick Ward (4), MSUMarch 6, 2017Derrick Walton, Jr. (2), MICHJordan Bohannon (2), IOWA Caleb Swanigan (6), PUR

Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team played 18 conference games, and at least 1 against each opponent.

Illinois Indiana Iowa Maryland Michigan Michigan St Minnesota Nebraska Northwestern Ohio St Penn St Purdue Rutgers Wisconsin vs. Illinois – 1–0 0–2 2–0 1–10–11–0 0–1 0–2 0–1 2–01–0 1–0 1–0 vs. Indiana 0–1 – 1–0 1–0 2–00–11–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–22–0 0–1 2–0 vs. Iowa 2–00–1 – 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–01–11–00–1 0–1 1–1 0–2 0–1 vs. Maryland 0–2 0–1 1–1 – 0–1 0–11–1 1–0 0–10–21–01–00–21–0 vs. Michigan 1–10–2 1–0 1–0 – 1–11–0 0–2 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–11–1 vs. Michigan St 1–0 1–00–11–01–1 – 0–2 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–1 vs. Minnesota 0–10–10–11–10–1 2–0 – 0–1 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–1 0–12–0 vs. Nebraska 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 2–02–01–0 – 2–01–10–10–11–01–0 vs. Northwestern 2–01–10–11–00–1 1–0 1–0 0–2 – 0–1 0–1 2–00–20–1 vs. Ohio State 1–0 1–01–02–00–1 1–1 1–11–11–0 – 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 vs. Penn State 0–22–01–00–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 – 2–01–11–0 vs. Purdue 0–10–2 1–1 0–11–00–2 1–0 1–00–2 0–1 0–1 – 0–1 0–1 vs. Rutgers 0–1 1–0 2–02–01–0 1–0 1–00–12–01–01–11–0 – 2–0 vs. Wisconsin 0–10–21–00–11–11–00–20–11–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–2 – Total 8–107–1110–812–610–810–811–76–1010–87–116–1214–43–1512–6