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2026 Big Ten Tournament: Four Standout Players of Round 3

ByGrace Jeffer

Mar 13, 2026
2026 Big Ten Tournament - United Center (Photo credit: Grace Jeffer, CBB Review)2026 Big Ten Tournament - United Center (Photo credit: Grace Jeffer, CBB Review)

Round 3 of the Big Ten Tournament featured a strong lineup of games, setting records for both individual programs and the tournament as a whole.

The results from Round 3 are as follows:
    • Game 7: 8-seed Ohio State 72, 9-seed Iowa 69
    • Game 8: 5-seed Wisconsin 85, 12-seed Washington 82
    • Game 9: 7-seed Purdue 81, 15-seed Northwestern 68
    • Game 10: 6-seed UCLA 72, 14-seed Rutgers 59

Each team enjoyed standout individual performances that contributed to their victories. Here are the four players who made the biggest impact in Round 3 of the Big Ten Tournament.

Bruce Thornton – Ohio State

Senior guard Bruce Thornton has shown a strong offensive presence all season for the Buckeyes, leading the team with 20.2 points per game. In round 3 against Iowa, Thornton scored 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting, made both three-point attempts, and hit his two free throws.
With 13:55 left in the second half, Thornton went on a personal 10-0 run, giving the Buckeyes their largest lead.
“I was just playing basketball… picking my spots and just getting to my spots; and understanding where the help is through the film the coaches gave me, and my teammates setting me up. So, I just got to my spot,” Thornton said during the postgame locker room availability.
With a one-possession lead, Ohio State ran out the clock to win.

John Blackwell – Wisconsin

Junior guard John Blackwell is familiar with the excitement and chaos of the Big Ten Tournament, having contributed last year when Wisconsin reached the championship game against Michigan.
In his first game of the 2026 Big Ten Tournament, he set a Badger record with 34 points, the most by a Badger in tournament history and tied for third-best all-time. The Michigan native shot 14-for-24 from the field and made 6 of 12 from beyond the arc. In the previous game, Blackwell put up only 7 points; they were locked in for the tournament.
On top of his record-breaking offensive performance, Blackwell grabbed 10 rebounds to give him a double-double.
Blackwell credits his team for his record-setting night:
“Today, I hit some shots. So these guys did a good job of finding the hot hand… Nick [Boyd] did a great job of getting to the paint, doing his thing, and BC had 32…So it’s just whoever the hot hand was. As long as we got the win, I’m good with it,” Blackwell said in the press conference after defeating No. 12 Washington.
With another year of eligibility, Blackwell remains a leader for Wisconsin on and off the court.

Braden Smith – Purdue

Senior guard Braden Smith has been a key facilitator for the Boilermakers all season long. The Big Ten Tournament assist per game record was 15, set in 2021 by Michigan’s Mike Smith. Ironically, Purdue-Smith broke Smith’s record, dishing out 16 assists on the night.
The Indiana native is currently 2nd in college basketball for average assists per game with 9.0. He sits right under fellow Big Ten player, Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr., who averages 9.1 assists. During Smith’s four years as a Boilermaker, he has recorded 1045 assists and counting.
Purdue head coach Matt Painter spoke very highly of Smith after the victory,
“It’s an unbelievable feat to be where he is, to have the second most assists in the history of the NCA. He had one high major offer. He’s meant a lot to our program,” Painter said to the media.

Donovan Dent – UCLA

Round 3 was record-setting for UCLA’s senior guard Donovan Dent. In 39 minutes, he tallied 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists for the tournament’s first triple-double and became the first Bruin to do so since 2013. Dent is third in college basketball for assists, following Braden Smith.
The New Mexico transfer averages 13.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game, shooting 42% from the field.
Dent wasn’t aware he approached a triple-double or Big Ten history until a teammate told him during the game:
“I didn’t know until the under-four media timeout, and one of my teammates was like, ‘ You’ve got to get one more rebound. I was hunting for it there at the end for sure…I was crashing for sure at the end, and it felt good to finally get it,” Dent said during the postgame press conference.
He learned about his Big Ten record during the postgame broadcast.

By Grace Jeffer

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