By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam
2026 Men’s Big Ten Championships
- Dates: Wednesday, February 25–Saturday, February 28
- Location: Soderholm Family Aquatic Center, Madison, WI
- Defending champions: Indiana men (4x)
- Live Results (also available on Meet Mobile: “2026 Men’s B1G Championship”)
- Live Video ($): B1G+
- Championship Central – Big Ten
- Championship Central – Wisconsin
- SwimSwam’s Meet Preview
- Teams: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, USC, Wisconsin
- SwimSwam Live Recaps
- Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3
- Finals: Day 1 Relays | Day 2
For those unfamiliar with swimming terminology, the concept of “Ups” and “Downs” is a good way to track which teams performed best at prelims. In prelims, swimmers qualify for one of three finals heats: the top 8 finishers make the A final, places 9 through 16 the B final and places 17 through 24 the C final. In finals, swimmers are locked into their respective final, meaning a swimmer in the B heat (spots 9-16) can only place as high as 9th or as low as 16th, even if they put up the fastest or slowest time of any heat in the final.
With that in mind, we’ll be tracking “Ups,” “Mids” and “Downs” after each prelims session. “Up” refers to swimmers in the A final, “Mid” to swimmers in the B final and “Down” to swimmers in the C final.
The projected scores do not include diving.
Team Scores After Day 2:
- Indiana – 535
- Michigan – 491
- Ohio State – 414.5
- Wisconsin – 349
- Northwestern – 319
- Purdue – 313
- USC – 291.5
- Minnesota – 249
- Penn State – 170
We are halfway through the 2026 Men’s Big Ten Championships, and Indiana are beginning to run away with the meet in pursuit of their fifth-straight conference title and 32nd in program history.
The pre-meet favorites lead Michigan by 44 points after last night’s finals, but Friday morning’s prelims painted an even rosier picture for the Hoosiers. Indiana placed 11 swimmers into ‘A’ finals, seven into ‘B’ finals, and one into a ‘C’ final, with Michigan (5/4/3), Wisconsin (4/4/3) the only other teams to place more than three swimmers into a championship heat.
With prelims scored and 400 medley relay seeds factored in, Indiana are projected to hold a 263.5-point lead over Michigan heading into the final day, with the Hoosiers sitting at 1,016 points to Michigan’s 752.5. Ohio State (651) and Wisconsin (526) are slated to round out the top four, while the remaining five teams all sit under 500 projected points: Northwestern (479.5), Purdue (457), USC (430), Minnesota (381), and Penn State (297).
The Hoosiers are projected to lead all teams in three of the four individual events tonight, with 117.5 projected points in the 100 back, 111 in the 200 breast, 109 in the 500 free, and 79.5 in the 50 free. he Hoosiers are projected to lead all teams in three of the four individual events tonight, with 117.5 projected points in the 100 back, 111 in the 200 breast, and 109 in the 500 free. The 50 free is the outlier, where Ohio State’s ‘B’ and ‘C’ final depth has them projected to outscore Indiana, 89.5 to 79.5.
Ups/Mids/Downs
| All | 100 Backstroke | 200 Breaststroke | 500 Freestyle | 50 Freestyle | |
| Indiana | 11/7/1 | 3/2/0 | 3/2/0 | 3/1/1 | 2/2/0 |
| Michigan | 5/4/3 | 1/0/2 | 1/2/0 | 1/1/1 | 2/1/0 |
| Wisconsin | 4/4/3 | 0/1/1 | 1/1/1 | 1/2/1 | 2/0/0 |
| Ohio State | 3/6/5 | 0/2/0 | 0/1/1 | 2/0/2 | 1/3/2 |
| Northwestern | 2/4/4 | 1/2/1 | 1/0/1 | 0/1/0 | 0/1/2 |
| Purdue | 2/3/1 | 1/0/0 | 0/1/1 | 0/1/0 | 1/1/0 |
| Minnesota | 2/1/4 | 0/0/1 | 1/0/1 | 1/1/1 | 0/0/1 |
| Penn State | 2/1/2 | 1/1/0 | 1/0/0 | 0/0/0 | 0/0/2 |
| USC | 1/2/9 | 1/0/3 | 0/1/3 | 0/1/2 | 0/0/1 |
Projected Points Per Event
| Team | 100 Back | 200 Breast | 500 Free | 50 Free |
| Indiana | 117.5 | 111 | 109 | 79.5 |
| Michigan | 34.5 | 52 | 50 | 69 |
| Wisconsin | 26 | 44 | 60 | 47 |
| Ohio State | 26.5 | 18.5 | 52 | 89.5 |
| Northwestern | 58 | 24.5 | 11 | 19 |
| Purdue | 23 | 23 | 13 | 41 |
| Minnesota | 73 | 33 | 47 | 3 |
| Penn State | 83 | 28 | 0 | 9 |
| USC | 1.5 | 28 | 20 | 5 |
Projected Relay Points
- The relays are timed finals, so these points are based solely on the teams’ respective seeds.
| 400 Medley Relay | |
| Indiana | 64 |
| Michigan | 56 |
| USC | 54 |
| Penn State | 52 |
| Ohio State | 50 |
| Northwestern | 48 |
| Wisconsin | 46 |
| Purdue | 44 |
| Minnesota | 42 |
Total Point Projections
| Total After Day 1 | Total After Day 2 | Day 3 Prelims Only | Day 1 & 2 + Day 3 Prelims + Relay Seeds | |
| Indiana | 110 | 535 | 417 | 1016 |
| Michigan | 116 | 491 | 205.5 | 752.5 |
| Ohio State | 114 | 414.5 | 186.5 | 651 |
| Wisconsin | 102 | 349 | 177 | 526 |
| Northwestern | 100 | 319 | 112.5 | 479.5 |
| Purdue | 96 | 313 | 100 | 457 |
| USC | 98 | 291.5 | 84.5 | 430 |
| Minnesota | 92 | 249 | 90 | 381 |
| Penn State | 40 | 170 | 75 | 297 |
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 Big Ten Championships: Day 3 Ups/Mids/Downs, Indiana Well On Way To Fifth Straight Title
