[1] This was the first tournament to feature 12 teams of the expanded Big Ten, with Nebraska making its debut.

As a result, Michigan State received the Big Ten's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The win marked Michigan State's third tournament championship and first since 2000.

Seeding for the tournament was determined at the close of the regular conference season.

A new tie-breaking procedure was announced for the 2012 tournament for teams with identical conference records.