The USC Trojans’ first-round exit to the Michigan State Spartans gave a small glimpse into the future. With the Trojans losing to a Big Ten team, this is a small preview of what life might be like when they make the transition to their new conference in 2024.
However, the Big Ten as a conference had a disappointing NCAA Tournament run. The last team standing is, in fact, the Michigan State Spartans, who beat 2-seed Marquette to go to the Sweet 16.
Here are the other Big Ten tourney teams and the results from March Madness, which indicate that USC can make a home in its new basketball conference. No one is lighting the league on fire. Big Ten hoops analysts will tell you this is a conference in decline. USC could become a very successful program when measured against the schools mentioned below: