The hopes of the Big Ten once again rest on the shoulders of Michigan State as the Spartans are the final team left in the NCAA tournament from the conference.
Eight Big Ten squads made the postseason, with three losing in the first round and four following suit in the second. No. 1 Purdue highlighted the first round failures and lost in historic fashion to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson. Hot-handed Penn State fell in a valiant effort to Texas in the Round of 32.
Over the last three years — 2021, 2022 and 2023 — a total of 26 Big Ten teams have made the NCAA tournament. Only three have earned a spot in the Sweet 16, including this year’s No. 7 seed Michigan State.
Since 2015, only two Big Ten teams have made the Final Four, and no Big Ten team not named Michigan State, Michigan or Wisconsin has made the Final Four since Ohio State did it 2012.
So you might be asking: When did a team from the Big Ten last win an NCAA title in men’s basketball?
That would be 23 years ago when — you guessed it — Michigan State defeated Florida in the 2000 title game. Can Tom Izzo break a streak that dates back to when The Road to El Dorado was number one in theaters? In order to do that, they’ll first have to get past a very good Kansas State squad in the Sweet 16.