The Big Ten is, without a doubt, one of the strongest conferences in men’s college basketball. Year after year, teams like Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State and more are contenders to play deep into March and cause opponents to get a little nervous.
But since the turn of the century, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament has been unkind at best — cruel at worst — to the Big Ten. The conference’s last NCAA championship was in March of 2000 when Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans won the Big Dance.
For those keeping track at home, it has been 23 years — nearly a quarter-century — since the Big Ten hoisted the trophy. Maryland, which is currently a Big Ten member, did win in 2002, but the Terps were an ACC squad at the time.
The Big Ten has gotten close over the last 23 years, finishing as a runner-up seven times and lost in the semi-finals seven more times. Will this season break the drought? The Big Ten had three ranked teams going into the 2023-24 season, led by No. 3 Purdue and No. 4 Michigan State.