Next Up in The Big 12: Team Struggling Leads to Possible Rise in October!
CHICAGO — Is this finally the Big Ten’s year to break the drought? Are we tired of hearing this question every March? It has been 26 years since the last NCAA championship in men’s basketball for a power conference that’s perennially touted as one of the country’s best.
To put things in perspective, that 2000 Michigan State team that won under a bright, young coach named Tom Izzo played in an ...
CHICAGO — Is this finally the Big Ten’s year to break the drought? Are we tired of hearing this question every March? It has been 26 years since the last NCAA championship in men’s basketball for a power conference that’s perennially touted as one of the country’s best.
To put things in perspective, that 2000 Michigan State team that won under a bright, young coach named Tom Izzo played in an era before smartphones, social media and the proliferation of sports-debate shows, back when the Big Ten consisted of only 11 teams. Besides Big Ten hopefuls waiting forever for their “One Shining Moment,” the only common denominator between 2000 and 2026 is perhaps Izzo, who once again guides Michigan State into the tournament with great expectations and fingers crossed. Befitting its reputation, the Big Ten will send nine teams to this year’s Big Dance, with top-seeded Michigan having the best chance to end the streak, followed by Purdue, Illinois and Michigan State.
But who really knows after the Wolverines barely survived their first two Big Ten Tournament games at the United Center, then lost 80-72 to Purdue in Sunday’s title game? Nevertheless, Michigan ranked behind only Duke and Arizona, the top overall seeds, and its regular-season dominance was enough to make it the top seed in the Midwest Region. The Wolverines will face the 16th seed, either UMBC or Howard, on Thursday in Buffalo, N.
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