Michigan, Purdue Are Big Ten's Last Hopes in Another Disappointing NCAA Tourney

Spend a weekend glued to March Madness, and you'll run through a wide range of emotions. Nervousness, elation, anxiety, disappointment, enthusiasm and a whole lot more.

But once again, fans of most Big Ten programs are primarily just sad.

No Big Ten team has brought home the title since Michigan State in 2000, and the drought is in immense danger of continuing.

After sending a nation-best nine teams to the 2022 men's NCAA tournament, the conference has only two—the Michigan Wolverines and Purdue Boilermakers—headed to the Sweet 16. For comparison's sake, the ACC is 3-of-5, the Big 12 is 3-of-6, the Big East is 2-of-6 and the SEC is 1-of-6.

Given the SEC's struggles, the Big Ten isn't alone—but this is practically a repeat of 2021. Last year, eight of the league's nine representatives lost on the opening weekend, leaving Michigan in the Sweet 16 solo.

This isn't merely a two-year trend, either.

None of the 15 combined teams in the 2016 and 2017 tournaments advanced past the Sweet 16, and in 2018 only national runner-up Michigan did so. The lone year in this disappointing stretch that featured two Big Ten teams beyond the Sweet 16 came when Michigan State (Final Four) and Purdue (Elite Eight) made deeper runs in 2019.

And when the league remembers the 2022 tourney, it'll dread the memory of Sunday's slate.

Each of the first four matchups included a Big Ten squad, and all four—as my late grandpa would say—came in second place.

In the early matchup, No. 4 Illinois could not overcome Houston's defense. Along with 17 turnovers, the Fighting Illini made just six threes on 25 attempts. Although a horrendous technical foul affected the game, Illinois didn't play well enough offensively.

Villanova held off seventh-seeded Ohio State, which effectively trailed the entire game yet still had a great chance at a comeback. With 5:30 to play, the Buckeyes were down 60-58, but they scored only three more points and fell 71-61.

Michigan State, also a No. 7 seed, endured a similar drought in an 85-76 letdown to Duke. Tom Izzo's squad held a five-point advantage as the clock ticked below five minutes left, but the Blue Devils outscored MSU 20-6 down the stretch to keep Mike Krzyzewski's final season alive.

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And then, third-seeded Wisconsin's offense had a putrid showing in a 54-49 loss to Iowa State. The Badgers only made 14 shots from the field while committing a season-worst 17 turnovers.

That quartet joined the Big Ten's three previous exits.

No. 11 Rutgers lost a double-overtime First Four thriller to Notre Dame. During the first round, St. Mary's smoked No. 12 Indiana and Richmond upset No. 5 Iowa, which entered the Big Dance on a hot streak after winning the Big Ten tournament.

As the opening weekend came to a close, only No. 11 Michigan and third-seeded Purdue emerged for the conference.

Michigan upended No. 3 Tennessee, extending its Sweet 16 streak to five consecutive NCAA tourneys. Purdue held off No. 6 Texas to make its fourth Sweet 16 during that stretch, too.

Sure would be nice if someone else joined them, you know?

One necessary note is that, so far, only Iowa and Wisconsin have dropped games as the favored team—Illinois, despite being the No. 4 seed, was a 4.5-point underdog against Houston. Beyond their dreadfully timed poor performances, though, it's nonetheless been a tournament of missed opportunities for Big Ten programs. They've had many chances to be the upset-causing team and could not capitalize.

Considering the strength of the conference in the regular season, expectations should always be high in March. However, the league continually falters, and the lackluster showings in the NCAA tournament are repeatedly a major disappointment.

But at this point, it's impossible to say surprising.