\n<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been more than a quarter-century since it happened. President George W. Bush was not yet in office the last time a Big Ten Conference team won the men\u2019s basketball national title.<\/p>\n
So is it actually a fool\u2019s errand to bet on the conference to quash that drought this spring? Or maybe\u2026 they\u2019re just due?<\/p>\n
Famously, the Big Ten\u2019s last champion in men\u2019s hoops was the 1999\u20132000 Michigan State Spartans, with Mateen Cleaves at the controls and Tom Izzo the ripe old age of 45. The Big Ten has had moments since then where it\u2019s looked like the best league in the sport, but it\u2019s failed to deliver another champ partly due to the unpredictability of the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n
If there were ever a year to bet on that drought going by the wayside, it\u2019s this one.<\/p>\n
The Big Ten has five legitimate national title contenders in Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Illinois and Purdue. It may not be the best conference altogether \u2014 Penn State, Northwestern, Maryland and Oregon really drag down the bottom \u2014 but there\u2019s no debating which league is strongest at the top.<\/p>\n
To wit: The quintet mentioned above are ranked Nos. 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12 in this week\u2019s AP poll<\/a>. The highest-ranked SEC team, Arkansas, is No. 15. In KenPom\u2019s net efficiency ratings, Big Ten teams check in at Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 before you hit your first SEC team.<\/p>\n Other than Purdue, which has stumbled into a three-game losing streak, the other four Big Ten teams we\u2019re discussing have a 9\u20131 or 8\u20131 league record \u2014 a true tussle at the top. The SEC contenders, none of whom besides Vanderbilt (!) looked especially great during nonconference play, have taken one another down a peg lately. At 6\u20131 in the league, the SEC leader \u2014 any guesses? \u2014 is Texas A&M, NET ranking 40.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a refreshing change of pace after the SEC put 14 of its 16 teams in the 2025 tournament field. I remember writing last year that the SEC warranted at least 12, controversial at the time if you don\u2019t live in the South (and I don\u2019t \u2014 for example, I know how to handle a snowstorm). But four of their schools made the Elite Eight and Florida won the title, so the SEC hype was partially warranted.<\/p>\n No longer. When Texas A&M and Vandy and John Calipari\u2019s Razorbacks<\/a> are your best hopes, you\u2019ve lost your throne. I\u2019d listen to arguments that the Big 12 is up there with the Big Ten, with its crew of Arizona, Houston, Iowa State and Texas Tech, and I\u2019d rather bet on the ACC to produce the national champ than the SEC just for Duke alone.<\/p>\n But my mind returns to the Big Ten.<\/p>\n We got to see one of the best games of the year Tuesday when Michigan trailed most of the way before pulling out the last six points to finish a 75\u201372 comeback and hand a short-handed Nebraska its first loss. Both teams deserved to win that game; they both shot a touch lower than 50% and each excelled in their own areas of strength. To overuse a clich\u00e9, it was a heavyweight fight.<\/p>\n Guess what? It\u2019s a full card of heavyweight fights in the next week and a half.<\/p>\n\n