Will the Big Ten’s dominant NCAA Tournament spell the end of its title drought?

CHICAGO — It’s fitting we’re here at the United Center, because the last time Yaxel Lendeborg played on this court, he was pretty exhausted.

He felt beat up. The physicality of the many months of Big Ten men’s basketball had gotten to him; he relied on the adrenaline that kicked in to power him through the conference tournament. Michigan ran out of steam at the end, and Purdue won the Big Ten tournament title, and then everybody in the league got a break from playing other Big Ten teams — for a little while, at least.

That’s when the Big Ten decided to take over the men’s NCAA Tournament. The conference began The Big Dance with nine teams before advancing a record six to the Sweet 16. Now, four teams have reached the Elite Eight, and it’s impossible to ignore the elephant in the room.

The Big Ten Conference has not won a men’s basketball national championship in more than a quarter-century now. Its most recent title belongs to Michigan State (in 2000, in Indianapolis), a drought that is oft-referenced this time of year. Sometimes, the league doesn’t have true title contenders. Other times, there are face-plants and historic upsets. A single-elimination tournament is almost certainly not the best way to judge the relative strength of conferences … but it’s what we’ve got, and it’s what we do. Year after year, we compare based on leagues’ postseason success (and lack thereof) — and we count championships.

You only need one team good enough to cut down the nets, but here the Big Ten sits with half of the Elite Eight field. If not now, when? You’ve got No. 1 seed Michigan, one of the nation’s elite teams all season long. You’ve got the preseason No. 1 in Purdue, a team that sputtered down the stretch in the regular season but is playing its best basketball of the year now. And you’ve got tournament darling Iowa taking on red-hot Illinois in Houston, a matchup that guarantees the Big Ten at least one Final Four participant.

“I think we’re…

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Publish date : 2026-03-28 04:19:00

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