Michigan, Illinois carry the banner for Big Ten in 2026 Final Four

In the last two rounds, many Big Ten teams saw their title hopes and dreams vanish and their seasons come to an end. Six teams entered the Sweet 16 and now two teams — Michigan and Illinois — enter the Final Four. That is a clear representation of the best conference in basketball.

Here is an update on the Big Ten heading into the Final Four:

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Teams that are now out:

Nebraska

The Nebraska Cornhuskers had a dream season this year; they had one of their best record seasons in quite some time, and they won their first tournament game in program history in the first round. They get taken out in the Sweet 16 by their rival, the Iowa Hawkeyes, in a very tough way to end things. That still should not end the fact that this was as good a season as many could hope for. Fred Hoiberg really found success with Nebraska this season, going 28-7 in the Big Ten, which looks to be the best conference in basketball this season, says a lot. Pryce Sandfort said he and the Cornhuskers will be right back in the Sweet 16 next year. That shows a big shift in the culture for this program.

Michigan State

The Michigan State Spartans’ journey this season was concluded in the Sweet 16, a tough, bitter-sweet end for Tom Izzo and his group. Tom Izzo had 5 starters that had been with Michigan State their entire careers, and having success with that is a huge deal, as they were the only team that had that continuity. Unfortunately for them, they ran into a more talented team. Michigan State had an amazing second-half comeback vs UConn, but the Huskies were good enough to close the door in the end on the Spartans.

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Purdue

The Purdue Boilermakers lived and died by their seniors this season. They got to the Elite Eight off the backs of Braden Smith, Oscar Cluff, and Trey Kaufman-Renn, but unfortunately, those guys could not overcome a stifling Arizona Wildcats team. Arizona is in the Final 4 for a reason, and if maybe Purdue did not have to run into them and instead ran into someone else,…

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Publish date : 2026-03-31 13:13:00

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