Inside the Big Ten’s losing streak in national championship games: What went wrong in 8 losses since 2000

Inside the Big Ten’s losing streak in national championship games: What went wrong in 8 losses since 2000 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Big Ten has a chance to break a national championship drought in men’s basketball that extends back to the 1999-2000 college basketball season.

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No. 1 Michigan gets that opportunity against No. 2 UConn on Monday in the 2026 Men’s Basketball Tournament national championship game. The Wolverines beat No. 1 Arizona 91-73 on Monday to earn that shot.

Will the ninth time be the charm?

The Big Ten is 0-8 in national championship games since Michigan State won the national championship in 2000. Michigan has lost in the national championship game twice, and Illinois has one title-game loss. Michigan State, Indiana, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin also had opportunities.

Is the statistic fair? All eight losses were against a No. 1 seed. The Big Ten representative was favored in only one of those eight games. The Big Ten team also had more NBA Draft picks on the roster in only one of those games. You still have to break through at some point, right? Here is a look inside the Big Ten’s national championship drought.

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When did the Big Ten last win a national championship?

No. 1 Michigan State beat No. 5 Florida 89-76 in the 2000 national championship game on April 3, 2000. It marked the first national championship for Spartans coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans (32-7) pulled away in the second half behind Mateen Cleaves, who played through a foot injury in the second half. Cleaves had 18 points and four assists, and Morris Peterson added 21 points for Michigan State against the Gators (29-8).

BENDER: Why Michigan will roll past UConn

Big Ten national championship game losses since 2000

No. 1 UConn 75, No. 1 Purdue 60 (2024)

Final records: UConn (37-3), Purdue (34-5)

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/inside-big-tens-losing-streak-120001866.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-05 12:00:00

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