Big Ten Record in NCAA Tournament: How is B1G doing in March Mardness? [Updated for Final Four]
The Big Ten placed eight teams in the NCAA Tournament field of 68 this year. What is the Big Ten record in March Madness so far?
It’s been more than two decades since a Big Ten program won the NCAA Tournament. Eight teams are hoping to change that in the latest edition of March Madness.
The tournament tipped off with the First Round on Thursday and Friday. Purdue, Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern, Iowa, Maryland, Illinois and Penn State each had the opportunity to add to the Big Ten’s win total while advancing to the Second Round.
What has the conference accomplished?
Big Ten March Madness Record going into Final Four
Going into the Final Four, the Big Ten record in March Madness was 6-8 with all teams from the conference knocked out.
Elite Eight:
No Big Ten teams made it to the Elite Eight.
Sweet 16:
Michigan State stood alone for the Big Ten going into the Sweet 16. They didn’t make it out.
The Spartens lost a tight contest to the No. 3 seed Kansas State Wildcats on Thursday night.
Round of 32:
On Saturday, Penn State challenged No. 2 seed Texas to the end, but ultimately fell to the Longhorns 71-66.
Northwestern also gave No. 2 seed UCLA a game. However, they suffered the same face as the Nittany Lions, losing 68-63.
Maryland couldn’t find a way to overcome the No. 1 overall seed Alabama, losing 73-51.
Michigan State proved it still has Tom Izzo magic as it knocked off 2-seed Marquette in a 69-60 victory.
Indiana was not so lucky as it fell behind early against Miami, tried to stage a comeback, but didn’t have enough to avoid the 85-69 loss to the Canes.
Round of 64:
In the Round of 64, Purdue was shockingly responsible for one of those numbers in the L column. They became just the second No. 1 seed to be upset by a No. 16 when FDU stunned them on Friday.
No. 4 seed Indiana finished off Friday night in a more positive way with a comfortable 71-60 victory over No. 13 seed Kent State.
Penn State started things off the way they left them in the Big Ten Tournament: Turned up to 10. The No. 10 seed pulled off an emphatic upset of No. 7 seed Texas A&M, 76-59
No. 8 seed Maryland got the better of No. 9 seed West Virginia, 67-65, to keep the Big Ten unscathed early.
However, Illinois and Iowa both lost their 8-9 matchups in the West and Midwest brackets respectively. The Fighting Illini fell to No. 8 seed Arkansas, 73-63, while the Hawkeyes were bettered by No. 9 seed Auburn, 83-75.
No. 7 seed Northwestern got the conference back on track by taking care of business against No. 10 seed Boise State on Thursday night.
Early on Friday, No. 7 seed Michigan State kept things rolling with a 72-62 victory over No. 10 seed USC.
The Big Ten had nine teams in last year’s tournament. They went 9-9 with two teams making it into the Sweet 16. However, neither Purdue nor Michigan made it to the Elite Eight. The Wolverines fell to Villanova as an underdog. It was a more embarrassing situation for the Boilermakers who were upset as the No. 3 seed by the No. 15 seed Saint Peters.
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