March Madness 2023: Biggest winners and losers from opening weekend

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COLUMBUS, OHIO – MARCH 17: Head coach Matt Painter of the Purdue Boilermakers looks on during the first half of a game against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 17, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

March Madness: Biggest winners and losers of the 2023 NCAA Tournament

Big Ten Conference: Losers

Hats off to Tom Izzo, once again. The Michigan State head coach has his Spartans moving on to the Sweet 16 for what feels like the 100th time in school history. It’s actually the 15th time that Izzo has led Michigan State to the Regional Semifinal.

But the rest of the Big Ten Conference fell on their face over the weekend. The Big Ten had five schools make it out of Round 1, but only one survived to make out of the first weekend. The biggest loser of this group is obviously Purdue.

Matt Painter just seems unable to get that elusive Final Four appearance. Purdue, the No. 1 seed in the East, was absolutely embarrassed by Fairleigh-Dickinson. Painter will have the summer to run it back, but this was arguably Painter’s best shot to win a national title at his alma mater.

Another Big Ten team that made an unexpected early exit was Indiana. The Hoosiers escaped a potential first-round upset with a victory over Kent State, but bowed in the second round following a drubbing at the hand of Miami.

Maryland, Iowa, Penn State, Illinois, and Northwestern were all sent packing as well. No conference put more teams into the NCAA Tournament, but in the end, the Big Ten has the same number of teams in the Sweet 16 as the Mountain West and the West Coast Conference.

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