When is the last time a Big Ten team won March Madness?

There is plenty of excellent basketball tradition in the Big Ten. With blue blood programs like Indiana and Michigan State two of the conference's basketball pillars, the league has routinely sent a ton of teams into March Madness every year.

Despite their frequent participation in the NCAA Tournament, the Big Ten is on a lengthy title drought, failing to cut down the nets at the Final Four for the past 24 years. Only the Pac-12 has gone longer without a national champion, going 27 years without a champion since Arizona won the 1997 NCAA Tournament.

Who was the last Big Ten team to win the NCAA Tournament?

The last Big Ten team to win the NCAA Tournament was the Michigan State Spartans back in 2000. Tom Izzo's team was a veteran-laden 1-seed that year, taking care of business with convincing wins over Big Ten rival Wisconsin in the Final Four and over the Florida Gators in the national championship game.

The fact that the Big Ten's drought has lasted this long is very surprising since the conference has had plenty of bites at the apple since the Spartans' title. Seven different Big Ten teams have played for the national championship since then, with the most recent title shot coming from Michigan in 2018, but none have managed to finish the job.

It is fair to wonder if the rigors of a 20-game schedule loaded with difficult opponents has worn down the Big Ten's best teams ahead of tournament play. Six Big Ten teams appear likely to participate in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, headlined by Purdue and Illinois, with the Boilermakers having the best chance to end the league's title drought as a 1-seed.

Expansion could help the Big Ten on the basketball front next season as USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington are set to join the conference next year. The Bruins and Oregon have had a lot of tournament success while USC has had its moments of deep runs, so the league's basketball might should only increase with the addition of the four former Pac-12 schools.