Hilarious, the Big Ten flops again big time on the NCAA playoff stage

 

Michigan loss to 11th-seed caps off a woeful 2021 tournament for conference

… History: Only one national basketball title in past 30 years, only 3 in football in 53 years


The Big Ten should rename itself as The Big Flop. So many fans said that 2021 would be the year in basketball for the conference with it receiving two number 1 seeds. It was ranked first in the country in the Sagarin Power Rankings at the end of the regular season. 


Lo and behold, once again, no Big Ten team in the Final Four, with only one national title in the past 30 years. 


Number one seed Michigan was upset by 11th-seed UCLA in the Elite Eight to be the latest casualty of the conference. 


Terribly overrated in football and basketball?


The conference just seems to fall apart in the playoffs whether in football or basketball. Since 1968, the Big Ten has won just three national championships in football, and one of them was shared. 


And, the only national title in men’s basketball was in the 21st Century was Michigan State in 2000, giving them only one title in the past 30 years,


We debate this same question every year in the College Football Playoff with the Big Ten, which hasn't won a national title since the 2014 season (Ohio State). It's always obvious, in the final stages of the season, that the Big Ten has the football talent to compete with the bulk of the field but consistently falls short against true national title contenders. I don't think that's any different in the Big Ten with men's basketball.


There isn't enough high-level talent in the league. Not consistently, at least. That means you can put together great teams, but you'll go 20 years (Michigan State won the Big Ten's most recent national title in 2000) without cutting down the nets. The Big Ten, per RealGM, has produced 12 first-round picks since the 2016 NBA draft. In the 2020 NBA draft alone, six SEC players were selected in the first round, and 12 overall.


The Big Ten has been the regular-season standard in college basketball in recent years, and multiple teams have played in Final Fours since Michigan State's run in 2000. But without a more fruitful pipeline, the league will continue to find itself in battles against ambitious, experienced underdogs who boast a similar talent pool in the postseason. 


“What does the Big Ten's performance in this tournament to date say about 

the quality of the league? Anything?” Bleacher Report, March 31, 2021


Embarrassments


In the 2021 tournament, Ohio State started the embarrassing trend when it fell to 15th seed Oral Roberts, and Purdue went down to north Texas and an Illinois team that many had going to the Final Four fell to its lowly in-state opponent, Loyola-Chicago. 


So, what can be done? Not a whole lot. History is a challenge to overcome for anyone, and just playing well in the postseason is the only way to change it. 


That will likely not change in the near future. 


As for football, the SEC and Clemson have dominated, and the Buckeyes have fallen flat every time they have earned a controversial trip to the CFP. 


So, the greatness of the Big Ten has probably been over exaggerated in the post-season. 


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