High-flying Big Ten humbled again in tournament

In late February and into early March, Ohio State lost four straight games — the kind of losing streak that can prove fatal for a program with the NCAA tournament on the horizon.

At the start of that spiral, the Buckeyes were the No. 4-ranked team in the country. By the end of the regular-season-ending collapse — which included losses to Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa and Illinois — Ohio State was still ranked No. 9.

The reasoning is this: The Big Ten was hyped as the most dominant, difficult conference in college basketball, in which bluebloods devoured bluebloods each and every night. A four-game losing streak that included defeats against three other teams ranked in the top 10 was hardly worth batting an eye.

So the Big Ten still received a record-setting nine bids for the NCAA tournament. And despite all the hype, the Big Ten again floundered when it mattered most, losing early and often in the tournament. Michigan’s loss to UCLA on Tuesday night in the Elite Eight marked the end of the conference’s stay in the Big Dance.

“I mean, it’s March Madness for a reason,” Michigan guard Eli Brooks said March 22. “You’re going to get the best shot of everybody. I don’t think the Big Ten — I still think the Big Ten is a really good conference. We just had some losses.”

Those losses came quickly. Michigan State, which snuck into the field with a First Four matchup, dropped what now looks to be a fine defeat to Final Four-bound UCLA.

The No. 2 Buckeyes followed up a strong Big Ten tournament performance with a first-round egg against No. 15-seed Oral Roberts. And No. 4 Purdue fell to No. 13 North Texas, capping a disastrous first round for the Big Ten.

But the second round got worse for the conference. No. 8-seed Loyola Chicago knocked out No. 1 Illinois, and No. 10 Maryland, No. 10 Rutgers, No. 2 Iowa and No. 9 Wisconsin all followed.

From nine teams to one — Michigan — over the course of the first weekend.

“There’s only one Big Ten school left,” Loyola Chicago’s Sister Jean said March 25 (via ESPN). “Nine had bids to the NCAA, but Michigan is the only one that’s left, so everybody is questioning what has happened. … There’s still something missing in the selection process.”

The Wolverines took care of business in the Sweet 16, rolling past No. 4 Florida State. But a cold shooting performance Tuesday night against the Bruins cost Michigan — and the vaunted Big Ten — a place in the Final Four. The Wolverines missed their final eight shots in the two-point defeat.

When it comes to analyzing what happened to the conference, it’s best to start with an absolute. The Big Ten was a strong conference this season, with a tightly packed middle-tier and several upper-level squads.

That led to high rankings across the board — at one point, the Terrapins played nine ranked conference foes in an 11-game span — with losses that could be explained away with relative ease.

“It’s gruesome. The Big Ten is a gauntlet,” Maryland guard Darryl Morsell said March 22. “Every game is a dogfight. No matter who you play, whether you’re playing the worst team or the best team. It’s going to be a game.”

But while the competition was fierce in the conference, the best Big Ten teams either didn’t match the best teams from more top-heavy conferences, or the grueling conference slate left Big Ten squads drained come March Madness.

And it’s hardly unique for the Big Ten to struggle in the Big Dance. A Big Ten team hasn’t won the national championship since 2000, when Michigan State secured the title (Maryland won the championship in 2002 as a member of the ACC).

So even for one of the most hyped conferences entering the NCAA Tournament, perhaps the dud shouldn’t come as such a surprise.