Big Ten teams are out to end an NCAA drought

Michigan State has squeaked into the NCAA men's basketball tournament with a play-in game against UCLA. You can't have an NCAA tournament without Tom Izzo, can you?

The Spartans defeated conference behemoths Michigan, Illinois and Ohio State over the past three weeks to wedge their way into the bracket for the 23rd consecutive tournament. It's not a dangerous team, but don't let the 15-12 record fool you. There's a target on Sparty's back this March.

Every other Big Ten team in the tournament is gunning to be the next Michigan State, the last team from the conference to win an NCAA championship.

You have to go back to 2000, when Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, A.J. Granger and the lads capped a 32-7 season by defeating Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller and Florida 89-76 to cut down the nets.

That is too long for a conference of the Big Ten's stature — and that should be addressed this year.

There was universal agreement before the opening tip of the college basketball season that the Big Ten was going to be the toughest men's conference in the NCAA. Five months later, that has been emphatically confirmed.

The NCAA field was announced Sunday, with nine teams from the conference earning invites to a tournament that will be held in Indiana — in the heart of Big Ten country and also the location of Michigan State's championship run in 2000 in Indianapolis.

Within the Fine Nine that are already in the Indy bubble are four teams that will step on the floor with qualities to make a run for the title.

Michigan was a powerhouse for most of the season until late losses to Illinois, Michigan State and Ohio State. The Wolverines still were handed the East Region's No 1 seed. Coach Juwan Howard navigated his team through a COVID-related delay to start 18-1 before a rough March. Center Hunter Dickinson has been a force, with help from guard Franz Wagner. The loss of forward Isaiah Livers because of a stress fracture in his foot, however, is a big blow.

While Michigan was the regular-season conference champion, Illinois took the Big Ten tournament title Sunday with a 91-88 overtime victory against Ohio State that delayed the start of the selection show on CBS. Illinois also received a No. 1 seed, in the Midwest. Guard Ayo Dosunmu and center Kofi Cockburn lead the Illini, but they have shooters and defenders around them.

Ohio State landed a No. 2 seed in the South and proved over the weekend that it will be a tough out as it beat Michigan and rallied from 17 points down against Illinois to force overtime. Big man E.J. Liddell and guard Duane Washington Jr. are fearless. As long as they don't face the Gophers — who beat them early in the season and nearly rallied against them late in the season — the Buckeyes are a threat.

Iowa is led by All-America center Luka Garza, but he has shooters such as guard Jordan Bohannon around to keep defenses from focusing on him. But Garza scores from all over the court and can take over games. Like Ohio State, Iowa enters the tournament as a No. 2 seed, in the West Region.

The cultured NCAA hoops watcher knows all too well that bracket busting is part of the journey. A team favored to win against the lower seed is a flurry of turnovers and missed free throws away from having its championship dreams crushed. That's the alluring part of March Madness, pulling up a chair to see who will go on a run like No. 11 seed George Mason did in 2006 when it knocked off top-seeded UConn to reach the Final Four. The trap for the top Big Ten teams in the tournament could be running into a conference opponent it has already faced two or three times this season and is out for revenge. Michigan, Illinois, Ohio State and Iowa are high seeds and on a mission, but the chalk doesn't always walk.

The brackets are set, and the Wolverines, Illini, Buckeyes and Hawkeyes are the four teams from the Big Ten headed to a big dance in a big bubble with a big chance to end a big drought.