Was The BIG-10 Actually Overrated?
Over the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, it has not been kind to the BIG-10. For majority of the regular season, the BIG-10 was by far the best conference in the country. It consistently had 3, 4, or 5 teams in the top 10 alone, and majority of them were title favorites. Both Michigan and Illinois were rewarded 1 seeds and Ohio State and Iowa were 2 seeds. These four teams all had title hopes and expectations. But today, Monday, March 22, there is only 1 team left – Michigan.
The BIG-10 had 8 teams in the Tournament. Out of those 8, only five of them won their first game. Both Ohio State and Purdue had giant upsets to Oral Roberts and North Texas, respectfully. But after today, Michigan is the only one left to see the Sweet 16. This was a conference who essentially could have had 4 teams in the Final Four, but now they are in jeopardy of having none. So, what happened?
For starters, I think a few of these teams were heavily over-seeded. I am not sure if Purdue should have been a 4 seed, and I am 100% sure Illinois got screwed in that Loyola-Chicago matchup. I personally thought they should have swapped with Baylor in terms of bracket. Loyola-Chicago was a nightmare second round matchup and it showed. Obviously Illinois is the better team but Loyola-Chicago is hot and March is all about being hot at the right time.
Loyola Chicago Dismantles Illinois, Marches On To The Sweet 16 @barstoolchicago @BarstoolBlers
@RamblersMBB #weaintgoing https://t.co/inwtCHvL1x— Dante (@DanteTheDon) March 21, 2021
I also thought Iowa was over-seeded. I knew they weren’t going to win. This team pretty much lost to every ranked team they played and Oregon was ranked 25th in the Coaches Poll. Besides, Iowa never had an identity. They were never a defensive team nor offensive. They were a “Luka Garza team” and they played based on how he did that night. Which in the long run does not get you anywhere.
But by far the most disappointing one is Ohio State. This is a team who barely lost to Illinois in the BIG-10 Championship and they should not have lost to Oral Roberts. They clearly didn’t take them seriously from the jump and struggled to find their offense. Which has been a problem for them pretty much down the stretch in all their games. I read in an article that they were one of the worst teams under 5 minutes to play. You literally can’t win a Championship if that’s the case.
I think Michigan will make it to the Elite Eight and see a potential great matchup with Alabama. But first they need to beat the surging Florida State Seminoles. I still think the BIG-10 has a shot at winning it all because of Michigan. Obviously they have to beat Gonzaga but anything can happen in March!
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