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There's a good chance -- entering the Elite Eight on Saturday -- that Arizona or Duke will win the national championship. Those two teams have been at the top of the sport all season. Let's say that happens. Let's say Arizona or Duke lift the trophy in April in Indianapolis. Would that mean the Big Ten isn't the best college basketball conference in 2026? We don't think so. We think the debate is already settled before a single shot is attempted in any Elite Eight game. We won't need the Final Four to resolve any arguments. This one has already been put to bed.
The Big Ten has four Elite Eight teams, and no other conference has more than one. The Big 12 has Arizona, the ACC has Duke, the Big East has UConn, and the SEC has Tennessee. If only by process of elimination, no other conference can claim what the Big Ten has: heavy, widespread representation in the Elite Eight, with at least one spot guaranteed in the Final Four.
As long as Michigan beats Tennessee -- which is widely expected to happen on Sunday -- the Big Ten will have two teams at the 2026 Final Four, more than any other conference. That would be the cherry on top, but again, the debate is really already over.
The Big Ten had six Sweet 16 teams, one short of the SEC's seven teams from 2025. The Big Ten had the closest thing to what the SEC delivered last season in its insane 2025 run.
The Big Ten is winning most of the high-profile conference battles. Michigan beat Alabama of the SEC. Purdue knocked out Texas of the SEC. Illinois beat Houston of the Big 12. The other conferences just aren't winning these showdowns.
The ACC lost seven teams on the first weekend of this NCAA Tournament and didn't come close to being a top league this season.
The SEC lost three Sweet 16 teams, and as noted above, two were taken out by Big Ten opponents. The other, Michigan State, lost to UConn. Only Tennessee made the Elite Eight from the SEC. There's no way the league has a claim to being the best in college basketball.
The one conference which entered this NCAA Tournament with a chance to overtake the Big Ten for best in the country was the Big 12, but the conference didn't get it done. Houston losing to Illinois was the first crusher, and Iowa State losing to Tennessee was the nail in the coffin. Arizona could win it all, but that would be a case of one team transcending its conference; same for Duke and the ACC. The Big Ten's four Elite Eight teams represents the strength of a whole league, not just one team.
Had Houston defeated Illinois and then won the South Region to make the Final Four alongside (potentially) Arizona, the Big 12 would have had a much stronger position to stand on.
Iowa State had a chance to play Michigan in the Midwest Regional final. Had ISU made Sunday's game in Chicago and then beaten the Wolverines, that -- plus a Houston South Regional championship and an Arizona-over-Purdue Big 12 win in the West Regional final -- would have given the Big 12 a strong argument. It didn't happen.
Most of the heavy hitters in the Big 12 fell short. Every conference failed to put more than one team in the Elite Eight ... except the Big Ten. That makes it easy to declare the conference power debate over, even before the Elite Eight begins.
The Big Ten is the best conference in the sport this year, but that distinction won't mean much if the conference can't win its first NCAA Tournament since Michigan State in 2000. That's a 26-year drought the Big Ten needs to snap. We will see if it happens.
No one expects Purdue to upset Arizona, but if it happens, the Big Ten is looking at three Final Four teams, with a Purdue-Michigan national semifinal becoming a distinct possibility.
Contact/Follow@College_Wire on X and@College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Big Ten owns 2026 college basketball - Final Four won't change that
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Four to one
The Big Ten has four Elite Eight teams, and no other conference has more than one. The Big 12 has Arizona, the ACC has Duke, the Big East has UConn, and the SEC has Tennessee. If only by process of elimination, no other conference can claim what the Big Ten has: heavy, widespread representation in the Elite Eight, with at least one spot guaranteed in the Final Four.
Michigan
As long as Michigan beats Tennessee -- which is widely expected to happen on Sunday -- the Big Ten will have two teams at the 2026 Final Four, more than any other conference. That would be the cherry on top, but again, the debate is really already over.
Sweet 16
The Big Ten had six Sweet 16 teams, one short of the SEC's seven teams from 2025. The Big Ten had the closest thing to what the SEC delivered last season in its insane 2025 run.
Head-to-head battles
The Big Ten is winning most of the high-profile conference battles. Michigan beat Alabama of the SEC. Purdue knocked out Texas of the SEC. Illinois beat Houston of the Big 12. The other conferences just aren't winning these showdowns.
ACC awful
The ACC lost seven teams on the first weekend of this NCAA Tournament and didn't come close to being a top league this season.
SEC undercut
The SEC lost three Sweet 16 teams, and as noted above, two were taken out by Big Ten opponents. The other, Michigan State, lost to UConn. Only Tennessee made the Elite Eight from the SEC. There's no way the league has a claim to being the best in college basketball.
Big 12
The one conference which entered this NCAA Tournament with a chance to overtake the Big Ten for best in the country was the Big 12, but the conference didn't get it done. Houston losing to Illinois was the first crusher, and Iowa State losing to Tennessee was the nail in the coffin. Arizona could win it all, but that would be a case of one team transcending its conference; same for Duke and the ACC. The Big Ten's four Elite Eight teams represents the strength of a whole league, not just one team.
Houston
Had Houston defeated Illinois and then won the South Region to make the Final Four alongside (potentially) Arizona, the Big 12 would have had a much stronger position to stand on.
Iowa State
Iowa State had a chance to play Michigan in the Midwest Regional final. Had ISU made Sunday's game in Chicago and then beaten the Wolverines, that -- plus a Houston South Regional championship and an Arizona-over-Purdue Big 12 win in the West Regional final -- would have given the Big 12 a strong argument. It didn't happen.
Bottom line
Most of the heavy hitters in the Big 12 fell short. Every conference failed to put more than one team in the Elite Eight ... except the Big Ten. That makes it easy to declare the conference power debate over, even before the Elite Eight begins.
The real challenge
The Big Ten is the best conference in the sport this year, but that distinction won't mean much if the conference can't win its first NCAA Tournament since Michigan State in 2000. That's a 26-year drought the Big Ten needs to snap. We will see if it happens.
Purdue
No one expects Purdue to upset Arizona, but if it happens, the Big Ten is looking at three Final Four teams, with a Purdue-Michigan national semifinal becoming a distinct possibility.
Contact/Follow@College_Wire on X and@College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Big Ten owns 2026 college basketball - Final Four won't change that
Continue reading...
