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Michigan State forward Coen Carr (55) gives a high-five to head coach Tom Izzo after scoring a 3-point basket against Louisville during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
On April 3, 2000, Tom Izzo led Michigan State to the NCAA men’s basketball championship in his fifth season as head coach. Izzo, a Naismith Hall of Famer, is still in the same role. He’s made six more Final Fours. Still, the Spartans have not won another national title. Neither has any other Big Ten Conference school during that stretch.
This season, the streak could end, as the Big Ten has six programs in the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16, the most of any league. The SEC is next with four teams, followed by the Big 12 with three, the Big East with two and the ACC with one.
Since Michigan State won the title 26 years ago, the Big Ten has had a team in the Final Four in 13 of the past 24 tournaments, including national runner-ups in 2002 (Indiana), 2005 (Illinois), 2007 (Ohio State), 2009 (Michigan State), 2013 (Michigan), 2015 (Wisconsin), 2018 (Michigan) and 2024 (Purdue). And the conference has been ranked among the top three in the nation in each of the past eight seasons, according to analyst Ken Pomeroy. But the Big Ten has yet to break through since 2000, a stretch during which the ACC and Big East have had eight national championships apiece, the SEC has had four and the Big 12 has had three.
Michigan State, the No. 3 seed in the East Region, is back in the Sweet 16 for the third time in four seasons and the 17th time since Izzo’s tenure began in 1995. The Spartans (27-7) on Friday night face No. 2 seed Connecticut (31-5), which won the national title in 2023 and 2024, its sixth championship since 1999. Michigan State is led by point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., a second team Associated Press All-American who leads the nation with 9.4 assists per game. Fears had 16 assists in Michigan State’s second round victory over Louisville, setting a school record for an NCAA tournament game.
In the South region, the Big Ten has three of the four teams still alive. No. 4 seed Nebraska faces No. 9 seed Iowa in an All-Big Ten Sweet 16 matchup on Thursday night, while No. 3 seed Illinois faces No. 2 seed Houston afterward.
Iowa and Nebraska aren’t accustomed being in this spot. In fact, Nebraska (28-6) had never won an NCAA tournament game until this season, the longest winless streak of any major conference program. The Cornhuskers were not ranked in the AP preseason poll, but they won their first 20 games, the best start in program history, and were ranked as high as fifth in the nation. Although the Cornhuskers went 6-6 in their next 12 games, including a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal loss to Purdue, they defeated Troy in the first round of the NCAAs and then beat Vanderbilt, 74-72, on freshman forward Braden Frager’s layup with 2.2 seconds left. Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner nearly made a halfcourt shot at the buzzer, but it rimmed out, sending Nebraska to the Sweet 16.
Iowa (23-12) had a similarly exciting finish in its second round victory over No. 1 seed Florida, the reigning national champion. With 4.5 seconds left, forward Alvaro Folgueiras made a 3-pointer from the corner, clinching the Hawkeyes’ first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 1999. Like Nebraska, Iowa wasn’t ranked in the AP preseason poll. The Hawkeyes were only in the top 25 for two weeks in late December and early January at No. 25 and 19, respectively, before falling out of the poll the rest of the season. They lost seven of their last 10 games entering the NCAA tournament but defeated Clemson and Florida to advance in coach Ben McCollum’s first season.
McCollum, who grew up in Iowa, was a highly successful Division II coach at Northwest Missouri State before taking over at Drake University last season and leading the Bulldogs to a 31-4 record and NCAA appearance. Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz, the team’s leading scorer (19.7 points per game), played for McCollum at Northwest Missouri State and Drake.
While Nebraska and Iowa aren’t accustomed to NCAA success, Illinois is in the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons. The Illini lost in the Elite Eight in 2024 to UConn, which went on a 30-0 run that game and ended up winning the national title. This season, Illinois was ranked as No. 5 in the AP poll in early February, but the Illini lost five of their last nine games entering the NCAA tournament. But they have been impressive in the first two rounds, defeating Pennsylvania by 35 points and VCU by 21 points. Freshman guard Keaton Wagler, a second team All-American, leads the Illini with 17.8 points and 4.4 assists per game.
Perhaps the Big Ten’s best bets to finally win a national title are Purdue and Michigan, which were expected to be the league’s top two teams entering the season. Purdue, in fact, was No. 1 in the AP preseason poll for the first time and returned four starters in guards Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and C.J. Cox and forward Trey Kaufman-Renn. The Boilermakers struggled at times during the season, including going 6-7 in their final 13 games entering the Big Ten tournament. But since then, they have been on a tear, defeating Michigan, 80-72, in the conference tournament championship game and then winning their first two NCAA tournament games.
On Sunday, Purdue (29-8) defeated Miami by 10 points in its second round game even though Smith went 3 of 12 from the field and committed eight turnovers, tying his career-high. Loyer had 24 points on 6 of 7 shooting, including 4 of 4 on 3’s, while Kaufman-Renn had 19 points and nine rebounds. Smith, a second team All-American, is the NCAA’s career assists leader and leads the nation’s best offense, per KenPom. The Boilermakers have a 131.9 offensive rating, the highest since KenPom began tracking the statistic in the 1996-97 season.
Purdue, the No. 2 seed in the West Region, returns to action Thursday night when it faces No. 11 seed Texas. The Boilermakers are in the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season and seventh time in the past nine tournaments. If they defeat Texas, they will face No. 1 seed Arizona or No. 4 seed Arkansas Saturday with a Final Four berth on the line.
Meanwhile, Michigan, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, faces No. 4 seed Alabama in the Sweet 16 on Friday night. The Wolverines (33-3) have been dominant in the first two rounds, defeating Howard by 21 points and Saint Louis by 23 points. Yaxel Lendeborg, a first team All-American and the Big Ten player of the year, leads Michigan with 14.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. UM’s only losses have come by three points at home against Wisconsin on Jan. 10, by five points against Duke in Washington, D.C., last month and by eight points against Purdue in the Big Ten title game.
Michigan is No. 2 in KenPom’s defensive rating and No. 6 in his offensive rating, joining fellow No. 1 seeds Arizona (34-2) and Duke (34-2) as the only teams in the top 10 of both categories. Those three are the national championship favorites, although another program could always win the title. The Final Four this year is in Indianapolis, the city where Michigan State won it all in 2000. Now, 26 years later, the Spartans and other Big Ten teams are aiming to bring the league another title.
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