Anxious Times in Big Ten Country

Every upset is an opportunity lost as the pressure builds to bring home the title.

March 21, 2021

Tipoff

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament is taking place deep in the heart of B1G Country. Games are taking place on Indiana’s and Purdue’s home courts. Beyond the geographic advantage, the conference dominated the regular season and was rewarded with 9 teams in the Field of 68, including two 1-seed teams and another pair of 2-seeds. The conference has never been in a better position to take home the National Championship. What’s with the anxiety, then? Early tournament upsets to Ohio State and Purdue have conference homers concerned about validating regular season excellence.

Over the past 30 years, the B1G has captured just one NCAA Championship when Matten Cleaves, Morris Peterson, Charlie Bell, and “the Flintstones” of Michigan State cut down the nets in 2000. Between 1990 and 2019, the conference has gone 1-9 in the title game with 6 different conference members finishing the year as the National Runner-Up. Watching the confetti fall for the other team brings up memories of every other opportunity lost. When a top team like Ohio State fell to Oral Roberts on Friday, the conference felt the pressure build to finally bring the title back to the Midwest.

The NCAA Tournament is a bucking bronco, known for its crazy upsets and buzzer beaters. Players and teams become instant celebrities, like Ali Farokhmanesh of Northern Iowa, upsetting #1 Kansas in 2010. Surprise teams, such as 7-seeded 2014 UConn, cut down the nets just as often the #1 overall team entering the tournament. Unpredictability makes it special. The tournament does not crown the best team most years, it crowns the team that survives. While the B1G was hands-down the best conference this season, that elusive crown will neither confirm nor deny the excellence of the regular season.

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Tournament Tracker

It’s The Big Dance! Let’s take a look at NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament action and what lies ahead.

NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament 2nd Round

  • #1 Illinois vs. #8 Loyola-Chicago (12:10 p.m. EDT on CBS)

  • #1 Baylor vs. #9 Wisconsin (2:40 p.m. EDT on CBS)

  • #3 West Virginia vs. #11 Syracuse (5:15 p.m. EDT on CBS)

  • #3 Arkansas vs. #6 Texas Tech (6:10 p.m. EDT on TNT)

  • #2 Houston vs. #10 Rutgers (7:10 p.m. EDT on TBS)

  • #7 Florida vs. #15 Oral Roberts (7:45 p.m. EDT on truTV)

  • #5 Villanova vs. #13 North Texas (8:45 p.m. p.m. EDT on TNT)

  • #4 Oklahoma State vs. #12 Oregon State (9:40 p.m. p.m. EDT on TBS)

NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament 1st Round

  • #5 Iowa vs. #12 Central Michigan (12:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN)

  • #7 Virginia Tech vs. #10 Marquette (12:00 p.m. EDT on ESPNU)

  • #8 Oklahoma State vs. #9 Wake Forest (1:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN2)

  • #4 Kentucky vs. #13 Idaho State (2:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN)

  • #3 Tennessee vs. #4 Middle Tennessee (2:00 p.m. EDT on ABC)

  • #6 Michigan vs. #11 Florida Gulf Coast (3:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN2)

  • #1 NC State vs. #16 NC A&T (4:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN)

  • #2 Baylor vs. #15 Jacksonville State (4:00 p.m. EDT on ABC)

  • #5 Georgia Tech vs. #12 Stephen F. Austin (4:30 p.m. EDT on ESPNU)

  • #8 Syracuse vs. #9 South Dakota State (5:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN2)

  • #1 South Carolina vs. #16 Mercer (6:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN)

  • #8 Oregon State vs. #9 Florida State (7:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN2)

  • #1 UConn vs. #16 High Point (8:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN)

  • #4 West Virginia vs. #13 Lehigh (8:00 p.m. EDT on ESPNU)

  • #8 USF vs. #9 Washington State (9:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN2)

  • #1 Stanford vs. #16 Utah Valley (10:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN)

The Mixtape

The Field of 68 team puts out lots of great content each week. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

  • The first round of the NCAA Tournament has been a wild ride. For the first time in history, 4 teams seeded 13 or lower have advanced to the round of 32, including Abilene Christian (14), North Texas (13), Ohio University (13), and Oral Roberts (15). Just for fun, Syracuse (11) and UCLA (11) have also crashed the party. Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman take a look at the first day of the tournament and break down the action.

  • Speaking of upsets, who could forget the famous shot from RJ Hunter of Georgia State to take down Baylor in 2015? The shot was so good, his father and head coach, Ron, Sr., fell off his stool. The two joined Rob Dauster to relieve the magic on 68 Shining Moments.

  • As 32 teams remain, others are pondering their future. The coaching carousel is swinging at a rapid pace. Rob and Jeff discuss job openings at Marquette, Minnesota, Indiana, and elsewhere. Who are candidates for these high majors? No one is more in tune with the coaching candidates than Jeff Goodman.