Michigan State guard Tyson Walker (2) and guard A.J. Hoggard (11) celebrate after knocking off second-seeded Marquette in Sunday’s second round. The Big Ten led the nation with eight bids into the NCAA tournament, but only the Spartans are left standing in the Sweet 16.
Michael Conroy | AP photo
Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Coach Tom Izzo and Michigan State have the Big Ten’s last national championship, which came back in 2000.
Michael Conroy | AP photo
EAST LANSING, Mich. — The NCAA Tournament marches on this week and, once again, the Big Ten is the convenient punching bag for fans and national media alike.
As No. 7 seed Michigan State prepares to face No. 3 Kansas State on Thursday in the Sweet 16 of the East Region, the Spartans do so as the only Big Ten team remaining in the field, another in a line of several lackluster showings from the conference.
Eight Big Ten teams made the NCAA Tournament field, including No. 1 seed Purdue and No. 4 Indiana, but only the Spartans made it out of the first weekend. And with No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson’s epic upset over the Boilermakers, the shots at the Big Ten have been ramped up this spring.
Izzo, however, is in the Sweet 16 for the 15th time — tied for most among active coaches — and whether he likes that the Spartans are again carrying the banner for the Big Ten.
“I’ve heard from most of the coaches in the Big Ten, to be very honest with you,” Izzo said on Tuesday before Michigan State had practice, then planned to hit the road for New York. “Because for me, nothing means more than Michigan State. And second on the list would be the Big Ten Conference, because it’s been good to me. I’ve been a part of it; I believe in it, I love the academic situation we have here. I love the fan bases we have in the Big Ten.
“There’s so many things we have here that are special, and the one thing that we don’t have is we have not won a championship since ours (23) years ago.”
Indeed, that is what drives so much of the criticism of the Big Ten. Michigan State won the national title in 2000, but the conference has been blanked ever since. Of course, the detractors are conveniently overlooking the fact the Big Ten has reached the Final Four 14 times since MSU’s championship — only the ACC has more, with 16 — and has played in the championship game six times.
Throw in the last three seasons, though, and things have truly gotten difficult for the Big Ten. Only Michigan State reached the Sweet 16 this season out of eight teams — in addition to Purdue and Indiana being eliminated, Iowa and Illinois were bounced in the first round, while Maryland, Northwestern and Penn State exited in the second — a year after nine Big Ten teams made the field, with just two reaching the second weekend.
In 2021, Michigan was the only team to reach the second weekend, with Michigan State the last team to reach the Final Four, in 2019, and Michigan the last to play in the title game, in 2018.
“I, myself, have been in (four) Final Fours, (along) with another Big Ten team,” Izzo said. “That means half the field was a Big Ten team and we didn’t get it done.”
The question, of course, is why?
It’s a simple question that might not have a simple answer, but the past couple of seasons, the focus has been on whether the Big Ten’s reliance on traditional big men like Purdue’s Zach Edey hurts come NCAA Tournament times.
“I think it’s a million different reasons,” Izzo said. “I think like this year, one of the problems is we beat the hell out of each other. I don’t think it wore us down; I just think it put us in a position where everybody’s a 7, 8, 9 seed. That’s the toughest place to be in. You’d almost rather be a 12 seed and play a 6 and then play a 3. The 1 and the 2 are really the toughest ones to get around, usually. Not many people beat the 1 and 2 seeds most of the time.
“But, I don’t think it’s style of play and all the things people say. It all comes down to matchups.”
And through two games, the matchups have been favorable for Michigan State, which knocked off No. 10 Southern Cal in the first round before beating No. 2 Marquette in round two.
Neither team had a dominant big man, allowing Michigan State to play to its strengths, as opposed to devising a way to limit its opponents. The same could be said for the meeting with Kansas State and a potential game against No. 4 Tennessee in the regional final.
If it plays out that way and the Spartans truly do match up well, they could be a step closer to ending the Big Ten title drought.
“A lot of guys in our league are competitors, and most of the time, they are probably pulling for us for a variety of reasons, and that’s all good,” Izzo said. “I feel bad the six other times we’ve been (to the Final Four) and haven’t been able to get it done. But, you keep knocking on that door, man, and someday, Cinderella, that slipper will fit, someday. You just gotta keep knocking.”
PITINO BACK IN BIG EAST
NEW YORK (AP) — The video banner above the entrance to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday read: “Welcome Rick Pitino.”
More like welcome back for the new St. John’s coach.
Back to The Garden, where he once coached the Knicks.
Back to the Big East, the conference that launched his stardom and where he won his last NCAA championship.
Back to big-time college basketball after a series of scandals made it seem as if that part of his career was over.
“So, when I went to Iona, I said that Iona was going to be my last job,” Pitino said at his introductory news conference at MSG. “And the reason I said that is who’s going to hire a 70-year-old ? No matter how much I think I’m Peter Pan, who’s going hire a 70-year-old?”
St. John’s gave the Hall of Famer a six-year contract to turn back the clock on a program that once stole New York City tabloid headlines away from the Knicks in the 1980s under coach Lou Carnesecca but has been mired in mediocrity for more than two decades.
The Red Storm once played most of their biggest home games at The Garden. Pitino said the goal is to have all their Big East games played there going forward.
“Lou built a legendary program. Legendary,” Pitino said. “I’m all in with everything that St. John stands for. I’m excited about it. I can’t wait to get started.
“And it’s going to start with a culture of work.”
Pitino, who was born in New York City and grew up on Long Island, has won 832 games in 34 full seasons as a college head coach, including NCAA championships at Kentucky in 1996 and Louisville in 2013.
The title at Louisville was vacated for NCAA violations, and another NCAA case related to the FBI’s investigation into corruption in college basketball recruiting led to Pitino being fired by Louisville in 2017.
The final ruling from the NCAA’s outside enforcement arm on the FBI case came down in November and exonerated Pitino.
There was also a criminal extortion case in which Pitino was the victim during his time at Louisville that revealed personal indiscretions.
“Well, it doesn’t matter what you believe, what you don’t believe,” Pitino said. “The one thing all my players have said, because they all wrote letters for me: I’ve never cheated the game. I never gave a player anything that he didn’t deserve in life.”
St. John’s president, the Rev. Brian Shanley, said the decision to hire Pitino was his call.
“Yeah, sure, there’s some reputational risk because of things that have happened before, but I think Rick is at a point in his life where he’s learned from things that have happened in the past,” Shanley told The Associated Press. “I think he’d be the first one to tell you he’s done things that he regrets. Who doesn’t when you get to be that age? I know I have. I’m a believer in forgiveness and new beginnings as a priest, and I think Rick’s going to do a great job for St. John’s.”
FDU COACH TO IONA
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (AP) — Pitino will be replaced at Iona by Tobin Anderson, who is leaving NCAA Cinderella Fairleigh Dickinson after one fairy-tale season.
Iona athletic director Matt Glovaski announced the hiring on Tuesday, a day after Pitino left to take the job at St. John’s.
Anderson led the No. 16 seed Knights to a win over No. 1 Purdue in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last week, only the second time a No. 16 seed has knocked off a top-seeded team.
“Iona University represents everything my family and I were looking for in a school, a basketball program and a campus atmosphere,” Anderson said in a statement. “Our goal is to build upon the tremendous tradition of Iona basketball and elevate the program to greater heights.”