CHICAGO - Maybe next year, Big Ten.
The conference still doesn’t have a team that can win the men's NCAA Tournament and give the Big Ten its first title since 2000. That much is obvious after Michigan, which spent most of the season in the top three of the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll, including five weeks at No. 1, struggled throughout the conference tournament before finally losing to Purdue in the title game.
Oh, the Wolverines are still the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region. But Michigan looks like one of those teams that peaked too early, and has a Sweet 16 or Elite Eight exit written all over them.
“This loss … makes us know that we are not unbeatable. We can lose games, too,” Aday Mara said after the 80-72 loss to Purdue on Sunday, March 15.
“We cannot relax during games. We’ve just got to keep learning, keep improving and make sure we don’t relax during games.”
