Big Ten Has Strong Start To NCAA's

Already appearing drained by Michigan State's difficult victory over the upset seekers from Bradley, coach Tom Izzo winced a little more in his postgame interview on the court when the subject turned to the next opponent for the Spartans in the East Region.

DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 21: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a play during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament against the Bradley Braves at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Sure, Minnesota is the No. 10 seed that had a losing record in conference play, but a Big Ten team is not what Izzo wanted or expected to see on the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Never mind the 79-55 margin when the Gophers visited the Spartans on Feb. 9 in their only meeting of the season. There's no foe with better insight about how to beat a team than one from the same league.

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 09: Gabe Kalscheur #22 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers drives to the basket while defended by Kyle Ahrens #0 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on February 9, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

"Definitely feels good to be advancing, you know?" Michigan State point guard Cassius Winston said after the 76-65 win over the resilient Braves on Thursday. "I think coach said at the end of the game, 'Even after all that, we're still one of the last 32 standing right now.'"

DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 21: Aaron Henry #11, Matt McQuaid #20, Cassius Winston #5, Xavier Tillman #23, and Kenny Goins #25 of the Michigan State Spartans stand on the court during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament against the Bradley Braves at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

After sending eight teams to the tournament, the most of any league in the field this year and the most in Big Ten history, the oldest of the major conferences produced a perfect 5-0 record in the first half of the first round. Iowa, Ohio State, and Wisconsin are on deck on Friday.

Minnesota defeated Louisville, Maryland hung on to beat Belmont, Michigan blew out Montana and Purdue took down Old Dominion. Commissioner Jim Delany is getting a nice little retirement gift.

DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 21: Zavier Simpson #3 of the Michigan Wolverines is defended by Ahmaad Rorie #14 of the Montana Grizzlies in the first half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Big Ten wasn't alone with its strong start. Thanks to wins by Auburn, Florida, Kentucky and LSU, the Southeastern Conference is 4-0 with Mississippi, Mississippi State and Tennessee left to play on Friday.

By Saturday, though, at least one Big Ten team is guaranteed to be knocked out because of the bracketing that lined Michigan State up with Minnesota. What's more: The winner would face Maryland in the Sweet 16, in Washington, D.C., no less, if the Terrapins beat LSU.

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 09: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans directs play while defended by Gabe Kalscheur #22 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first half at Breslin Center on February 9, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

The Minnesota-Michigan State matchup in the second round will be the earliest two Big Ten teams have ever met in the NCAA Tournament and only the eighth in history. The only time two Big Ten teams have played before the regional finals were in 1980 when Purdue beat Indiana in the round of 16.

There hasn't been an all-Big Ten matchup in any round since Michigan State beat Wisconsin in the Final Four in 2000. That came a few days after Wisconsin's win over Purdue in the regional finals.

The other NCAA Tournament games involving Big Ten games were Michigan's win over Ohio State in the 1992 regional finals, Michigan's win over Illinois in the 1989 Final Four, Purdue's win over Iowa in the 1980 third-place game and Indiana's win over Michigan in the 1976 national championship game.

According to NCAA director of media coordination and statistics David Worlock, the selection committee tries to avoid these earlier-round pairings between teams from the same conference if possible.

The selection principles state that if the teams only played once during the season, including the conference tournament, they can play as early as the second round. Minnesota and Michigan State met only once this season in the Big Ten's 20-game schedule. If teams play twice, they can't face each other until the Sweet 16, and if they play three times teams they can't face each other until the regional finals.

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 09: Matt McQuaid #20 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball and draws a foul from Amir Coffey #5 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first half at Breslin Center on February 9, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

There were actually two second-round intra-conference games in the NCAA Tournament in 2011, when the Big East sent a record 11 teams to the field and saw Cincinnati-Connecticut and Marquette-Syracuse matchups on the first weekend.

Perhaps seeing a matchup like the Gophers and Spartans on Saturday could become less of a rarity in the future, given the committee's recent de-emphasis of conference records when picking the field. More than ever, the at-large teams are being selected in as much of a vacuum as possible, with no maximums or minimums in mind for any of the leagues.

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 09: AAron Henry #11 of the Michigan State Spartans drives to the basket while defended by Brock Stull #31 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first half at Breslin Center on February 9, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

The Spartans, considered the strongest of the No. 2 seeds, were widely seen as getting the rawest deal in the bracket reveal on Sunday when they were placed in No. 1 overall seed Duke's region. As usual, Izzo had plenty of commentary on the process, expressing a belief that the committee looks too closely at proximity to venues when seeding and placing teams.

DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 21: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a play during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament against the Bradley Braves at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

"The emphasis shouldn't be placed on geography, but it should be placed on rewarding teams that have performed and what their performance is," Izzo said. "We're splitting hairs over what we can be over 10 more minutes in a plane, 100 more miles. So thank God, there seems to be a lot more people than me upset about it."

© 2019 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.