Tom Izzo shares how Big Ten prepared Michigan State for NCAA Tournament

The Big Ten national championship drought is well established by now with Michigan State in 2000 being the last team from the conference to win the NCAA Tournament. It’s a phenomena that has confounded Tom Izzo.

“I’ve been in those eight Final Fours,” Izzo said. “Three or four of them, I think we had two Big Ten teams in the Finals. We had Ohio State and us, had Wisconsin and us, had Illinois and us. It’s not like we aren’t getting them. Why aren’t we winning it? It all comes down to matchups at the end. I worry a little bit. I think we beat the hell out of our league this year, each other. That can make you stronger or wear you down. I don’t know.”

The Big Ten has been one of the best conferences in the country the past few seasons in particular but have struggled in the NCAA Tournament.

A common refrain has been that the 20-game regular season the Big Ten plays combined with the quality of opponents has led to the teams being worn down by the end of the year. Izzo thinks its a quality theory.

“Am I disappointed that we’re the last Big Ten team because we’ve been there six other times and haven’t won one?” Izzo said. “Sure. Do I think Illinois was good enough one year? Do I think Wisconsin, Michigan? Yeah, I do, but we haven’t done it. So we’ve got to take our lumps on that and try to do something about it. But I think we’re prepared if we’re not beat up because it was a brutal season. When you got three-fourths of your league at 11-7 or 10-8, whatever we are, it means that everybody’s beating the hell out of everybody.”

Izzo thinks this year could be the difference, and he highlighted multiple Big Ten program who could be making some noise during the NCAA Tournament.

His Spartans team opens up against USC on Friday.

“I like the position that some of these Big Ten teams are in,” Izzo said. “Purdue is awfully good and a one-day prep figuring out how to guard Edey, it’s going to take more than John Wooden coming back. It’s a big deal. And Indiana has a lot of things. You get a team like Iowa, who can really shoot it as times. But I’m looking at Maryland — Penn State could come right down to the matchup because they’re a strange matchup. And if they get through the first game and you’ve got a one-day prep for a Penn State team that’s going to have five 6-5 guys out there that can shoot it, that’s not the norm. That’s why I say matchups make a huge difference in the tournament.”