One week ago, Purdue defeated Michigan State to earn at least a share of their 26th Big Ten Conference championship, the most in conference history. A road victory against Illinois on Tuesday gave them the title outright, the first time a Big Ten team has gone back-to-back in over a decade and the first time Purdue has won back-to-back titles since winning three in a row from 1994-1996.
Their 26 titles are the most amongst all Big Ten schools, followed by the squad in Bloomington, who own 22 championships. The Boilermakers have won four of the last eight conference titles, dating back to 2017. Matt Painter has five conference titles under his belt, one less than Gene Keady and tied for seventh in conference history. With the season wrapping up tomorrow at home against Wisconsin, the team has little to prove next week in the conference tournament while preparing to avenge last year’s first round loss in the NCAA tournament.
This region is a wreck, with only one team remaining in the Sweet Sixteen, and that team I had losing in this round, so this one was a dud.
Things look much better on this side of the bracket, as the only Sweet Sixteen team I had that didn’t make it is IU and, honestly, I’m ok with that.
Alabama enters the tournament under a cloud of scandal, as their star player was recently involved in the murder of a young woman. Because of that, I have second seed Arizona going to the Final Four.
We finish off the 2022 calendar with a shot of Michael posing with the World’s Largest Drum at the All-American Marching Band’s practice prior to the upset of Michigan State last fall.
Only a couple of Xs in this region, though one of them I had going to the regional final. Michigan State allowed Coach K’s last go-around to continue and helped contribute to the Big 10’s supposed flameout during the first weekend.