FanPost

The Continuing Quest for a B1G Basketball Champion

The drought continues...

Runner up for the 3rd time in 7 years but still no title.

Since MSU last won a national championship for the Big Ten in 2000, this is the breakdown of titles by conference:

  • ACC - 5
  • Big East - 4
  • SEC - 3
  • Big 12 - 1

The B1G will always be looked at as a conference of football schools that can also play a little basketball but the SEC is the ultimate football conference yet has 3 titles since 2000. If the pattern over that time holds, the 2014 champion will likely be one of the following schools:

Whoever wins the Pac 12

The only power conferences missing from the list above are the B1G and Pac 12. When Kansas won the championship in 2008 it had been 20 years since a Big 8/Big 12 school won it all. The Pac 10/Pac 12 is now sitting on a 17 year drought since its last champion. Look out for Arizona to possibly bookend that streak.

Kentucky or Florida

Since Kansas from the Big 12 won in 2008 the champions have come from ACC-ACC-Big East-SEC-Big East. Time for an SEC champ again right? Maybe not, but both Kentucky and Florida figure to have elite teams with championship coaches next season and you know Slick Calipari won't be able to sleep now that Pitino has 2 rings.

Syracuse

The last 2 champions both lost in the semifinals the year before. It's been a whopping 3 seasons since an ACC school won it all, the last time that happened(2006-2008) ACC schools took the next 2. Syracuse will join the ACC next season. Sounds like they should be the odds on favorite. But if Syracuse should happen to struggle next season, Duke is in pretty good shape to win another one for the ACC.

Or maybe the drought finally ends

If none of the above happens, maybe a B1G school finally gets it done. I hope that school is MSU.

This is a FanPost, written by a member of the TOC community. It does not represent the official positions of The Only Colors, Inc.--largely because we have no official positions.