The Big Ten entered the NCAA tournament full of confidence after a highly competitive and entertaining regular season secured them nine bids, including four of the top 14 seeds.
“I don’t feel afraid of … anybody because we truly have played the best teams in the country on a night-in, night-out basis,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.
Some media (ahem) even wrote stories about how good the league was and how this might be the perfect opportunity to end its 21-year national championship drought.
Well, then came a 22-hour stretch that featured:
Oh, and Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens reiterated once again — perhaps clearly enough this time — that he won’t be the next head coach at Indiana.