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Maryland ended its 2017 NCAA Tournament run in the First Round with a loss to Xavier. With Wisconsin falling to Florida on a buzzer-beating three Friday night, every Big Ten team has been eliminated.
After the Big Ten had an unquestionably down regular season, the conference showed up somewhat in March. Here’s how each team finished:
How each Big Ten team finished
| Team | Finish |
|---|---|
| Team | Finish |
| Wisconsin | Lost to Florida in Sweet 16 |
| Michigan | Lost to Oregon in Sweet 16 |
| Purdue | Lost to Kansas in Sweet 16 |
| Northwestern | Lost to Gonzaga in 2nd Round |
| Michigan State | Lost to Kansas in 2nd Round |
| Maryland | Lost to Xavier in 1st Round |
| Minnesota | Lost to Middle Tennessee St. in 1st Round |
Of course, just like you shouldn’t judge a conference on its bowl season success, you really shouldn’t put too much stock into NCAA Tournament results. It’s an incredibly small sample size, but the Big Ten’s performance makes sense if you think about it.
Three teams making the Sweet Sixteen is no easy thing, but the Big Ten did have some relative depth. The conference had eight teams in KenPom’s top 50. That’s only two fewer than the ACC had. Not getting anyone into the Elite Eight showed its biggest problem: a lack of a truly dominant team. Purdue was the Big Ten’s top-rated team, and was only 18th-best in the country, per KenPom’s metrics.
In other news
Maryland women’s basketball lost to Oregon in the Sweet Sixteen.
The loss cost the Terps a shot at a rematch with UConn, and ended the careers of Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Brionna Jones, two stars who had incredible careers at Maryland.
Maryland added a walk-on kicker, Paul Inzerillo, to its 2017 class.
Proud to announce that I have committed to further my academic and athletic career at The University of Maryland! #UMD #B1G #GoTerps pic.twitter.com/YiyTtuOSVM
— Paul Inzerillo (@paul_inzerillo) March 25, 2017
Maryland is in the top six for Prentiss Hubb, a local four-star shooting guard.
Maryland baseball lost to Michigan on Sunday, but still captured a series win over the Wolverines.
Maryland softball got swept by Ohio State this weekend, including a 22-0 loss.
The Final Four is set. Somehow South Carolina is in it. North Carolina, Gonzaga and Oregon make up the rest.
UNC beat Kentucky thanks to a last-second shot by a former walk-on.
This should be fun. The Final Four won’t start until Saturday, so we’ll somehow have to find things to do until then. We’ll have coverage of Maryland’s pro day on Wednesday and open football practice on Thursday, so that’s something to hold you over.