Can Big Ten favorite Purdue end league's March drought?
The Big Ten got an unexpected boost in the offseason when Zach Edey decided to return to Purdue for a fourth year.
But the question remains whether Edey’s towering presence will make a difference next March. Or will Purdue’s well-publicized struggles in the NCAA Tournament — emblematic of the entire conference’s recent postseason failures — persist?
The 7-foot-4, 300-pound Edey was the runaway winner of the AP National Player of the Year award last season, when he averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. He helped lead the Boilermakers to the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Then Purdue became just the second top seed in history to lose in the first round when it was stunned 63-58 by No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson. That was the most painful of a long list of March disappointments for the Boilermakers, who were knocked out by No. 15 seed Saint Peter's in 2022 and No. 13 seed North Texas in 2021.
Purdue coach Matt Painter, speaking at Big Ten men's basketball media day on Tuesday, said those losses have led to some long offseasons.
"I think that’s part of coaching. Like, you don’t sit around and shine your trophies. You sit around and wonder why in the hell you couldn’t beat somebody 17 years ago on a cold Wednesday night," Painter said. "The thing that I’ve always tried to do, and it’s probably the hardest route but the best route, is you’ve got to face it. Don’t run from something. Face it, take it on, and that’s how you’re going to hopefully reverse that scenario where you’re going to be better in March."
Painter's team is the consensus favorite to repeat as Big Ten champion, and it's easy to see why. The Boilermakers return all five starters, including Edey, who could become just the second player — Virginia's Ralph Sampson won three in a row from 1981-83 — to win consecutive Player of the Year awards.
"If the opportunity presented itself, I would be glad to take that podium and accept that award," Edey said. "But that’s not my goal for the next season."
Edey listed a number of team-oriented goals, including reaching the Final Four and winning a national title. But the Big Ten hasn't sent a team to the Final Four since 2019, when Michigan State made it. And Tom Izzo's Spartans were the conference's most recent national champions, all the way back in 2000.
The Big Ten led the country with eight teams in the 2023 tournament. Michigan State was the only squad to advance past the second round and lost in the Sweet 16.
Izzo, who's rarely at a loss for words, struggled to come up with an explanation for the Big Ten's postseason shortcomings.
"I’m supposed to have an educated answer since I’ve been part of the problem," Izzo said. "It isn’t for lack of trying. I think I’ve been in three or four Final Fours where there’s been another Big Ten team in it. If we keep knocking on the door, that thing’s going to open again."
Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey chalked the problem up to the one-and-done nature of March Madness.
"Any time you play in a tournament situation where if you lose you’re out, anything can happen. That’s why the pros play best of seven. The best teams advance," McCaffrey said. "Our league has the most teams in. That’s indicative of how good the league is and how many good players we have."
Major changes are looming that could have a significant effect on the conference's postseason fortunes. Next year, the league will expand to 18 teams, adding Southern California, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. The influx of new talent — and new ways of playing the game — could better prepare Big Ten teams for national competition in March.
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"We’re going to see athleticism and different styles of basketball that maybe we don’t see in this conference," Maryland coach Kevin Willard said. "I think it’s going to help Michigan State see how a West Coast team plays so that when you get a West Coast team in the NCAA Tournament, maybe your players have seen a different style. Because this league, we’re all pretty much similar in the way we play. Seeing a UCLA, seeing an Oregon who plays matchup zones and presses a little bit is going to help these guys in March be a little bit more prepared."
Reporting by The Associated Press.