Tom Izzo on criticism of Big Ten’s lack of titles: ‘It’s fair’

ROSEMONT, Illinois — Almost 25 years ago, Tom Izzo led the Michigan State Spartans to the 2000 national championship. It was the last time, however, that the Big Ten enjoyed a run at the top of the game.

This national title drought has haunted the league for nearly a quarter century, as the Big East, ACC, Big 12 and SEC have won multiple men’s basketball national championships during that time.

Thirteen Big Ten schools have reached the Final Four since Michigan State did in 2000 but all have come up short, including Purdue’s loss to UConn in last season’s national championship game.

As a result, according to Izzo, the flak the Big Ten has received is legitimate.

“It’s fair because it’s been 25 years,” he said Thursday during the Big Ten’s men’s basketball media day. “I used to think, ‘Oh man, I’m the last Big Ten guy (with a national title) standing.’ Last year I was calling (Purdue head coach Matt Painter) and I was saying, ‘Matt, Matt, you’ve got to win this (national title) game.’ I don’t want to be the last Big Ten guy, you know, but I think that’s a reality.”

In recent years, the league has been on the brink of ending the drought multiple times. Last year, Purdue lost to a UConn squad that won its second consecutive national title. In 2015, Wisconsin rallied in the second half before Duke rallied and won Mike Krzyzewski’s final national championship. And Michigan State lost to a 2008–09 North Carolina squad that featured seven future NBA draft picks in that year’s national championship game.

Izzo said the biggest factor in the league’s drought — the longest in the major conferences — was not the conference’s style of play when it faced the talent of opponents it had a chance to win another national championship.

Izzo said perceptions of the league’s gritty, physical brand of basketball are outdated and no longer a reality for the conference, which has produced at least three first-round picks in the past three NBA drafts.

“We used to go (to Minnesota in the 1990s) and everybody laughed when I wore football pants and a football helmet (to practice) once,” Izzo said. “I needed a full dam when I went there and I loved it. But it’s not like that anymore.”

He added: “I don’t want it painted because of the Big Ten’s (national championship drought) style of play,” he said.

The road to the national title in 2024-25 could also be a challenge for the league. The Big Ten may not have a team in the top ten of the Associated Press preseason poll. But UCLA, Indiana and Purdue are potential postseason teams. And Rutgers star Ace Bailey is expected to compete with Duke’s Cooper Flagg for the No. 1 spot in next summer’s NBA draft.

Still, Izzo knows anything can happen, even to a great team that appears to have the tools to win a national title, a feat that has eluded the conference for nearly 25 years.

“Sometimes,” Izzo said, “it’s bad luck.”