MINNEAPOLIS — 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.
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 this year’s tourney. MSU 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 this shortcoming.
“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.”
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.
“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.”
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll
