Chicago - Year after year, the Big Ten is said to be having a down season, but in the last four seasons, a Big Ten team found itself in the Final Four.
The recent success began with the top-seeded Spartans notching a spot in the 1999 Final Four, while fifth-seeded Indiana did it last season.
Since 1999, six Big Ten teams have danced to the tournament's final weekend. The Atlantic Coast Conference, which includes Duke and Maryland, made five appearances. No other conference boasted more than two.
Why the surprise dominance? CBS commentator Billy Packer said it's simple.
"Every year in the Big Ten, the team that finishes fourth or fifth will be a team that has proven they are just as good on a given night or week as the teams that finish first and second," Packer said. "That could be a very dangerous team in the tournament."
Despite public perception, the Big Ten has answered the bell by proving its toughness during the tournament, MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.
"I think everyone beats everyone up in this conference as much as anywhere, whether people believe that," he said. "We don't have a marquee team - a team that's ranked at the top 10, people look at that and the conference, top to bottom, and see that and say the conference is down. Then comes the tournament."
Regardless of the conference's past success, Packer said the Big Ten's magical run ends this season. In mid-February, he made a bold statement: He expected the Big Ten to have a short stay in the tournament.
"You only see what you see and there isn't a team in the Big Ten, except maybe Illinois, that in a two- or three-game stretch, has shown the capability of beating teams in the NCAA Tournament," he said. "It's a great conference, but in the 2002-03 season, it hasn't been what it has been in the past."
In 1999, MSU was one of the last four teams standing. That was expected as the Spartans owned a superior 29-4 mark before the tournament and were ranked No. 1 in the country. But surprisingly, fourth-seeded Ohio State joined the Spartans in St. Petersburg.
The Big Ten conference represented itself in the next year's Final Four as well. Along with the Spartans, who ended up winning the 2000 National Championship, eighth-seeded Wisconsin invaded Indianapolis.
In 2001, the Spartans made their third straight trip to the Final Four. That marked the fifth Big Ten team in three years to be in the NCAA semi-finals.
The streak seemed destined to be snapped last year in Atlanta, but fifth-seeded Indiana upset top-ranked Duke en route to playing in the championship game, where they fell to ACC power Maryland.
Many coaches, including Izzo, said the Big Ten is one of the best conferences at beating itself up.
Attesting to that was last season's four-way tie for the conference championship. This year, five teams finished within two games of the Big Ten title.
Penn State, the Big Ten's cellar team illustrated the Big Ten's parody this year. The Nittany Lions knocked off the Big Ten Champion Wisconsin and 20-win Indiana. Northwestern, which finished just a game ahead of Penn State, also knocked off the Hoosiers.
"I think it's the long-standing rivalries that make every game so important in that league," analyst for CBSSportsline.com Tony Mejia said. "Maybe the tournament mindset is already there from the Big Ten season."
