Mar 25, 2022; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Tyger Campbell (10) reacts as time runs out in the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the semifinals of the East regional of the men’s college basketball NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Leff-USA TODAY Sports
NCAABy Matt Clapp on

The 15-seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks shocked 3-seed Purdue 67-64 in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 on Friday night.

With the Boilermakers eliminated, that means there are zero remaining Big Ten teams in the 2022 NCAA Tournament- despite having nine teams selected to the field of 68 (three more teams selected than any other conference). The Big Ten becomes the first conference to send nine teams to the tournament and have zero go to the Elite Eight.

There were also nine Big Ten teams in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, and only one team made the Sweet 16 (Michigan was eliminated in the Elite Eight).

It’s now certain that the Big Ten won’t win the 2022 national championship, which extends a lengthy drought. The Big Ten last won a national title in 2000, when the Michigan State Spartans were champions (the Maryland Terrapins won the national title in 2002, but while members of the ACC).

The Pac-12 doesn’t look any better on this front.

The 8-seed North Carolina Tar Heels took down the 4-seed UCLA Bruins 73-66 in the Sweet 16 on Friday night.

And with that, there are zero Pac-12 teams remaining in the tournament. The Pac-12 only had three teams selected to the NCAA Tournament, fewer than even the Mountain West (four teams). 1-seed Arizona — the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament — lost by 12 points to 5-seed Houston on Thursday night.

The Pac-12 hasn’t won the national championship since Arizona did so in 1997 (and has only two titles since 1976).

Meanwhile, the ACC — eight national titles since 2001 —  has three teams in the Elite Eight, including two surprises in 8-seed North Carolina and 10-seed Miami (2-seed Duke is also still alive).

While there’s certainly some luck and randomness in the NCAA Tournament, the championship droughts from the Big Ten (and its recent results in general) and Pac-12 are pretty alarming regardless.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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