March 26, 2007

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OSU Punches Ticket to Atlanta: With a pair of wins last week, Ohio State won the NCAA South Regional and advanced to its ninth Final Four in school history. The Buckeyes came from behind to defeat Tennessee, 85-84, in the Sweet Sixteen before downing second-seeded Memphis, 92-76, on Saturday. OSU will now face Georgetown in Saturday's national semifinals. Ohio State's last trip to the Final Four came in 1968 as the Buckeyes were edged by North Carolina, 80-66, in the national semifinals. OSU is the third Big Ten school in the last three years to advance to the Final Four. Illinois and Michigan State both competed in the 2005 Final Four and the Fighting Illini advanced to the championship game before falling to North Carolina, 75-70.
 
Final Four Frenzy: With Ohio State advancing to the 2007 Final Four, the Big Ten has accumulated the most Final Four appearances with 39 (ACC - 38) and boasts the second-most national titles (10) in college basketball history. The only other conference to reach double-figures in national championships is the Pac-10 with 15 titles. Since the inception of the NCAA Tournament in 1939, the Big Ten has recorded the most appearances of any conference in the Big Dance with 180 (ACC, 167) and has the second-most NCAA Tournament victories with 289 (ACC, 323).

Five Different Programs Since 2000: The Big Ten is the only conference since 2000 to advance five different programs to the Final Four. The ACC and Big 12 have each had four different schools reach the national semifinals over that time span, followed by the Big East (3), SEC (2) and Pac-10 (2). Michigan State leads the Big Ten with three appearances (2000, 2001 and 2005) while Illinois (2005), Indiana (2002), Ohio State (2007) and Wisconsin (2000) have each earned a Final Four spot since 2000.

Buckeyes in the Final Four: Ohio State earns a conference-best ninth Final Four appearance in program history and its first since 1968. OSU ranks sixth in all-time Final Four appearances behind North Carolina (16), UCLA (16), Duke (14), Kentucky (13) and Kansas (12). The Buckeyes competed in the first NCAA finals in 1939, before tallying three consecutive Final Four appearances from 1944-46.  Ohio State captured its first national title in men's basketball with a win over California, 75-55, in the 1960 championship finals. The Buckeyes then advanced to the national title game again in 1961 and 1962, falling both times to Cincinnati. OSU claimed another Final Four appearance in 1968, placing third with a win over Houston.

OSU's Winning Ways: Ohio State has extended its school record in victories to 34 on the season, which ranks second all-time in Big Ten history. Illinois established the Big Ten mark, finishing the 2004-05 season with a 37-2 record while also tying the winningest season in NCAA history. The Buckeyes have also won a nation-leading 21 games in a row with the current streak beginning with a 68-66 triumph over Tennessee on Jan. 13 in Columbus.

Oden and Tucker Claim AP All-America Accolades: Ohio State freshman Greg Oden and Wisconsin senior Alando Tucker were named to the Associated Press All-America team. Oden is the first Buckeye to claim first-team AP All-America laurels since Jim Jackson was honored in 1992. Tucker is the first Badger in school history to be named to the first team. Oden and Texas' Kevin Durant also became the first freshmen to earn All-America first-team accolades since LSU's Chris Jackson in 1990 and Oklahoma's Wayman Tisdale in 1983. 

More on The Final Four: The Big Ten and the ACC lead all conferences as both have sent seven conference representatives to the Final Four since 2000. The Big 12 follows with five appearances over that time span, followed by the SEC (4), Big East (3) and Pac-10 (3).

Outstanding Tournament Performances: Ohio State freshman Mike Conley Jr. claimed Most Outstanding Player accolades at the NCAA South Regional last weekend. The freshman guard averaged 18.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, while leading the Buckeyes to wins over Tennessee and Memphis. Conley is just the fourth Buckeye in school annals to earn the honor along with Jerry Lucas (1963), Dave Sorenson (1968) and Scoonie Penn (1999). Also joining Conley on the South Regional All-Tournament Team were senior Ron Lewis and freshman Greg Oden.

No. 1 Seeds: With Ohio State earning a No. 1 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament, Big Ten teams have been awarded the top seed 18 times since the field expanded to 64 squads in 1985, ranking second behind only the ACC (20) over that time span. The Big 12 has had 14, followed by the Pac-10 (11) and Big East (10). Michigan State leads all Big Ten squads with four No. 1 seeds, while Illinois and Purdue follow in second with three top seeds each.

Stepping Up in Postseason Play: Several Big Ten freshmen, who have made their presence known throughout the year, contributed to their teams in the postseason. Four Big Ten first-year standouts have averaged double-figures in scoring during postseason play. In two games, Michigan State's Raymar Morgan  tallied 16.5 points per game, while Ohio State's Mike Conley Jr. has notched a 15.3 scoring average over the last four contests. Purdue's Chris Kramer followed with an average of 15.0 points per contest (two games), while Ohio State's Greg Oden registered a 14.8 scoring average.

Coaching Elite: Over the last 10 NCAA Tournaments, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has led MSU to a 24-9 record and is also one of only nine coaches in NCAA Tournament history to advance to three straight Final Fours, which he accomplished from 1999-2001. In 2005, Izzo directed the Spartans to his fourth Final Four in his first 10 seasons as a college head coach, becoming just the second coach in NCAA history to accomplish this feat. Ohio State head coach Fred Taylor took his Buckeyes to four Final Fours in his first 10 seasons. In addition, Izzo also ranks third behind Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (.772) and Louisville's Rick Pitino (.744) in NCAA Tournament winning percentage among active coaches at .727.

Low Seeds Turn Into High Win Totals: Big Ten teams have made a habit of advancing deep into the tournament despite low seeds. In 2005, fifth-seeded Michigan State was the lowest-seeded team to advance to the Final Four. Four years ago, the Spartans were the lowest seed to reach the 2003 Elite Eight after winning three games despite earning a No. 7 seed. Two other conference teams have advanced to the Final Four in the last seven years despite their low seeds, as fifth-seeded Indiana advanced to the 2002 national championship game and eighth-seeded Wisconsin reached the national semifinals in 2000.

Big Ten Tournament Benefits: Since the inception of the Big Ten Tournament in 1998, the conference has sent eight different teams to the Final Four and has won over 60 percent of its NCAA Tournament games, compiling a record of 81-47 in the national event from 1998 through 2007. The conference teams that have won the Big Ten Tournament have combined to post a 22-6 (.786) record in the NCAA Championship.

Breaking Even In NCAA Play: With a record of 8-5 in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, the Big Ten has produced a mark of .500 or better in nine of the last 10 events. Among the six conferences with the most tournament wins over that time span, only the ACC and Big East have posted NCAA records of .500 or better over the last 10 years. The Big East has broken even in two of the last seven years (2002: 6-6, 2001: 5-5) while the ACC's lowest winning percentage occurred with a 5-4 finish in 2003. The Big 12 (2001, 1999, 1998), Pac-10 (2004, 1999) and SEC (2002, 2001) have all been under .500 at least twice in the last 10 seasons.

Seven Teams in Postseason: Seven conference programs earned postseason berths in 2007, as Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin played in the NCAA Championship while Michigan competed for the NIT title.

The Big Dance Constant: Michigan State is one of only four schools in the nation that has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 10 years, joining Duke, Kansas and Kentucky. Wisconsin has also advanced to nine consecutive NCAA's. Only eight other schools have accomplished this feat during this time span: Arizona, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Kansas, Kentucky and Texas.