PHILADELPHILA — For the second straight year, the NCAA Tournament was officially a B1G embarrassment.

There was incremental improvement over last year. Not that it required much. The Big Ten doubled its number of teams to reach the Sweet 16, ballooning all the way from 1 to 2.

But unlike last season, none of those teams are playing in the Elite 8. That round is saved for the true big boys of college basketball, like the MAAC.

It goes without saying that this is unacceptable. When your conference produces 13% of the teams in the NCAA Tournament, you can’t settle on being 6% of the Sweet 16. And you certainly can’t have 0% playing in the Elite 8.

If anyone comes out of the woodwork to defend the B1G, they may point out that the Pac-12 flopped at a comparable level. Even worse, maybe, considering Arizona was a 1-seed.

But at least the Pac-12 had a Final Four run last year. The Big Ten has floundered in back-to-back Tournaments, which is indicative of a deeper problem.

The difficulty is putting a finger on what that problem is, exactly.

Is dino-ball dragging down the Big Ten?

Back in the day, they would probably rig NBA Draft lotteries for the chance to build a franchise around an overpowering center from Jamaica who college opponents couldn’t stop.

But as Doc Brown and Marty McFly know all too well, this isn’t 1985 anymore. Illinois center Kofi Cockburn might not even go in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft.

Yet that’s how Big Ten basketball is built — as George Mikan and God intended. Start big inside and work your way out.

It’s dinosaur basketball. And having the best brontosauruses doesn’t seem to be serving the B1G in March.

When you look at the teams Saint Peter’s has beaten in its unlikely run to the Elite 8, there’s a striking similarity between Kentucky and Purdue. The Wildcats were built around the best big man in the country, Oscar Tshiebwe. Purdue has a pair of great bigs in Zach Edey and Trevion Williams.

The Peacocks could never dream of recruiting players like that. And perhaps they are better served never having a chance. These days, small ball is all the rage across the NBA and NCAA.

Fran McCaffery built Iowa in this mold, and the Big Ten Tournament showed that he was probably on to something. The Hawkeyes looked like a machine primed to change the narrative around the Big Ten this March, but simply choked in the First Round.

One hopeful lesson — other coaches pay more attention to how McCaffery got here other than what happened upon arrival. There is a blueprint that can build something in the right hands with the right tools.

Transition from rugby to basketball

Officiating may be the biggest issue facing the Big Ten.

As a B1G fan, “well, duh!” is likely your response.

But I’m not talking about blown calls here. This is a matter of how Big Ten games are called. There is far too much physicality allowed, and there is an adjustment in NCAA Tournament play that’s becoming unmistakable.

Conference-wide, the Big Ten is perpetually among the nation’s worst in percentage of foul shots.

Ken Pomeroy’s data shows how the Big Ten has ranked in free-throw percentage among all conferences.

  • 2022: 24th
  • 2021: 18th
  • 2020: 31st
  • 2019: 19th
  • 2018: 25th
  • 2017: 30th
  • 2016: 31st
  • 2015: 31st
  • 2014: 27th
  • 2013: 25th
  • 2012: 27th
  • 2011: 32nd
  • 2010: 32nd
  • 2009: 32nd
  • 2008: 27th
  • 2007: 26th
  • 2006: 31st
  • 2005: 29th
  • 2004: 28th
  • 2003: 16th
  • 2002: 23rd
  • 2001: 11th
  • 2000: 7th

That list should be sent to the league office posthaste.

The last time a Big Ten team won a national championship is also the last time the B1G ranked among the top 10 nationally in free-throw rate. And Big Ten basketball was damn good a year later, too, as Illinois and Michigan State both earned 1-seeds and reached the Elite 8.

Bullyball is killing the Big Ten in the NCAA Tournament. Big Ten coaches have to recruit big, or they’ll get killed by physicality in league play. Yet as the game itself grows more spaced out, this serves as an Achilles’ heel in March.

And the beautiful thing about that solution is it is entirely in the league’s hands. Start calling more fouls, and force your teams to change the way they play the game.

It will undoubtedly look ragged at first. Especially for veteran players who will be making a major adjustment from 2-3 years of physical play.

But a handful of ugly games in December and January would beat the pants off another bushel of embarrassment next March.

And if the Big Ten doesn’t adjust, disappointment is exactly what it will continue to get. Year after year — until the most recent Big Ten championship trophy belongs among the fossils.