B1G fans everywhere should be rooting for Michigan State in the Final Four

Let me preface this by saying that, yes, I’m going to be that guy. With the Final Four kicking off this weekend, I’m going to tell B1G fans how to consume this weekend’s games and tell you which direction you should be leaning on Saturday.

If that’s not your cup of tea, I get it. For those of you sticking around, here’s what you need to do this weekend while gobbling down chicken wings and guzzling down a barley pop or two: root for Michigan State. Hard.

The Spartans are representing the B1G this weekend, far and away the deepest conference in college basketball this season. For the better part of two decades, it’s been one of the top two leagues in the sport. This will be the 14th team to reach the Final Four in the last 19 seasons. Seven times in that stretch a B1G team has played in the championship game.

Zero championships.

For the betterment of the B1G, Michigan State needs to win its next two games. For the league to get the recognition it properly deserves, the Spartans need to end a lengthy championship drought, one that dates back to 2000, the last time MSU captured a national title on the hardwood.

Michigan State leaving Minneapolis with some hardware would also help rectify some of the shortcomings on the football field, too. This is a weekend for the conference to finally enjoy some long-awaited postseason success. Everyone in the Midwest should be cheering for that.

Since 2000, the B1G has won just three national titles in the two most profitable college sports: Michigan State’s basketball title run in 1999-2000 and Ohio State’s pair of national football titles — the 2002 BCS championship and winning the inaugural College Football Playoff in 2014. That’s it.

In that span, the SEC and ACC has dominated both sports. Here’s a quick breakdown of the number of football and basketball titles per conference since 2000:

• SEC – 13
• ACC – 11
• B1G – 3
• Big 12 – 3
• Pac 12 – 2

Along with a dry-spell that has lasted nearly two decades on the hardwood, the B1G hasn’t had a representative in the College Football Playoff in two years. Since Ohio State’s miraculous run in 2014, the conference hasn’t scored a single point in the new championship system.

During football season, all we heard from ESPN was how dominant the SEC was and that the conference deserved two bids in the College Football Playoff. When the calendar flipped to hoops season, the four-letter network backed the ACC, clamoring that the league deserved three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament — which it received.

Wouldn’t it be nice to put an end to that, even if just temporarily? B1G fans everywhere should be hoping Michigan State brings some credibility back to the league. Maybe then the conference will get a little more respect.

I’m not going to ask fans in Minneapolis — or anywhere else you’re enjoying the Final Four — to go full SEC mode, grab the nearest megaphone and start barking “B-1-G! B-1-G!” to show conference loyalty. We’ll leave that kind of nonsense to the folks in the South.

But, for one weekend, put any bad blood to the side. Rivalries can resume on Tuesday morning, the day after a national champion is crowned. Heck, even the Bank of Ann Arbor is putting the UM-MSU rivalry on hold for a few days.

If Michigan State wins, the B1G wins. And it’s been a long time since the B1G has been a winner.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB