If, come April 6, the Big Ten has ended its quarter-century national championship drought, it still won’t change an uncomfortable fact: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, no conference has done less with more in the NCAA tournament.

The Big Ten has averaged exactly eight NCAA tournament bids in each of the past five seasons. That’s 40 teams altogether — and all 40 have gone home with a loss. The record of this 18-team conference in the Big Dance is just six games over .500 (46-40), which should be impossible with a team seed average under six (5.97 to be exact).

So either five selection committees have underperformed when it counts, or the league itself has. And, well, we all know where the bodies are buried: No. 8 seed Loyola Chicago over 1-seed Illinois in 2021 (round of 32), No. 15 Saint Peter’s over 3-seed Purdue in 2022 (Sweet 16), No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson over 1-seed Purdue in 2023 (round of 64). You get the idea.

But it began to change this past March. Four of eight Big Ten teams made the second weekend, with Michigan State reaching the Elite Eight. For a change, the conference played to its seed across the board.

We’ll see this March (and April?) whether that was a trend or a one-off. This Bracketologist is betting on the former.

The Big Ten begins conference play on Dec. 2.

Final Four contenders

Michigan Wolverines
Purdue Boilermakers
Michigan State Spartans
Illinois Fighting Illini

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Highlight: Kentucky falls to Michigan State in Champions Classic

The Wildcats shoot 35 percent from the field against the Spartans’ 50 percent as they struggle to keep up in the 83-66 loss in Madison Square Garden.

Michigan sits atop the first Bracketology of December and Purdue is No. 1 in both wire service polls. Both are legitimate national championship contenders. At least two others appear good enough to win four games and play into April.

Likely tournament teams

Indiana Hoosiers
USC Trojans
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Wisconsin Badgers
UCLA Bruins

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Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs. Indiana Hoosiers: Game Highlights

Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs. Indiana Hoosiers: Game Highlights

Indiana and Nebraska are the most interesting names in this group. The Hoosiers haven’t gotten it right in a long time, winning only one tournament game in the past decade. With the benefit of hindsight, three Sweet 16 teams under Tom Crean from 2012-2016 is looking pretty good. Meanwhile, the Cornhuskers remain the only power conference team to never win an NCAA tournament game. That has a real chance of changing in 2026.

Possible tournament teams

Ohio State Buckeyes
Northwestern Wildcats
Washington Huskies
Oregon Ducks
Maryland Terrapins

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Arrinten Page wins it for Northwestern as time expires

Arrinten Page wins it for Northwestern as time expires

If form holds, at least a couple from this group will be smiling on Selection Sunday. Ohio State fell just outside the previous group and should make it. Even if the Buckeyes are the only one from this group, the conference is going to send double-digit teams dancing for the first time.

Sleeper team

Iowa Hawkeyes

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Ole Miss Rebels vs. Iowa Hawkeyes: Game Highlights

Ole Miss Rebels vs. Iowa Hawkeyes: Game Highlights

It’s hard not to be fascinated by the Hawkeyes, who are transitioning from the scoring machines of the Fran McCaffery era to the sub-350 tempo of the Ben McCollum era. Iowa fans will take whatever results in deep runs, and so far, so good. The Hawkeyes open Big Ten play in the top 30 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.

Long shots

Penn State Nittany Lions
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Minnesota Golden Gophers

Rutgers might never again recruit the likes of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, and as such will always have an uphill climb to the NCAA tournament. Penn State and Minnesota can be good on a regular basis, but the sheer number of teams they need to pass in a league this deep is daunting.

Key games to watch

Illinois vs. Tennessee in Nashville (Saturday)
Michigan at Michigan State (Jan. 30)
Michigan at Purdue (Feb. 17)
Michigan vs. Duke in Washington, D.C. (Feb. 21)
Michigan State at Purdue (Feb. 26)

Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season is nearly in the books and the playoff picture did get a bit clearer.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers each took sole possession of first place in their respective divisions – the Steelers in the AFC North, the Jaguars in the AFC South and the Packers in the NFC North. Each team had huge wins against divisional opponents that will definitely pay their dividends in a few weeks.

Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks stayed at the top of the NFC West division with the San Francisco 49ers just one game behind both teams. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered an upset loss at home to the New Orleans Saints. They have the edge over the Carolina Panthers in the NFC South, but both teams are now 7-6.

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Read below to see how the rest of the games turned out.

Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025

Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025

• Seattle Seahawks 37, Atlanta Falcons 9
• Buffalo Bills 39, Cincinnati Bengals 34
• Tennessee Titans 31, Cleveland Browns 29
• Minnesota Vikings 31, Washington Commanders 0
• Miami Dolphins 34, New York Jets 10
• New Orleans Saints 24, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20

Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little (39) signals as he hit a field goal against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Florida. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Photo)

• Jacksonville Jaguars 36, Indianapolis Colts 19
• Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Baltimore Ravens 22
• Denver Broncos 24, Las Vegas Raiders 17
• Green Bay Packers 28, Chicago Bears 21
• Los Angeles Rams 45, Arizona Cardinals 17
• Houston Texans @ Kansas City Chiefs

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Los Angeles Rams tight end Colby Parkinson, left, avoids Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker after pulling in a pass in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Glendale, Arizona. (Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo)

Monday, Dec. 8, 2025

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SAO PAULO — Santos and Neymar secured survival in Brazil‘s Serie A on Sunday with a 3-0 win over Cruzeiro, and the 33-year-old soccer star later confirmed he will undergo surgery on his left knee.

Playing its last league match of the season, Santos, which achieved a global following with all-time great Pelé, avoided what would have been the club’s second relegation in club history. Santos was relegated in 2023 for the first time almost a year after the death of Pelé.

Neymar struggled to recover from a torn ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. But he proved key for Santos in a successful fight to avoid relegation in the Brazilian championship after promotion last year.

Neymar, who returned to Santos in January, was decisive for the club where he started his professional career. In the last three rounds of the league, Neymar scored a goal against Sport Recife in a 3-0 win, netted a hat trick against Juventude on Wednesday in another 3-0 victory, and on Sunday was an effective playmaker.

Thaciano (26th and 28th minutes) and João Schmidt (60th) scored against Cruzeiro at Vila Belmiro Stadium as Santos finished 12th with 47 points.

Neymar played only 19 of the 38 rounds of the league, which started in April. He scored eight goals.

“I came for this, to try to help the best way I can. These have been tough weeks for me,” Neymar said after the game. “I thank those who were with me to lift me up. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have played these matches because of these injuries, this knee problem. I need to rest and then we will have this knee surgery.”

Neymar did not give more details about the knee injury and surgery. He still hopes to be included in Brazil’s final squad for the 2026 World Cup, though coach Carlo Ancelotti is yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May. The Italian said Neymar would be included if he was fit.

Flamengo won its ninth Brazilian league title midweek after a 1-0 home victory against Ceara. The Rio de Janeiro club also won the Copa Libertadores last month.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.