At least Michigan basketball isn’t Purdue
Yes, the 2022-23 season has been massively disappointing for Michigan basketball.
Losing the final three games of the season — two in the regular season as well as the first game of the Big Ten Tournament — and thus missing the NCAA Tournament is certainly a whimper. Playing in the NIT when you have higher expectations is no prize.
But at least Michigan basketball isn’t Purdue.
In case you missed it, and you surely haven’t, Purdue, the Big Ten regular season champion and Big Ten Tournament champion, became the second No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed on Friday. Fairleigh Dickinson pulled off the stunning upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
While the first No. 1 seed to go down, Virginia, certainly lives in infamy, Purdue has put itself in such a disgraceful situation that it’s something the Boilermakers will never live down.
Of course, it’s one thing to play in the tournament, something Michigan didn’t give itself a chance to do. But being a No. 1 and losing to a 16 is a level of embarrassment that cannot be matched. Certainly, many will not care that their brackets have been instantaneously busted given the sheer entertainment value of the situation. The Boilermakers have the honor of being the NCAA’s laughingstock.
Playing in the NIT, as Michigan is, isn’t much to be proud of, honestly. It’ll receive its fair share of scorn from one rival (MSU, as Ohio State missed both tournaments). But nothing compares to this.
Enjoy your moment in the spotlight Purdue, you’ve earned it?
