Boeheim: Big Ten 'sucked' in NCAA Tournament

Longtime Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim wasn't impressed by the Big Ten last year.

The national championship-winning coach says that conferences should be measured by their success in the NCAA Tournament, and the rival conference came up short in 2022.

"At the end of the day, you play for the (NCAA) Tournament," Boeheim said Friday, according to ESPN's Myron Medcalf. "You can say what you want about the Big Ten. They sucked in the tournament. To me, that's what they did. All of their wins were in their league. If you can't play in the (NCAA) Tournament, then you're not good."

Nine Big Ten teams secured bids in March Madness last year, but only two made it beyond the Round of 32. The conference finished 9-9 in NCAA Tournament play. In comparison, the ACC - Syracuse's conference - only had five teams make the tournament this year, but they finished 14-5. Three ACC schools reached the Elite Eight: North Carolina, Miami, and Duke.

Boeheim's Syracuse team had a disappointing 2021-22 campaign, finishing 16-17 overall and 9-11 in conference play. The Orange lost five of their final six games, falling to Duke in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.