Â
Â

From 10 to 1, the Big Ten has some pretty impressive Final Four amo.
This year is the 30 year anniversary of arguably the greatest Big Ten Final Four team in the history of basketball. Of course I’m talking about the 1979 Spartans team. But the occasion got me to thinking, are they the greatest B10 team to make a final four in the modern era? And if not, who else has a claim to the throne? So with out further ado… your Top Ten Big Ten Final Teams of the last 30 years:Â
Â
10. Â ’99 OSU
Claim: Now as far as OSU is concerned, this season never happened. It vacated the entire season due to boring NCAA violations (read: they didn’t involve violence, depraved sex acts, or large sums of money). But I don’t work for the NCAA or OSU, so I’m givin’ the Bucks their rightful spot on this list. Their trip to the Final Four was OSU’s first in over 30 years, which says a lot because the Buckeyes have been there more than anyone else in the league.
Key Players: Michael Redd is the only one most people remember, but backcourt mate Scoonie Penn was the other half of a truly dangerous guard combination. How can you forget someone named Scoonie?
Â
9. Â Â ’07 Buckeyes
Claim: The Buckeyes have been to more Final Fours than any other team in the Big Ten, but only have one title to show for it (1960). But in Thad Matta’s third season in Columbus he came within one game of adding a second (tear). They were just too young and inexperienced for a deep and determined Florida squad. Nevertheless, the ‘07 Buckeyes dominated the B10 regular season with a 15-1 record (35-4 overall). Â
Key Players: Obviously Greg Oden and point guard Mike Conley were the headliners, but without Daequan Cook there’s no way the Buckeyes make it to the final game of the tourney, or even win a B10 title.
Â
8. Â & 7. Â Â Â ’93 and ‘92 Michigan
Claim: These two Michigan teams, led by the infamous Fab Five, were the most influential college basketball teams in the last 25 years. The Wolverines’ five cocky freshman made playing basketball cool in a way it had never been before. Essentially, they did to college basketball what Allen Iverson did for the NBA. They went to two NCAA tournament final games and lost each one in memorable fashion. But so what if they never actually won anything, not even a conference title? I think they’re contribution towards helping rid the game of short shorts is definitely worthy of something.
Key Players: All five of the of these guys had somewhat disappointing pro careers, so outside of Chris Webber and Jalen Rose nobody seems to really remember who actually comprised the celebrated starting line-up. So here you go: Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. EVERYONE forgets poor Ray Ray.
Â
6. Â Â ‘81 HoosiersÂ
Claim: The Isiah Thomas-led ‘81 Hoosiers went 26-9 overall, and 16-4 in conference play. They captured a B10 title outright, then went on to pick up the NCAA title to go with it. That’s about everything you need to know about this fairly boring team.
Key Players: Maybe its just because I grew up watching Zeke play for my hometown Pistons, but I always thought he had this legendary career at IU. But to look at his stats they’re really just ho-hum (as far as basketball icons go), 16 points and 5.8 assists.Â
Â
5. Â Â ‘89 Michigan
Claim: This team being on this list gives me a chance to tell my favorite Bo Schembechler story. During the final week of the ‘89 season Michigan coach Bill Frieder announced that he was accepting the coaching job at ASU beginning in 1990. Although he intended to finish the season with the Wolverines and lead them in the post season, Schembechler ordered that Frieder leave his post immediately. The legendary football coach declared, “a Michigan Man will coach Michigan, not an Arizona State Man.” Ironically, Frieder was a Michigan alumnus, and his replacement was not, but whatever. His replacement, Steve Fisher, and he went on to lead Michigan to a surprising NCAA title. They’re the only team on this list that won an NCAA title without winning at least a share of the B10 title.
Key Players: Glen Rice won the NCAA Tournament’s MOP award that year, forward Terry Mills also made major contributions, but it was Rumeal Robinson’s two clutch free-throws that lifted the Wolverines over Seton Hall in the final game of the tournament (Rumeal only shot 65% from the line during the team’s regular season).
Â
 4.   ‘87 Indiana
Claim: Indiana’s title game against Syracuse is arguably the best NCAA title game in the history of the tournament. Indiana won it on a last second shot by junior college transfer Keith Smart. Team collected a share of the B10 title that year, and finished the season with an overall record of 30-4.Â
Key Players: Guard Steve Alford averaged 22 points a game that year and shot 53% from deep. Forward Darryl Thomas, Sr. was also a solid contributor.
Â
3. Â Â ‘05 Illinois
Claim: This team would have a legit shot at number 1 if only they had managed to edge out the Tarheels in the NCAA tourney final. But given the they tied the record for most wins in a season (37), won the B10 title, and the B10 tournament their place in history is secure. I should also mention that their comeback win against Arizona in the fourth round of the tourney, in which the Illini came back from 15 points deficit in the final 4 minuets, is one of the greatest tournament games of all time.
Key Players: Deron Williams, Luther Head, and Dee Brown. Ah, what the hell, James Augustine was nice too. Â
Â
2. Â Â ’00 Spartans
Claim: Team went 17-3 in conference play en-rout to a share of the B10 title. Then went on to win every tournament game they played by double digits. Also the last B10 team to win a national title.
Key Players: Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, and Charlie Bell. All from Flint, Michigan, and collectively know as the “Flint-stones.” Mateen Cleaves was clearly the best of the bunch and the team’s heart and soul, but due to an ironic twist of fate he’s the only one to never really find his footing in the big leagues. He currently plays for the D-League Bakersfield Jam. No, I’m not exactly sure where Bakersfield is either.
Â
1. Â Â ‘79 Spartans
Claim: Magic Johnson’s legendary ‘79 Spartans team ran rough-shod through the entire tournament, beating every team they played by more than 20 points. That is up until they squared off against Larry Bird’s undefeated Indiana State team in which they managed to squeak by with a measly 11-point win. The matchup is still the highest rated NCAA championship game of all-time, and is re-airing on ESPN2 tonight at 6 EST.
Key Players: Magic, but most people seem to forget that forward Greg Kelser also had a tremendous season, chipping in about 25 points a night for the green and white.