No. 19 Ohio State's loss to Xavier seals historically bad 4 nights for Big Ten
No. 19 Ohio State's 71-65 loss to unranked Xavier on Thursday was only the latest in a stretch of poor performances for some of the Big Ten's best teams.
With the Buckeyes' defeat following losses by No. 10 Illinois on Monday, No. 4 Michigan on Tuesday, and No. 20 Maryland on Wednesday, it marks the first time in Big Ten history that a ranked team has lost to an unranked nonconference opponent in four straight days, according to Jared Berson of ESPN Stats & Info.
While all of the conference's ranked teams played out of the first week of the season unscathed, only No. 6 Purdue remains unbeaten. The Boilermakers get their first test Saturday against No. 18 North Carolina.
The historic streak comes months after the conference fell flat on its face during the NCAA Tournament; despite nine teams entering the event with an average seed of 5.5, they combined to win only eight games.