It was just two weeks ago when we talked about the Big Ten's drought in the NCAA Tournament. It's been 26 years since Michigan State won the 2000 national title, and no league team has won since.

But the first week of the NCAA Tournament this year has brought the league some hope. All five of their top-four seeds cruised into the Sweet 15, and then No. 9 seed Iowa stunned defending champion Florida late Sunday night.

That's six Big Ten teams into the second weekend, the most in league history. It's only been done once before by any league — the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2016.

(Define irony: The once-powerful ACC had eight teams in the tournament this year, and only one — top-seeded Duke — survived. My, how times have changed.)

For the Big Ten, this is a golden opportunity to end this drought. It may not happen, of course. We could see a Duke, Arizona, Houston, Iowa State Final Four just as easily as we can see four Big Ten teams.

But that's what is crazy. There is a Big Ten team alive in ALL FOUR regions right now. It would be the craziest thing ever if the Final Four — in Indianapolis, no less — would turn into a Big Ten Invitational.

Here's what they league faces this weekend, starting on Thursday night with South and West regional games. The Friday games are in the East and Midwest.

The city of Houston doesn't know what it's in for, with three Big Ten fan bases on the way in Illinois, Nebraska and Iowa. It's going to be quite the invasion.

At least they've got a good host. The No. 2 seed Houston Cougars get the luxury of playing at home, just a few miles from their campus. They played for the NCAA title last year — losing to Florida — and want another shot again.

The Big Ten invasion is hoping for a different outcome.

Illinois, as the No. 3 seed, is the best of the bunch. They get Houston in the regional semifinals, the late game on Thursday night. The Illini are 26-8 and looked awesome the first week, beating Penn 105-70 and VCU 76-55. Are they a Final Four threat? Damn right they are.

Thee stunner in this region is that we get a Nebraska-Iowa game in the semifinals — and a guarantee of a Big Ten team in the Elite Eight. Nebraska had never won an NCAA Tournament game in school history before beating Troy 76-47 on Thursday and then advancing to their first-ever Sweet 16 with a mild-upset win over Vanderbilt in a 4/5 game despite a higher seed.

Iowa pulled off the shocker of the tournament, upsetting Florida in Tampa on Sunday night. This is rarified air for the Hawkeyes program too, making its first Sweet 16 since 1999. It's still amazing to me that Fran McCaffery coached 15 years in Iowa City and never made it to the second weekend with all the good teams — and good players — he had.

A month ago after a 12-game winning streak, I proclaimed Illinois a Final Four team. I'm not backing off that now, even though they went 2-4 right after I wrote it. 

Thursday's schedule, with both games on TBS:

Iowa vs. Nebraska, 7:30 p.m. ET
Houston vs. Illinois, approximately 10:05 p.m. ET

Purdue was the preseason No. 1 team in the country, and at one point in mid-January, they were 17-1. But in their last 13 Big Ten games, they went just 6-7 and lost to unranked teams like Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio State. 

They entered the Big Ten Tournament all but forgotten by a nation of college basketball fans, ranked No. 18 in the nation. A title threat? No one, even the most loyal of Purdue fans, were feeling it.

But then they reeled off four straight wins to take the Big Ten crown, beating Northwestern, Nebraska, UCLA and Michigan along the way.  And they cruised through the first week, beating Queens by 31 and a very good Miami team by 10.

Purdue is the No. 2 seed in the region, with Arizona the No. 1 and the clear favorite to advance. They are a minus-130 beat to win the West, and Purdue is plus-210.

But I'm not putting anything past the Boilermakers anymore. They've turned it around, and are playing with a sense of urgency, which is not surprising considering that seniors Trey Kaufman-Renn, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer — who have played more than 140 games together — don't want this to end.

Can Purdue beat Arizona? There's a chance. The Wildcats, in my opinion, have been the best team in the country all year. They are 34-2, have wins over 11 ranked teams and their only two losses came five days apart in February when they lost to Kansas and Texas Tech.

But Purdue matches up well with them. But let's also not get ahead of ourselves. Texas, who's underachieved all year, won three games last week. They are an SEC team with a huge NIL budget, and won't be intimidated by Purdue. And Arkansas has been playing great, too. John Calipari is capable of pulling off an upset.

This is a great region. It'll take Purdue's best to get out of it.

Thursday's schedule, with both games on CBS:

Purdue vs. Texas, 7:10 p.m. ET
Arizona vs. Arkansas, approximately 9:45 p.m. ET

Michigan State is the No. 3 seed in the East, and to get to the Final Four, Tom Izzo's team has to beat Connecticut, which has won a pair of national titles recently, and then, more than likely, No. 1 Duke in the regional finals.

That's a very tall task, but we can't ever put anything past Izzo. He's got a lot of weapons on this team, led by point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., which is always a wonderful thing in March. Throw in a couple of capable bigs in Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, a physical freak in Coen Carr and a deep bench, and the Spartans have a chance.

The East was tabbed the toughest region in the tournament from the start, and it's no different now. The top-three seeds — Duke, UConn, Michigan State — all advanced, and St. John's beating Kansas was no upset. 

So the Friday semifinals should be classic. 

Friday's schedule, with both games on CBS:

Duke vs. St. John's, 7:10 p.m. ET
Connecticut vs. Michigan State, approximately 9:45 p.m. ET

There's one region where a Big Ten team is the heavy favorite, and that's Michigan in the Midwest. They were impressive the first week too, and are now the overall favorite to win the national title, according to FanDuel. They passed Duke and Arizona over the weekend.

Michigan won the Big Ten regular season crown and is 33-3 on the year, the most wins in school history. This region is no breeze either, with No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Iowa State and No. 4 Alabama all advancing, and in impresive manner. Tennessee is the No. 6 seed and the lone interloper. 

Michigan will get a challenge from Alabama, who can score with the best of them. But they aren't the greatest defensive team, so I can see Michigan scoring a bunch, too. 

Alabama and Iowa State are playing short-handed. Star Aden Holloway was arrested on marijuana charges right before the tournament started and Iowa State's best player and second-leading scorer, Joshua Jefferson, missed Sunday's win over Kentucky with an ankle injury. 

He's hoping to play against Tennessee, but that'll likely be a game-time decision.

For Michigan, they are the best team in this region. They have the best chance of being in Indy of all the Big Ten teams — and I'll be stunned if they lose in Chicago. 

As you all know, this is my last NCAA Tournament before retirement. The goal, all along, was to be there and have a Big Ten team join me.

Well, how about four? Can you imagine?

A Big Ten rock party in Indianapolis? Sign me up.