A season of criticism for not having elite teams has made the Big Ten feel like the Big Disrespected.

Perhaps that’s about to change.

The conference has seven teams in the NCAA Tournament, second only to the ACC’s nine. After eighth-seeded Michigan beat three fellow NCAA-bound teams on its road to the tournament title, players have big hopes for what the Big Ten can do in the big dance.

“I definitely think the Big Ten can make some noise in (the) tournament given that those teams play the same way they did in this tournament,” Wisconsin forward Vitto Brown said after losing to Michigan in the Big Ten final Sunday.

Despite losing its only conference tournament game to Michigan, 15th-ranked Purdue is a No. 4 seed, and Maryland is still a No. 6 seed after losing its only game in home territory to Northwestern — in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history as a No. 8 seed. Only No. 9 seed Michigan State will be wearing dark uniforms in the first round as Minnesota is a No. 5 seed, Michigan a No. 7 and Wisconsin a No. 8.

The much-maligned Big Ten doesn’t have a dominant team like Villanova in the Big East or Kansas in the Big 12, but that’s not necessarily a weakness.

“I think our league, it’s unpredictable and very good teams beat very good teams every day,” Michigan forward Moe Wagner said. “It’s going to be fun for the Big Ten fans to watch this NCAA Tournament because we have a lot of teams in there and I think they’re going to get a lot of wins.”