The Big Ten: The ACC of Basketball
31 Dec
This season in college football, the most confusing conference was definitely the ACC. Most of us had no idea which team would win the conference until it came down to Virginia Tech and Boston College in the ACC title game. Throughout the season, as soon as you thought you saw a frontrunner, that team would turn around and lose to a team they probably should have beaten. No team really stood out as better than any other team in that conference. Consequently, the ACC managed to get a mind-blowing ten teams into bowl games because so many of its teams won just enough games to get the necessary mediocre record to qualify for a bowl.
College basketball looks to produce a similar result, only this time with the Big Ten conference. Not that I think the Big Ten is mediocre in basketball, but I do believe it’s just as confusing this season and will only produce an obvious conference champion near the very end of the season. The conference went from having three clear early favorites in Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin to looking an awful lot like the Big Ten usually looks in college football, i.e. Michigan and Ohio State at the head of the class with the little nine to follow. Michigan State was blown out by Maryland, then suffered an even worse blowout against North Carolina. Purdue had a close overtime loss to Oklahoma before getting blown out by Duke, and now they’ve opened up Big Ten conference play with a loss to Illinois. Wisconsin fell out of the top 25, eventually replaced by this season’s upset kings Michigan and OSU.
Still, MSU and Purdue remain the favorites for most fans and analysts. However, focusing only on these two teams is probably as big a mistake as focusing on MSU and Indiana turned out to be last season. Much like the ACC in football, there are several teams you want to keep your eye on in trying to figure out which team could win the Big Ten. I would narrow it down to approximately six teams, most of which are agreed upon by analysts to find their way into the NCAA Tournament.
UNC Clobbers MSU
Michigan State
With players like Kalin Lucas, Raymar Morgan and Goran Suton, you still want to keep MSU in mind. Hopes are high in East Lansing. Plus, they did just pull off a huge victory against Texas.
The Problem: It seems like the more that’s expected of MSU, the worse they do. A team that wants to go to the Final Four can’t get blown out in a virtual home game by another team that certainly will be there. To make matters worse, they lost badly to a Maryland team that Michigan almost beat at home where Maryland rarely loses. With as bad as both these losses were, I don’t see how having Suton would have made a difference. MSU just was that bad.
Purdue
They were a young team challenging for the title last season when no one expected it. So naturally, they seem like the perfect pick this season when they have Robbie Hummel, E’Twaun Moore and Chris Kramer back.
The Problem: Michigan beat a Duke team that embarrassed them. And they just lost to a middling Illinois in a game in which they trailed the majority of the time. In other words, they ought to be better than they are, but somehow there are other teams in the conference that just look better than them.
Wisconsin
Bo Ryan is a great coach who always seems to have the Badgers playing well. You could argue all their losses are understandable ones, and they did almost beat Texas.
The Problem: Too many close calls with teams they should have blown out. If you have to fight to beat teams like Long Beach State and the Big Ten looks as deep as it does, you’re kinda in trouble.
Minnesota
Tubby Smith is another strong Big Ten coach. Last season, it was thought that Minn might make it to the Tournament. So, it’s not surprising that Minn is coming out strong this season.
The Problem: Aside from Louisville, whom they upset, they haven’t really played anybody. That’s most certainly about to change, though. But as of right now, it’s hard to tell how good Minn really is.
Ohio State
OSU has the second most impressive resume in the Big Ten and one of the most impressive in college basketball, with wins over Miami and Notre Dame.
The Problem: Honestly? They probably wouldn’t have beaten Miami had Jack McClinton not been ejected from the game. And they were slaughtered by an unranked West Virginia. They’ve also lost one of their best players for a while in the injured David Lighty.
U-M Beats Duke
Michigan
They have the most impressive resume, perhaps, of any team in the nation, with wins over Duke and UCLA. They have one of the greatest coaches in the nation in John Beilein. And on a good day, they can rain three pointers from even off-the-bench guys.
The Problem: They play to every team’s level. This is why they’ve beaten UCLA and Duke. This is also why they’re likely to be the victim of at least one big upset. There are only so many times you can get away with turnovers and awful shooting against teams like Savannah State and North Carolina Central. They also attempt a bit too many three’s and need to make more of an effort in getting closer to the basket for easier shots instead of hoping three’s will eventually fall…because one day they just won’t.
My early season prediction? I’m not going with the rest of the crowd—I say keep a close eye on Minnesota or Michigan to win the Big Ten. It’s hard to ignore a team with a perfect record, including a win over a top ten team from the toughest conference in college basketball. And if you can beat Duke, which I deem Final Four material, you should be able to win enough Big Ten games to end up the conference champs.
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