Transition period
Charlie Sidles
The AP poll from the week before 2013 March Madness featured four B1G teams ranked in the top 10. The conference seemed to be the pinnacle of the basketball world. Less than five years later, Joe Lunardi is predicting which teams will make this year’s tournament, and only four Big Ten teams are on his potential bracket. Nebraska will very likely get more than 20 regular season wins, yet only two out of 93 bracket analysts have them making the big dance. What is the problem? The elite programs that once defined the conference are in periods of transition. Wisconsin is in their third year with coach Greg Gard and they are not the same Wisconsin that made the tournament every year when Bo Ryan was their coach. Indiana is struggling through a coaching change with Archie Miller in his first year. This is very similar to the problems the conference saw in football a few years ago when big programs like Penn State and Michigan lacked coaching stability. Much like with football, time and good hires for the conference’s top programs will likely lead to returned success.
Conference divide
Shreyas Iyer
After the Big Ten went 3-11 during the disastrous Big 10 and ACC challenge this past fall, most pundits cited Michigan State as the lone national title contender in a disappointing conference. Entering February, the league’s dynamics have changed a bit as Purdue has risen to become a serious national championship contender and Ohio State has played marvelously under new coach Chris Holtmann with only one loss in conference play on a miracle shot at the buzzer against Penn State. On the other hand, the conference is bogged down by poor performances by Minnesota, Wisconsin and, unfortunately, Northwestern. The top of the league is extremely good, but the bottom is quite atrocious. Expect five teams to enter the dance, but maybe only two will live beyond the first weekend.
Thinking positively
Jono Zarrilli
The Big Ten is undoubtedly having a down year, but I’m an optimist and there are some things to be proud of. The Big Ten is one of three conferences (Big 12, SEC) to have all of its teams in the top 150 of the KenPom rankings and is tied for the nation’s lead with four teams in the AP and USA Today top 25 (Big 12, SEC, ACC). This is despite the conference having the most cumulative games against teams in the AP Top 25. The Big 10 also has two legitimate title contenders: Purdue and Michigan State. Oh, and if you like defense, 10 Big Ten teams rank in the top 40 nationally in blocks per game. Maybe the Big Ten ain’t so bad after all.
Obligatory Illinois roast
Jacob Munoz
We can talk about how Purdue (21-2, 10-0 B1G) is absolutely dominating the Big Ten right now and has only two close losses the entire season (one to Western Kentucky, though), or about how Michigan State’s (20-3, 8-2 B1G) season is being overshadowed by revelations of the criminally negligent handlings of sexual assault cases, or even about how ESPN’s most recent March Madness bracket prediction has only four conference teams making the tournament compared to the seven who competed last year. I’d personally prefer to commend our Illinois neighbors (12-11, 2-8 B1G) down south who recently picked up their first Big Ten win in both men’s football and basketball since March 1, 2017. Congrats Illini!