Biggest Ten?
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The only sure thing heading into the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament, which will play out this week in Indianapolis, is that no team will leave Lucas Oil Stadium unbruised.
If the NCAA tournament promises intrigue and unpredictability during this pandemic-driven season, the Big Ten’s wealth of depth and championship contenders make the conference tournament the nextbest thing – five days of bruising, physical play pitting many of the best teams in college basketball.
With Selection Sunday coming March 14, the Big Ten had five teams in the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll, including four of the top 10; has two No. 1 seeds, Michigan and Illinois, in the latest USA TODAY Sports bracketology; another two No. 2 seeds, Iowa and Ohio State; and as many as nine teams either solidly in or on the verge of securing a place in the 68-team field.
Sending nine teams into the NCAA Tournament would set a Big Ten record, breaking the mark of eight set in 2019, and would trail only the Big East in 2011 for the most teams from one conference in a single tournament field.
You can easily make a case for one of the top three to win the conference. No. 4 Michigan had lost just twice before falling last weekend to Michigan State. No. 3 Illinois is surging, with wins against Wisconsin, the Wolverines and No. 10 Ohio State to cap the regular season. No. 6 Iowa has firepower on offense and, in center Luka Garza, the league’s best player.
The Buckeyes will be motivated to capture one of the top eight seeds after dropping four consecutive games to end the regular season, a sour close to what had been a rebound year under coach Chris Holtmann. No. 20 Purdue has won five in a row, the longest active streak in the Big Ten. Maryland, Rutgers and Michigan State will be playing to lock in bids, with the Spartans aiming to avoid missing the tournament for the first time since 1997.
This level of competitiveness might tear the Big Ten apart. Michigan or Illinois could be bounced early and head into the NCAA Tournament on a low note. The Spartans or Scarlet Knights could lose in the opening round and drop out of tournament contention.
But fighting through college basketball’s toughest conference could also yield a champion ready to make a run at the whole thing.
Connecticut came out of that loaded Big East in 2011 to win the national championship. A year later, the Big East sent nine teams to the tournament and Louisville reached the Final Four.
The Atlantic Coast also had nine teams in the 2017 tournament, with North Carolina winning it all. The ACC in 2018 sent nine teams and had two, Duke and Florida State, reach the Elite Eight.
The Big Ten has the added benefit of playing in Indianapolis, which hosts every round of this year’s NCAA Tournament. Not having to leave the area and travel lowers the risk of contracting COVID-19, for one, while remaining in place would give the conference champion time to rest and recover before the tournament begins the following Friday.
Before that, how better to get ready for a run at the national championship than surviving the gantlet presented by the nation’s best conference?