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2013-2014 B1G Men's Basketball

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wigmon said:
The only team in the B1G that realistically is a top 10 team right now is a healthy MSU. But this is an MSU team that lost at home to Nebraska and UNC (4th in ACC) and on a neutral site to G-Town (7th in the BE). This is not the same B1G that it was last year. Yes, teams from the bottom half have improved, but what has occurred is also a result of the top teams taking a step back.
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I agree that the top of the Big Ten does seem down compared to last year. But there are still a handful of teams with a realistic chance at making the Sweet 16 this year. All in all, the league is having a good year but clearly I'm with you that the strength of the league at the top is down somewhat. I think you would be 100% warranted in being skeptical that the B1G will have a Final Four team this year. Although I agree with you if they do have one it's going to be a healthy MSU.
 
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Honestly, I think the Big Ten is good this year but they don't have any real NC contenders aside from MSU potentially. It seems like every conference out there among the top-10 conferences has their top team in the top-10, that doesn't really bother me. The Big Ten has as good a quality of depth as any conference out there, I think that is why they are rated as high as they are as a conference. The bottom teams in the B1G are clearly superior to those of other conferences out there.

I am not a firm believer in the power of computer-generated rankings that cover the whole season to represent a conference strength in all cases - look at 2006 for example, the B1G had supposedly the best basketball conference yet not one team made the Sweet 16. There is a lot of college basketball that is played before teams hit their stride. You could say that was a fluke if one or two of the better teams didn't make the Sweet 16 in 2006, but all of them? Not a chance, the top teams of the league were simply not quite as strong as the top teams from other leagues that season.
 
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SDSU lost at Wyoming who is a better team than NW and its one of only 2 losses (Wisky has 5, three at home). WSU has no great wins, but they are undefeated and off a season where they went to the FF. They are better than Wisky and Iowa. Villanova beat Iowa (and Kansas in the Bahamas). I think Villanova is a questionable top 10 team (9th in one poll, 11th in another), but they only have 3 losses, some good wins and beat Iowa who I am supposed to be comparing them to. Cincy lost to a solid NM team (they would be in the tourney right now) and cross town rival Xavier. Their 3 losses are to top 50 RPI teams . FL had injury and suspension issues (Finney-Smith and Wilbekin dind't play and several others did play but were coming off injuries). Wisky wouldn't stay within 10 points of them on a neutral floor today.

There is always room to make an argument that teams ranked 11-20 may be as good or better as teams at the bottom of the top 10, and this year is no different. The top of UW's resume looks good until you consider the that the wins against FL and MSU were at home and with each opponent missing 2 starters. They look like a top 10 team when all 5 starters are making threes, but they don't really have anyone that can create their own shot and that shows in how low their scoring has been against better teams. Iowa is 2-6 against the top 25 (they lost to Villanova), so they don't have any bad losses, but the 2 wins were against teams they also lost to and top 10 teams should have a better record than .250 against the top 25.

Iowa and UW could make a run at the end of the year and show improvement in areas they have been weak. Right now, .I don't consider them top 10 teams, but there are teams in the top 10 that are vulnerable. There isn't a noticeable gap in the in the pack from the top 8-10 this year like there was last year.
 
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I'd be hugely surprised if the 2014 national champions were not one of the following teams: Kansas, Florida, Duke, Syracuse, Louisville and Arizona, probably in that direct order. Cincinnati and SD State probably deserve their rankings, but they're in no way among the best ten teams in the US.

I do believe that Michigan State is one of the best ten, and Michigan is pretty close. Wichita, Villanova and Creighton would round out my best ten, but none of these teams is likely to win the NC.

Finally, if the Buckeyes catch a break in the draw, I wouldn't be shocked to see us in another Sweet 16. But I'd be very surprised to see us go any further.
 
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Agree on your NC list, though I would substitute a healthy MSU for Louisville. The thing is, those top teams aren't dominant teams and an average night could easily lead to a loss against a 7 or 8 seed. ITs gonna be a fun tourney and even though we have some gaping issues on our team, we do have the components to make a run if we can just get some consistent outside shooting and scoring aside from Ross.
 
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Obviously not as big an upset as BC over Syracuse last night, but Illinois (last in the Big Ten) went into the Barn and beat Minnesota by double-digits, which is not the easiest place to get a road win. Not sure how that impacts Saturday's game when Minny comes to Columbus.
 
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Things will get a whole lot easier for the B1G when Rutgers comes on board.

I tried to watch a few minutes of their game tonight with Memphis but my eyes started to bleed.

How in the fuck can you have a school in the middle of NY, NJ and Philly hoops talent and suck that badly?
 
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Bestbuck36 said:
Plain and simple, the BiG is a tournament conference. Once it's on the line, the superior coaching and physical play will show its mettle.
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The last B1G NCAA champion was Sparty in 2000. Since then, based on conference affiliation at the time:

ACC - 5 titles
Big East - 4 titles
SEC - 3 titles
Big XII - 1 title

MSU's title is the only one won by the B1G since 1989.
 
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Btw, Payne and MSU as a whole just look like a tired, worn-down, exhausted team and it's not even March. As much as they have big potential (probably the best in the BigTen) at doing something in the tournament, they could very well get bounced against a high-energy team.

(Though, I should know to never, ever write off an Izzo team...he pulls magic in March).
 
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