Seven Teams From The Big 10 ?

[Ice Chicken]

Seven? You gotta be kidding me! 5 will be out after the first round with none left in the sweet 16. Anyone who drew a Big Ten team has got to be smiling.

[fishingMN4eyes]

I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who agree with you, but crazy things can happen in the tournament. That's why they play the games instead of just talking about them or looking at the teams and deciding who would win on paper.

[Mudcutter]

wouldn't want' to play Michigan with the talent they have or Wisky as a #5 seed. Wisky as a 12 seed is scary with the way they play. Gophers may get lit up as well as Illni, but Michigan State and Purdue and OSU should be OK.

[koonie]

I could say the same thing about 35 other teams in the big dance. You gotta be kidding me.

Great thread.

[eric29]

I dont know how you can be so sure the gophs will be done in the first round, texas isnt that great of a team and i think the gophs have a better record

[goblueM]

Michigan (ok i'm biased) can beat anybody in the country if they're firing on all cylinders

MSU, Wisconsin, Purdue... all legit teams.

Illinois, Gophers... well we'll just see. They're both pretty solid in my opinion, but along with Michigan could def be one and done. I think every single Big 10 team that got in was deserving, just because a matchup isn't the best doesn't mean they didnt deserve to get in

[fishingMN4eyes]

Michigan is scary because they can shoot lights out on ya. But when they are cold from outside, it could be ugly for them. Illinois and Minnesota have proven defenses, but their offenses are lacking. I think Purdue is still one year away from making some big time noise in the tourney. Wisconsin is just a scary matchup in a 5/12 game. The 12 seeds usually don't come out of a power conference. I have no idea about Ohio St, they just seem streaky to me. MSU is the only really legit team in my opinion, but thats not to say others won't be able to pull out some wins.

[paceman]

Anything can happen in the big dance. Most of the high flying finese teams struggle when they face physical in your face defenses like the big 10 has. I would not be surprised to see 3 in the sweet 16.

[petepeters]

The great basketball prognasticator(sp) that I am has the Big East going 7-0 in the first round in all of my brackets(not much of a stretch). I dont think the amount of teams is weird, I do think that having three number ones from the same conference is a little crazy. Uconn will be the first #1 to fall. Wash over Uconn in the sweet 16.

[fishingMN4eyes]

Actually I think Washington beating UConn is a big stretch. Washington is out of a pretty average conference in the Pac 10. Let's face it, Arizona was given a gift when they got their invitation and USC got in by winning the conference tournament. So that's a conference that should legitimately only have four teams in the tournament if you go off of records. I don't know a whole lot about Washington but it looks like they have a bit of size on their team. Not sure if they can bang with Thabeet all game, though.

[PierBridge]

We're defintily down this year heck we may not even be the 2nd or 3rd best conference.... We are a young conference and will be much improved next year!

[fishingMN4eyes]

We're defintily down this year heck we may not even be the 2nd or 3rd best conference.... We are a young conference and will be much improved next year!

Definitely. Purdue and Minnesota are only a year away from being big time contenders in the Big Ten and beyond. Not to mention teams like Penn St and Northwestern which will only be better next year. Teams like Michigan St, Wisconsin, and Illinios are always in the race. The Big Ten was a heated battle this year in sort of a mediocre way because the teams were so average. Next year will be much different I think.

[hamrej23]

We will see.. I bet Michigan,Ohio St, Mich St. Illinois, Purdue, and Minnesota win.

Wisonsin will be the only loser and with a proven coach, it will be close.

My guess is that the Big east goes down fast.

Just a little insight I think.

[Willy]

I wouldn't say the conference is down as a whole, just that there are no dominant teams or top 5 teams at the top like there usually are. Top to bottom, we have one of the best league, no real stinkers except Indiana or gimme wins in the BT this year.

I think the Big Ten has the #2 RPI as a conference behind only the big east.

[james_walleye]

someone hasnt watched how the big 10 has done outside the conference, you might want to look at that before starting a thread like this.

[LMITOUT]

2 out of 3 so far. Down to six now.

[Scott M]

How bout them Spartans

Izzo firmly believes defense wins championships

by Cash Kruth, MSU State News

Tom Izzo blames Bo and Woody.

In the 1960s and ’70s, Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler and Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes were the poster boys of a rough-and-rugged Big Ten Conference.

Izzo, the 14-year head coach of the MSU men’s basketball team, thinks the concept has spilled over to basketball, where the conference is often described as slow, methodical and ugly.

And you’re darn right he takes this as an insult.

Especially when, come the NCAA Tournament, everybody is scoring fewer points.

“I mean, you got to realize that this tournament is a perfect example of Big Ten basketball,” Izzo said at his Tuesday press conference. “How many games are lower scoring? Because possessions matter. Because defense is being played at an optimal level.”

Other than Connecticut, Villanova, North Carolina and MSU have seen their scoring drop in the tournament.

As Izzo said, it’s a trend that goes throughout college basketball in March.

So why do the Spartans still get knocked for not scoring enough points?

“I’ll tell you what the big deal is,” Izzo said. “You’re [PoorWordUsage] right we check. We check because of Vince Lombardi. We check because of Pat Riley … I’ve watched Chuck Daly’s teams. They were tough. Joe Dumars — tough defender. Why does everybody write about and why does everybody preach that defense wins championships?

“Pick the sport. Go ahead, pick it. … It doesn’t matter what sport you’re in. I do it every single year. I take hockey, baseball, football and basketball. I always put it up on a board or I reiterate it from a piece of paper. Who won the championship? When Baltimore was in it, best defensive team.

It’s 90 percent of the time it happens. So I guess I just learned that that’s the way you have to win championships.”

That doesn’t mean Izzo wants to just play defense. He said he wants to run down the court every time. He wants to be known for defense, rebounding and shooting. You name it, Izzo wants the Spartans to be known for it. Before he’s done, Izzo wants someone to look at the Spartans and say, “You know what, they’re good at all aspects.”

Don’t misunderstand him. Izzo loves that the Spartans are known for their toughness. That’s why he recruits kids from Detroit, Flint and Saginaw.

He loves kids from those places because, “Those guys didn’t have silver spoons in their mouth, that’s the way they’re raised.”

Tough kids can play defense. But they can also shoot a 3-pointer, throw down a dunk, run the fast break and dribble between their legs.

Players at MSU and from the rest of the Big Ten can play basketball — not just defense. That’s why the Spartans are in their fifth Final Four in 11 years. That’s why the Big Ten has been represented in seven of the past 11 years.

“And so I’m not gonna condemn anybody else, but I’m sure not going to sit here and let not you but other people throw rocks at our nice glass house because it’s pretty good,” Izzo said.

“It is what it is. It’s a little harder to score in our league. But maybe that’s why we’re still surviving.”