Big 10 Looking To Bounce Back
By: SBR Staff

There's no doubt that Big 10 basketball is some of the best in the country. But after a disappointing showing in last year's NCAA Tournament, the Big 10 will have to see a team or two make it deeper into March Madness in order to regain some of the respect their fans have come to boast.

Big 10 basketball fans like to believe that the tough conference slates their teams play during the regular season readies them for the postseason; that they beat up on each other from January through mid-March, sacrificing gaudy win-loss records in preparation for success when matched against teams from other conferences in the NCAA tournament.

At least that’s what they like to believe.

But last season, that certainly wasn’t the case. Conference champion Ohio State earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, and Big 10 tournament champ Iowa was granted a No. 3 seed. But of the six Big 10 teams to receive invitations to the Big Dance, only three won their first-round games (five were the higher seeds), and none made it past the second round.

The Buckeyes, in just Thad Matta’s second season as head coach in Columbus, won the Big 10 with a 12-4 record last season. The Hawkeyes went 11-5 in the conference, tying Illinois for second place. Then Iowa beat OSU in the conference tournament title game. But Steve Alford’s Hawks fell victim to 14th-seeded Northwestern State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and the Bucks lost to a 7th-seeded Georgetown team in the second round.

The 4th-seeded Fighting Illini beat Air Force in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but lost to 5th-seeded Washington two days later. Indiana, seeded sixth, won its first-round game then fell to 3rd-seeded Gonzaga. A ninth-seeded Wisconsin squad got crushed by Arizona, and Michigan State (just 8-8 in the conference last season) became George Mason’s first upset victim, both in the first round.

All in all, an immensely disappointing end to the season, and a blow to the collective pride of the Big 10.

This season, Ohio State is not only the favorite to win the Big 10, again, but also one of the favorites to win the NCAA title. The Buckeyes, with a wealth of returning talent, are listed at +1200 (12/1) to win the national championship at The Greek.

Illinois may have lost both Dee Brown and James Augustine, but they’re still rated as the Big 10’s second-best chance to win the national title at +4000.

Iowa, Michigan State and Wisconsin (which returns four starters from a season ago, including forward Alando Tucker) are all posted at +5000 to win the NCAA tournament this season.

The Indiana Hoosiers, who replaced coach Mike Davis with former Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson, are posted at +7500 win a national title this season.

Is this finally the year the Michigan Wolverines return to NCAA tournament play? Michigan hasn’t danced in March in eight seasons now, after settling for another NIT bid last season. The Wolverines, finally about as healthy as they had been all season, played their way into the NIT title game, where they fell to South Carolina. But Michigan returns a good combination of talent and experience this season, including guard Dion Harris and Lester Abram, who both missed a good part of last year to injuries. Coach Tommy Amaker’s team is listed at +12500 (125/1) to win it all this season.

And the Purdue Boilermakers, who also struggled through a tough 2005-06 season, may be poised to surprise a few people this year. Purdue went 3-13 in the Big 10 and 9-19 overall in coach Matt Painter’s first season in charge since taking over for legend Gene Keady last year. But the Boilermakers return several key players, and could cause problems in this conference.

The Greek offers odds on 63 teams to win this season’s national title. A bet on the field, which includes every Div I-A team not listed among the 63 (including Purdue), offers odds of +1200.

This season’s Final Four will be played Saturday, March 31 and Monday, April 2, 2007 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.