NCAA Basketball ohio state Buckeyes

In 2008, the Big Ten sent only four teams to the NCAA tournament. None reached the Elite Eight The Big Ten toiled down with mid-majors in conference RPI and were nationally maligned as the "Average 11." This past season, however, the league enjoyed a resurgence. It ranked only behind the ACC in conference RPI. Seven schools earned a berth into the NCAA tournament, and Penn State won the NIT. Michigan State toppled the defending national champions and two number one seeds en route to a national runner-up finish.

First of all, allow us a moment to give Penn State some credit. They had never won 10 Big Ten games in one season until they garnered their tenth of 2009 Thursday night. They apparently have a flair for the dramatic, as they trailed by six with under two minutes left. A Stanley Pringle three, a huge offensive board -- followed by two free throws -- from David Jackson, some good defense, and a clutch runner from Talor Battle propelled them to an unbelievable victory over a very solid Illinois team for the second time this season.

A few weeks ago I did a halfway point roundup for the Big Ten, in which I buried Wisconsin and hailed Penn State to no end. Boy, do I look like an idiot now. Since then, Penn State crumbled, while Wisconsin has done a 180.

The Nittany Lions were embarrassed by Michigan, lost at home to Wisconsin, and handily lost at Purdue. They now sit just 6-6 in conference play, and their RPI has plunged into the 80s. With road trips to Illinois and Ohio State -- not to mention hosting Illinois and Minnesota -- it would appear they are fading back into obscurity.

With just over a month in the books and most teams having played about half their conference schedule, let's check out the big boys of the Midwest. We're seeing a slight upheaval when it comes to traditional powers, as Indiana and Wisconsin sit in the bottom third of the standings, Northwestern is respectable, and Penn State is in the mix toward the top.

At this point, the conference is very balanced, and much stronger than it has been in recent years. They have a shot at seven bids for the Big Dance, but six is the more likely number.

The recession has hit the Ohio State Athletic Department. Gene Smith, the athletic director, said that after running a surplus the last few years, the Buckeyes are going to be dealing with budget shortfalls for the next few years that could run to nearly $5 million in total. They plan to make up most of the money by raising ticket prices for football and men's basketball by $1, excluding student tickets.

The primary blame is falling on the basketball program. The revenues on men's basketball are apparently already down $300,000 to $500,000.

Ohio State's attendance has unsurprisingly been dropping since the 2006-07 season when they averaged over 17,500 per game with Greg Oden. That number fell by almost 1,000 last season. This season, the average is down to 14,307 per game. That's less concessions and merchandise sales. They are even dropping ticket prices in the higher seats just to get people to show up for most of the remaining conference games.

This week, the Illinois Fighting Illini made their first appearance in the polls since the end of the 2005-2006 season, and, apparently, they are planning on an extended stay. Tuesday night they summarily disposed of a very respectable Ohio State team, 67-49. Though OSU is still missing a key cog in swingman David Lighty, this was a quality victory for the Illini.

The inside duo of Dominique Keller and Mike Tisdale proved too much inside for the Buckeyes, as the two combined for 27 points on 11-17 shooting.

I've been trying to impress upon the FanHouse readers for a little while that the Big Ten is back to being a strong conference this year, but it seems to me the coaches are getting a bit ahead of -- or maybe too proud of -- themselves for it being early January.

Illinois coach Bruce Weber said as many as seven teams will play in the tournament. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo predicted as many as eight.

Alright, guys, step away from the microphone.

In order for a conference to get eight bids, there's going to have to be a ton of unusual circumstances. First of all, the top eight teams are going to have to basically win every single game over the bottom three. With Indiana and possibly Iowa, I could see that. Northwestern, though, has enough potential to win four or five conference games. Second of all, the teams must all have built stellar non-conference resumes, and Penn State, to name one, did not.

We learned a few things in just one week of Big Ten play. All of them point back to one conclusion: This is a strong league, nearly from top to bottom.

Michigan beat Duke at home. Wisconsin went into Michigan and won this past week, yet had trouble at home against Penn State. Purdue made Davidson look horrible, yet they lost at home to Illinois. Illinois proceeded to go into Michigan and lose. The one thing we could definitively say is that Michigan State looks like the best team in the conference after winning in Minnesota. Of course, Northwestern hung with the Spartans in East Lansing yesterday.

Dan Shanoff is one of those taking note of the Big Ten resurgence, as he referred to the conference as "Big East Lite" today.

Team to Watch: Penn State
Wisconsin, coming off the aforementioned triumph in Ann Arbor, had trouble with the feisty Nittany Lions in the Kohl Center -- a place in which they have only lost twice in Big Ten play under Bo Ryan. The upset would have been quite a feat for Ed DeChellis' program. They have an outstanding inside-outside duo in Jamelle Cornley -- who plays like a very poor man's Charles Barkley -- and Stanley Pringle. While eventually they'll need much more balance -- the two combined for 46 of Penn State's 61 points in Madison -- they provide an impressive foundation.

Minnesota passed their second Big Ten test with flying colors today, turning back Ohio State, 68-59. This was a huge game for Tubby Smith's Golden Gophers, in light of the fact that they were coming off their first loss of the season -- a home loss to Michigan State by 12 earlier this week.

Some drastic improvements were made from the last game. After being decimated on the boards by Michigan State (41-22), Minnesota controlled the boards today against Ohio State. The defense was much tougher, especially inside, as the Buckeyes were held to 34 percent shooting from the field overall. A balanced scoring attack, along with really solid ball movement (17 assists on 25 field goal attempts), also helped them control a game which was never really in doubt in the second half -- even though a late Buckeye surge trimmed the margin to seven on a Jon Diebler three with 45 seconds left.

Just when I was ready to start tooting the Big Ten's horn, again, for being on their way back to a powerhouse conference, Ohio State gets embarrassed by West Virginia and Iowa gets trounced at Drake. Those were quality opponents, sure, but it was a good time to capitalize on the impressive Michigan State and Purdue wins during the weekend prior to Christmas.

Regardless, I have to root for the conference as a whole this year to maintain some level of sanity, as my alma mater has now lost consecutive games to Northeastern and Lipscomb. What a way to build momentum heading into January, huh?

Conference season for the Big Ten kicks off Tuesday night in Mackey Arena, as Purdue hosts Illinois in what is shaping up to be quite the contest. On paper, the Boilers are easily the favorite and should handle Illinois. They very well could. The Fighting Illini, however, have only lost one game all season -- a two-pointer to undefeated and 16th ranked Clemson. Sophomore seven-footer Mike Tisdale has really come into his own in the past four games, and he'll pose a major problem for the Boilers down low. I like Purdue here, but it's gonna be a doozy.