ALL OVER INDIANA: Big Ten has a few good teams and a lot of bad ones

GREG MENGELT Greg.Mengelt@newsandtribune.com

JEFFERSONVILLE — It was an interesting year in the Big Ten.

The top four teams — Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin — were really good. Despite all four of those teams sustaining significant to serious injuries, three tied for the regular-season title and the other — Wisconsin — finished a game back.

The other seven teams were, let’s just say, not so good.

Illinois has to be the worst Big Ten team ever to finish above .500 in the conference, and Michigan may be the most disappointing. Penn State, Iowa and Indiana were downright bad, and Minnesota and Northwestern were awful down the stretch with NCAA tournament bids on the line.

With all of that said, every team gets a second chance, starting Thursday in the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.

I have broken down the tournament and its contenders, from favorite to Iowa:



FAVORITE

• Ohio State: Not only are the Buckeyes the favorite to win the Big Ten Tournament, they will almost certainly be one of the last teams standing in the NCAA tournament.

Evan Turner has separated himself from every other college basketball player in the country, and the rest of the starting five isn’t bad, either.

OSU has won 13 of its last 15 games since Turner came back from a severe back injury. Both of the losses came against elite top-10 teams.

With a conference tournament championship, the Buckeyes should be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.



THE CONTENDERS

• Wisconsin: Since Jon Leuer returned, the Badgers finished with four straight victories.

It was against less-than-stellar competition, but there’s no doubt Wisconsin is playing great basketball.

Make no mistake about it, led by Trevon Hughes, the Badgers are a dangerous team this week and beyond.

• PURDUE: Purdue hasn’t played well enough without Robbie Hummel to be considered the Big Ten Tournament favorite.

However, the Boilermakers have to love their half of the bracket.

First, they avoid the conference’s two hottest teams in Ohio State and Wisconsin until the title game. Next, they play the winner of the Northwestern-Indiana game, and I don’t think Purdue will have a hard time getting up for either one.

In the semifinal, Purdue would face a dysfunctional Michigan State team. True, the Spartans won in West Lafayette a week ago. But while the Boilermakers appear to be galvanizing without Hummel, MSU appears to be falling apart.

• MICHIGAN STATE: Chris Allen — an 11-point per game scorer for Sparty — was suspended for the tournament’s first game for acting like a spoiled child, according to MSU coach Tom Izzo.

It was the second time this year that Izzo has suspended a player for being selfish, and the third time he has called out one of his players for “needing to grow up.”

Still, the Spartans are a talented bunch, and there’s no doubt Izzo can coach. Combine that with the easier side of the bracket, and Michigan State could definitely win this tournament.

• MICHIGAN: My beloved sports editor, Mike Hutsell, warned me to not to fall for the Wolverines, like he did in the preseason when he picked them to finish third and called them his surprise Final Four contender.

As funny as it may sound, I am falling for them.

I love DeShawn Sims, and he didn’t deserve what happened to the Wolverines this season. Teamed with Manny Harris, Michigan is clearly capable of winning four straight games.

Don’t ask me why I’m not swayed by Michigan’s four losses in its last five games — including a home loss to Penn State — because I don’t have a logical answer.



THESE TEAMS ARE SERIOUSLY, REALLY HORRIBLY AWFUL

• MINNESOTA: The Gophers are probably the best of the bad Big Ten teams.

Of course, Minnesota just lost to Michigan by 25 points, ending all hope of an NCAA tournament bid.

It’s obvious that the Gophers really wanted it.

• NORTHWESTERN: It would have been nice to see what the Wildcats could have done with Kevin Coble.

There’s no doubt in my mind that with Coble, Northwestern would have made its first NCAA tournament.

As they are currently constituted, however, the Wildcats won’t sniff the Big Ten Tournament title.

• PENN STATE: The Nittany Lions have played well of late, including close losses to Michigan State and Purdue. Plus, PSU has Talor Battle, one of the top players in the conference.

On the other hand, they finished 3-15 in a bad Big Ten.

If you can’t beat Robert Morris at home, you’re probably not going to win the Big Ten Tournament. At least that’s the philosophy by which I’ve always lived my life.

• ILLINOIS: Unlikeable. Unwatchable. Unlikely to win another game.

• INDIANA: The Hoosiers really missed Maurice Creek down the stretch.

Not only was the freshman their best all-around player, but Creek was also the only true scorer on the Hoosiers’ roster. His injury came when it appeared that the Hoosiers had found their comfort zone.

As unlikely as it is, it would be nice to see Indiana finish strong and at least get a win over Northwestern.

• IOWA: Like Penn State, Iowa is playing its best basketball of late.

What does that tell you when “of late” includes a 35-point loss to Minnesota?

Contact Greg Mengelt at greg.mengelt@newsandtribune.com.

 

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