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Big Ten Basketball Report

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The Big Ten graded out as the top basketball conference in the country in the final regular RPI numbers. And the league had the most exciting finish to its championship race. First it seemed like a two-team race between Michigan State and Ohio State. Then the Spartans looked in control. Then Tom Izzo’s team lost its final two games, including the season finale to the Buckeyes. The teams ended up tied. And Michigan snuck in the backdoor and stole a piece of its first conference title since 1986. Now the league looks ahead to its tournament in Indianapolis starting this afternoon and what they hope will be NCAA Tournament success. TheSportsNotebook does a regular season wrap-up on its home conference.
I call it the home conference for reasons both literal and figurative. Since I’m a Wisconsin fan, it’s the home conference regardless of where I live, and with the site currently headquartered in the Milwaukee area, it’s literally true. What’s also literally true is that the Badgers, along with Indiana are not just NCAA locks, but possible top four seeds, giving the Big Ten a shot at 5 of the top 16 spots in the overall NCAA bracket.
Purdue had some rebuilding to do and looked in trouble at several points during the season. But Matt Painter has pulled the Boilermakers together and with a 20-11 record and projected #9 seed by ESPN.com bracketologist Joe Lunardi, it appears the Boilermakers are safe. So that puts all eyes on Northwestern. The only school from a BCS Conference to never make the NCAAs is currently right on the bubble and relying a terrific duo of John Shurna and Drew Crawford to push them to a historic bid.
Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois are all heading to the NIT unless they win the tournament, and in the case of Illinois their Februrary collapse probably marks the end of Bruce Weber’s tenure.
Nebraska and Penn State are the only teams not going anywhere, but Penn State has one of the nation’s most electric players in guard Tim Frazier. He averages 19 points, 6 assists and is second in the conference in steals. Even though his team finished 12-19, Frazier gave Lion fans their money’s worth.
ACTION IN INDIANAPOLIS
This is a tournament that looks like anybody’s to take. Ohio State has the best talent in the starting five, but the depth isn’t great. Michigan State is coming in on a down note. Michigan lacks an inside game. Wisconsin hasn’t played well in this event since winning it in 2008. But Indiana? The Hoosiers can match up down low with Cody Zeller, have good forwards with Christian Watford and Victor Oladipo and Jordan Hulls is a solid floor leader. With the local tickets at Conseco Fieldhouse presumably being purchased by Hoosier partisans, Indiana wins the tournament in front of a friendly crowd.
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger is the player coveted by the NBA and he played up to his billing. Shurna and Crawford were each top five in scoring. But how about Frazier? I know it seems strange to pick a player from Penn State, off a 12-19 year, as Player of the Year, but think about how bad the Lions might have been witout Frazier. More to the point, imagine if he played on Michigan State or Ohio State and had a lineup with the muscle inside to keep defenses off of him. Frazier would get his just due. If nothing else, he’ll get it from TheSportsNotebook with its Big Ten Player of the Year pick.
Coach of the Year has to be John Beilein at Michigan. They have the least talent of any of the top five teams and perhaps even less than Purdue and Northwestern. Yet the Wolverines will be getting some hardware for the trophy case. Beilein deserves the applause.

ACC Basketball Report

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North Carolina opened the season ranked #1 in the country when they met Michigan State on an aircraft carrier just off the San Diego shore back in November. There have been some valleys since then–most notably a 33-point loss to Florida State and then a late-game meltdown at home against Duke. But Carolina righted the ship, hammered Duke this past weekend and won a second straight ACC title for head coach Roy Williams. The Heels are smelling a third national title in eight years as we get set for the NCAA Tournamen,t and today TheSportsNotebook takes a look at the ACC and picks some individual award winners as the league tournament gets set to tip off this afternoon in Atlanta.

Big 12 Basketball Report

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There’s been no better rivalry this year than Kansas and Missouri. The two teams split their regular season meetings, with each team winning a big come-from-behind effort at home. Kansas was the more consistent team and won the conference championship, but there could be at least one meeting left this year on Saturday night in Kansas City…and maybe even a fourth at the Final Four in New Orleans. TheSportsNotebook takes a look back on how Kansas, Mizzou and other contending teams in the Big 12 got to this point, looks ahead to the next four days in KC and hands out individual awards.

SEC Basketball Report

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The SEC basketball race was all about Kentucky this was. The Wildcats rolled to a 16-0 conference record, only missed a perfect regular season by a single point, when they lost on a buzzer-beating trey at Indiana, and have locked up a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. With a solid six-man rotation that’s anchored by Anthony Davis in the middle, then filled in with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist as a forward who can run the floor, Terrence Jones who hits the boards, Doron Lamb who hits the trey and Marquis Teague who runs the show, head coach John Calipari has the horses to get his elusive first national championship. Beyond the Big Blue, TheSportsNotebook takes a look at the rest of the SEC, hands out some individaul awards and looks ahead to a conference tournament that starts tonight in New Orleans.

Big East Basketball Report

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The Big East Tournament has tipped off in Madison Square Garden, as the bottom half of the 16-team conference takes the floor in all-day action. TheSportsNotebook looks back on the season that was in America’s biggest conference, hands out some individual hardware and looks ahead to the coming five days at MSG. We can break the Big East down into seven groups. Here’s a brief summation…

Mountain West Basketball Report

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The Mountain West Conference had one of the more exciting championship races this season, with three of the league’s eight teams staying in it to the bitter end. They have one of the more exciting tournaments ahead, as a fourth team has a shot at making it to the NCAA Tournament. Whether this is excitement based on shared mediocrity or that there’s a lot of darkhorses in this field won’t be known until late next Friday night when the NCAA’s first round wraps up. TheSportsNotebook looks back and looks ahead in the Mountain West…

Pac-12 Basketball Report

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The Pac-12 basketball race had a familiar face at the top when the regular season came to an end yesterday, but the Washington Huskies weren’t expected to be there. With freshman and sophomores in key roles and then a slow start in December, it was rebuilding team for Lorenzo Romar. Or so we thought. Washington instead went 14-4 in league play behind the backcourt trio of Tony Wroten, C.J. Wilcox and Terrence Ross. They made it interesting in the final weekend, losing to UCLA on Saturday and giving preseason favorite Cal a chance to redeem themselves and at least claim a share of the title. But Cal dumped a game to Stanford and the Huskies became the champs of the league no one wanted to win.

Atlantic 10 Basketball Report

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The Atlantic 10 basketball race didn’t shape up as anyone expected. This was supposed to be a year that Xavier dominated the 13-team conference and made themselves a possible candidate for the Final Four. Instead, the Musketeers are on the NCAA Tournament bubble as we head into the conference tournament, while Temple brought home the league championship.

The Big 12 Middle: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State

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In the Big 12, Kansas has locked up another conference championship and Missouri’s gotten plenty of attention, both here and elsewhere for their strong second-place finish. Texas is on the NCAA bubble. In between these teams are a trio who are heading for the NCAA Tournament, but need some attention of their own. So just as TheSportsNotebook paid tribute to the Big East Middle & the Big Ten Middle, today it’s time to give a shoutout to Big 12 and take a look at Baylor, Iowa State or Kansas State…

The Big Ten Middle: Michigan, Wisconsin & Indiana

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In the Big Ten’s race for the NCAA Tournament, three times fall in the Forgotten Middle Class. At the top you have likely conference champ Michigan State and Ohio State, still with an outside shot at a co-championship. On the bubble, you have Purdue and Northwestern, and if you’re feeling generous, Illinois and Minnesota. But […]

The Big East Middle: Marquette, ND, Louisville, Georgetown

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The Big East’s powerful middle class has two of its members on ESPN tonight when Notre Dame visits Georgetown (7 PM ET). The Irish and Hoyas are part of a four-team group, including Marquette and Louisville, that may have been overshadowed by Syracuse in the regular season, but all four are threats to cut down the nets at Madison Square Garden next week and perhaps even to go dancing in New Orleans when the Final Four starts on March 31. Today, TheSportsNotebook looks at all four.