When did the Big Ten...

[down2cyz]

Become the NBA Western Conference?

I am so tired of hearing how good the Big Ten is in basketball. Fans of that conference easily dismiss Iowa State fans when they point out how bad their football is, but my goodness any team from the Big Ten would win the Big XII in basketball and Kansas would finish 6th if it were reversed.

Yeah Indiana and Michigan are tough, but they aren't world beaters by any stretch. And after them and Michigan State, you find the same good to mediocre teams that make up the middle and the bad at the bottom.

I heard the same thing last year, and in the end a Big XII team was playing for a National Title and no Big Ten team was to be found.

(please note I was trying not to name names even though you know what fan base I am talking about and I refuse to type Big Ten as BIG because that maybe the dumbest thing I have ever seen)

[EddieISU]

It will be fun to watch the teams out of that conference, burn and crash come NCAA tourney time.

[GMackey32]

I find this funny.

RealTimeRPI.com Men's College Basketball Rating Percentage Index (RPI) Ratings - A leading sports ratings and resources community on the Internet

[Gunnerclone]

Arguably the best conference in what is widely accepted as an extremely "down" year in CBB as a whole. Hang that hat!

[Clonefan94]

Their big bonus this year was having so many teams ranked so high at the beginning. When they get into conference play, a loss is easily dismissed by how tough the rest of the conference is, "looked, we're all ranked." I do think it's a very good conference, don't get me wrong, but over-all the conference was a bit over-rated early, which is keeping them up there now.

I almost get a feeling it's kind of a gimme for them from the sports writers, they feel so bad about how ****** their football is, they give them this little boost during basketball season. Hell, with all the teams they are adding, maybe they are trying to become the next Big East and they are just going to give up on football all together.

[ISUCubswin]

It makes me mad how every football and basketball season the BIG is expected to be the best conference.

[alarson]

This is how the media is with the big 10. Anytime they show the slightest sign of being good in anything they immediately hype them up, whether it be basketball or football. Not that the big 10 is bad in basketball by any means (unlike football), but there's an obvious big 10 lean in the media.

[Snyder21]

When pretty much every team in the Big 10 conference is overrated and it's conference season it's impossible to judge how good they actually are by their ranking because they play each other every night. I have a feeling they get two teams in the sweet sixteen. Some people are saying they could get 2-3 in the Final Four. Big 10 fans are ridiculous.

[BringBackJohnny]

The same thing happens with the SEC in football. If you are pre-ranked so high it is more dificult to fall after losses because of the measuring statistics. The Big 12 front office needs to start making a bigger push on this front in football or things will continue to go the way of the SEC and Pac 10. Just being good at a sport does not mean you will be ranked appropriately and the Big 12 lacks major media centers for the extra publicity.

Football and Basketball rankings are not 100% and pretty much suck and thats the story I am sticking to.

[ISU42]

Scoop Jackson said the other day that BIG in basketball was equivalent to the SEC in football. I guess he forgot that the BIG hasn't won a title since 2000.

[CyJack13]

It makes me mad how every football and basketball season the BIG is expected to be the best conference.

When was the last time the B10 was expected to be the best conference in football?

Also, unlike football, basketball provides plenty of chances for non-conference matchups between conferences and the last two years the B10 has done extremely well out of conference.

[LindenCy]

I know they probably get more love than they should, but they have some very good teams this year it would appear and I don't have a huge problem with it. Of course, I don't have to put up with Hawk fans every day, and if I did it would probably irritate me a lot more.

[clonedude]

I think the B1G is really good, but not nearly as good as everyone makes them out to be.

Indiana and Michigan are really good, I will admit that. MSU is decent, but nothing real special IMO. OSU got whooped by Kansas on their own floor.

One thing about the Big 12 though IMO, is that there are some REALLY athletic teams. Maybe not the most polished players ever, but VERY athletic players. Teams like KU, KSU, Baylor, and especially Okie St just have some amazingly talented and gifted athletes on their teams. Okie St is just loaded with guys like that.

So although I'd admit the B1G conference is better than the Big 12, it's not by nearly as much as people would think.

[alarson]

When was the last time the B10 was expected to be the best conference in football?

I think the time that still sticks in my mind the most is the year the media tried their damndest to push a Michigan-OSU rematch game, and they both ended up getting dominated in their respective bowls.

[cyclonespiker33]

When pretty much every team in the Big 10 conference is overrated and it's conference season it's impossible to judge how good they actually are by their ranking because they play each other every night. I have a feeling they get two teams in the sweet sixteen. Some people are saying they could get 2-3 in the Final Four. Big 10 fans are ridiculous.

I expect Michigan State in the sweet sixteen, either 1 or both of Michigan and Indiana in there too. Nobody else. Probably only one of those three advance to the elite eight. The thing is, all these big 10 teams are going to get seeded very favorably and need to lose to 7 and 6 seeds to get knocked out.