Big Ten

Unlike the NBA, where most starting lineups are set in stone weeks before the season, NCAA starting fives are highly unsettled and constantly in flux. Going through the BCS leagues this week, I'll be projecting the starting fives for each team. Also included is the team's most important bench option, and some notes on other possible lineups.

In recent weeks, the Rise & Fall series has chronicled the progress (or regress) of college basketball's major conference teams. But if I equated each team to a civilization, I was mistaken. It is really the NCAA conference that equates to a burgeoning civilization or nation, each with its sometimes stable and sometimes rotating member states. Like civilizations, the prestige and power of conferences wax and wane..

Like civilizations, all great basketball programs eventually fall.. replaced by an upstart newcomer. In this week's Rise & Fall series, we'll take a look at which BCS programs are rising, falling, or merely treading water. Up today, the:

BIG TEN

We're only one day beyond the 2008 National Championship Game.. but its never too early to start thinking about next year's Tournament. Here's an early projection of the 2009 NCAA Tournament field:

It’s been a dogfight in the Big Ten this season, with five teams within two games of first place. It has also been a dogfight with regard to the top players in the conference, with only D.J. White standing out as an obvious choice for the Big Ten All-January team. With that being said, here’s January’s Fab Five.

Guard – Drew Neitzel – Michigan State – SR
13.7ppg, 4.5apg, 2.5rpg
Best game – Jan 27th – Michigan – 18 points, seven boards, seven assists, two steals

There is a reason February is the shortest month of the year. It makes March come quicker than we expect and that means BracketBusters is coming soon and the bubble watch is in full swing. This week, those topics dominate what “Welser Wonders…”

Like the case across most of the BCS conferences, a freshman is leading the way in the Big 10.  The old dogs are doing ok also, as two seniors make this early season list.