Michigan

With four clear-cut big-dancers, the Big Ten oozes front-end quality.  But with lower-seeded teams providing late season scares to perennial powers – see Michigan State barely escaping Penn State in East Lansing last week - look for some drama to unfold this Thursday thru Sunday in Indianapolis.

 

Illinois

Michigan St

Ohio St

Purdue

Wisconsin

Other (Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn St)

Tuesday's a big day for teams in need to resume-building wins with many games providing teams the opportunity to further their causes. Rhode Island, who fell victim to Jordan Crawford in the second half of their loss at Xavier, could really use a win at Dayton to help their at-large chances. The same goes for the Flyers, who have lost two of their past three (both defeats came on the road). Losing to the Musketeers is by no means a bad thing but the 60-59 loss at St. Joseph's could be one that comes back to haunt Brian Gregory's squad if they don't pick up a few more quality wins.

While much of the country was caught up in the hoopla that was the BCS Championship Game, an amazing comeback was taking place at Penn State. The Nittany Lions looked to be well on their way to their first Big Ten win of the season, leading a cold-shooting Michigan at the half 31-16. But if you're familiar with John Beilein-coached teams you know that at the snap of a finger they can heat up from the field. And that's exactly what happened in the second half, as the Wolverines outscored their opponents 48-24 in the final twenty minutes on their way to a 64-55 victory.

John Calipari attempted to convince the masses following Kentucky's 64-61 win over Connecticut in the SEC/Big East Invitational that his Wildcats were 4-5 instead of 9-0. Good luck convincing people of that, but what needs no selling is how good of a player John Wall is. Foul trouble sat the freshman on the bench for much of the first half and the turnovers (seven) need to decrease, but the Raleigh, NC native took over down the stretch to deliver the win. Wall led all scorers with twenty-five points and also had six steals in the victory.

Betting odds are a great guide to college basketball entertainment. Unlike fans, who often ride the wave of media predictions, betting lines tend to be a bit more focused and can give you an objective picture of how teams matchup (though lines too can get caught up in the wave of human emotion).

 

A lot of attention has been sent the way of Friday's NIT Season Tip-Off final, which matches Connecticut and Duke in their ninth all-time meeting. The Huskies have won the last four in the series and are coming off of their most impressive showing of the season. The small forward matchup of Kyle Singler (Duke) and Stanley Robinson (UConn) should be worth the price of admission but there are also issues that both teams would like answers to both now as well as down the line.

With six teams in CHN's preseason Top 25, and 3 more teams with NCAA Tournament hopes, no league has more depth than the Big Ten. And an improving Indiana into the mix, and this should be quite a season for Big Ten fans.

 

Ranking players is more art then science. How do you compare the potential of freshmen with seniors who have already peaked? How much does physical talent come into play versus intangibles and experience? How big a role do numbers play?