DAYTON, Ohio — It is as if the Big Ten has heard all the talk that it hasn’t produced a national champion since 2000, and is playing March Mad. So Michigan yawned in the face of VCU’s havoc defense in its own backyard yesterday, and then Tom Izzo’s Michigan State machine bludgeoned Memphis in the same friendly Auburn Hills confines, and today, the big boys get to make their statements to the college basketball world.
By the time Ohio State is finished with Iowa State, and Indiana is finished with Temple, there will be no fewer than four Big Ten teams in the Sweet 16, with Illinois and Minnesota threatening to make it six.
Big Bad Ten.
“I didn’t see a lot of the Michigan game,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said yesterday, “but I saw enough to see that they were out flying around and attacking. I think the league prepares you for everything. Everything and anything, like I tell our team all the time, and I’m sure the other coaches have their own statements of how they view it, but it really all comes back to that.
“So no surprise whatsoever with how the Big Ten is playing.”
Another untimely reminder about the past came when someone asked Ohio State coach Thad Matta if he can see a Big Ten national champion given that only two teams from the conference have cut down the nets in the last 30 years. Izzo’s Spartans were the last Big Ten national champ.
“I think it’s highly likely — I want to make sure I term this right, I don’t want to get the Big Ten in trouble,” Matta said. “I think there’s a good chance. … Those teams are battle-tested and … the one thing about the Big Ten this year is you’ve got great players obviously, you’ve got great coaches, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.”
Ohio State senior Evan Ravenel was informed in the Buckeyes’ locker room that Michigan had blown out VCU.
“Did they?” Good for them,” Ravenel said.
You’re rooting for all your Big Ten brothers, right?
“Uhh … everybody but … uhhhhhhh …”
A teammate sitting next to Ravenel volunteered that you just can’t root for Michigan.
“It’s tough, it’s tough,” Ravenel said, and smiled. “Big Ten. I’ll say that. Go Big Ten,” Ravenel said.
The Big Ten could be in the midst of an historic run here. The league’s all-time record for wins (15) in the NCAA Tournament may very well be in jeopardy. It’s 8-1 so far.
“It prepares you better than any other league, the different styles the teams play, how physical it is, how deep the teams are — like anybody could come in here and make a play,” Ravenel said.
Michigan’s annihilation of VCU sent an emphatic message to the Atlantic 10 about conference superiority. The Hoosiers will try to make another one.
“You’ve got to be ready to play every night, or you can lose at Penn State or Michigan State,” Indiana’s Victor Oladipo said.
Wisconsin, which lost to Mississippi, is the lone Big Ten team to bite the dust at the Dance.
“I was shocked,” Ravenel said.
If Iowa State’s interior physicality reminds the Buckeyes of Michigan State, so be it.
“It was the best basketball conference in the country, and when you’re playing against the top talent in the country night in and night out on a weekly basis, it really prepares you for what you’re going to see in the postseason,” said the Buckeyes’ Sam Thompson, last seen orbiting over the Iona Gaels.
Some quick scouting reports from Ravenel:
Minnesota: “Dangerous team. Best rebounding team in our league.”
Illinois: “Three of the top guards in the league.”
Michigan State: “They got the best frontcourt, I believe, in Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne, and then with a coach like Tom Izzo, you’re always in the game.”
Indiana: “The best big man in the country, Cody Zeller. … Oladipo, the best overall defender, the way he uses his length to block shots and steals … he’s good.”
Ohio State: “All-around best defensive team in the Big Ten. I think we’re the toughest team as well.”
Aaron Craft is the straw that stirs the Buckeyes’ drink.
“The Big Ten, you got to be ready to go every game … when you’re not ready to go, you’re going to get beat. If you’re not ready to go in the tournament, you’re going to go home, and no one wants to do that,” Craft said.
Big Bad Ten.