Big Ten Basketball Preview
By Tim Bearden in News on Nov 6, 2011 5:00PM
With the NBA still in a lockout - they've cancelled all games through Nov. 30 - where should you turn to get your basketball fix? College hoops, of course. Specifically: the Big Ten.
The Big Ten may not be as popular as the SEC or The Big East, but it has some of the best teams in college basketball this season and more drama than TNT. They have a coach on the ropes, a team so bad the head coach left to coach another collegiate team and teams scrambling to fill voids from last season's player losses.
At the top of the Big Ten we have Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Illinois and a Michigan team who, ironically, lost their leading point guard Darius Moore to the NBA.
Michigan still has a talented team without Moore, but they will feel his loss as they expect freshman Trey Burke to take his role. They also have senior Stu Douglas available for the position. He would be good from an experience and leadership standpoint, but they also have to think about the team's future.
Defending conference champion Ohio State look just as strong this year as they did last. Sophomore forward DeShaun Thomas is reported to have made improvements in the off-season, they have William Buford returning his senior season at guard and a young roster that will inevitably be good for seasons to come. Ohio State is a threat to steal the Big Dance this season.
Illinois finished middle of the pack last year at 9-9 in the Big Ten and 20-14 overall. While it was a winning season for Illinois, it wasn't a good one. They had the talent to compete, but never managed to gel. Bruce Weber is feeling the heat as the team started out last season in the top 25 rankings and fell to unranked by the end. Illinois hasn't seen a Sweet 16 since 2005 and, with that motivation, Illinois could creep back up in the national spotlight this year by working as a team instead of individuals on the same court.
At the bottom of the barrel they have Penn State. Head coach Ed DeChellis left to coach Navy (speculation says it was to avoid losing his job after this season) and has been replaced by Pat Chambers, the youngest coach in the conference. Chambers probably looked at the roster and schedule this season and cursed DeChellis' name. If they finish better than last place, that's a Pyrrhic victory for this young coach and poorly recruited team.
And now the question plaguing all Wildcat fans: Will Northwestern finally make an NCAA tournament? It's not unlikely this season. In fact, CBSSports predicts Northwestern beating out Illinois for a spot in the national tournament in the spring.. The Wildcats did lose Michael Thompson, but they have enough talent returning and have done a good job recruiting new talent for this season. They have senior forward John Shurna and junior guard/forward Drew Crawford returning this season as the two top scorers for the Wildcats. If they don't make it this year, don't give up on Bill Carmody yet. NU's time is coming.
The Big Ten has become one of the most competitive conferences in the NCAA alongside the ACC, SEC and Big East. This season should be full of fireworks as these teams prepare for March Madness again.