Two Big Ten teams in final 16? Really?
The Big Ten shocks me every time it manages to win an NCAA Tournament game.
It's sort of like the stock market going up. You don't understand it but are grateful.
The conference's image is that teams go into the postseason like biker gangs. They might lose the basketball game but win the wrestling match.
Yet here the Big Ten is with both Michigan State and Purdue in the Final 16.
Why is this so surprising? Wasn't the conference rated the nation's second best?
Yes, but other gauges contradict that and indicate the Big Ten just doesn't have the talent other leagues have.
• I received my Wooden Award ballot last week. Among the 24 candidates for Player of the Year was Michigan State sophomore Kalin Lucas.
He is the Big Ten's only representative. By comparison, the Big East has six players listed, the ACC has five, the Pac-10 has 4 and the Big 12 and SEC have three apiece.
Conference-USA and the Southern Conference have as many as the Big Ten has.
• Every year at this time Sam Smith, now of Bulls.com, compiles a list of the world's 30 best players not in the NBA.
Nine from the Big East make the cut. Then comes the ACC with seven, Pac-10 with four and midmajors with three.
The Big Ten has two - Ohio State's Evan Turner at No. 28 and B.J. Mullens at 29 - to tie with the Big 12 and Europe.
At least the Big Ten isn't the SEC, which has one.
• If that weren't bad enough, Illinois alum Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times puts together a similar list.
Turner isn't included. Mullens is the only Big Ten player among this 30, ranked No. 22 compared to 29 by Smith.
Heisler's list has eight players from the ACC, seven from the Big East, five from the Pac-10, four from the Big 12, three from mid-majors and two from Europe.
You probably get the idea by now. The Big Ten just doesn't have much talent compared to the rest of college basketball.
On paper it looks like the conference is trying to win an auto race with tractor-pull players.
But on the court the Big Ten is 6-5 in NCAA Tournament games with two teams advancing to the second weekend.
That isn't elite conference stuff. The Big East has four teams alive and the Big 12 has three.
Still, it's more than I'd expect from the Big Ten's talent level.
This conference believes it can coach up mediocre players, and apparently Michigan State and Purdue can to some degree.
Ironically, the Big Ten looks like it finally is preparing to play 21st-century basketball by recruiting better athletes.
Several are committed to Illinois. Tubby Smith is making Minnesota more athletic. Michigan State and Purdue are a couple of steps ahead in that category.
Getting more athletic is worth a shot. Being in the Final 16 or even Final 8 isn't good enough. The goal should be the Final 4 and maybe a national championship now and then.
That'll take the kind of players the Big East and ACC are recruiting and the kind the Big Ten is just starting to recognize.
For now it'll still be surprising to me any time the Big Ten has success in the NCAA Tournament.