Big Ten coming up big-time in the NCAA tourney ... finally

Please allow me to brag for a moment.

As a Big Ten alum, specifically a basketball-playing Big Ten alum, I am feeling pretty good these days about the state of Big Ten hoops.

Everyone is talking about how the Big Ten men got seven teams into the tournament and advanced two teams, Michigan State and Purdue, to the Sweet Sixteen. Well, the women have represented just as well.

Five women's teams got in. And three - Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue - reached the Sweet Sixteen.

Not bad. And not a moment too soon.

The Big Ten has been everyone's favorite punching bag in recent years, on both sides - men and women. And perhaps rightfully so.

The men haven't won a title since Michigan State in 2000.

The Big Ten women are even more removed from the mountaintop, and, worse yet, still stuck on just one championship. The Purdue women won the Big Ten's first and only title in 1999.

Add in a surprisingly large number of embarrassing losses and early exits on both sides in recent years, and the Big Ten hasn't exactly been a power conference in the NCAA Tournament.

That's why it's so nice to finally see some meaningful results.

And I mean meaningful.

In terms of the women, it's not just where Michigan State, Purdue and Ohio State have ended up, it's how they got there.

Michigan State, a ninth seed, defeated No. 1 Duke in the second round. Granted, the Spartans were playing on their home court (part of the price you pay to grow the game ... setting predetermined sites to allow for longer marketing time sometimes means higher seeds will play on a lower seed's floor). But a win is a win. Believe me, the Big Ten will take it.

Then there was Purdue, a sixth seed which upset a very talented No. 3 North Carolina team on a neutral floor. That was a huge win for the Boilermakers, who always seem to play their best in March.

Even Minnesota, which is no longer alive, had a big win. The No. 10 Golden Gophers upended No. 7 Notre Dame in South Bend in the first round. That, too, was a big win for the Big Ten, considering that many folks believe the Big East is the most powerful conference in women's basketball.

So how to explain the good fortune?

Not sure yet. Maybe just favorable matchups, maybe just luck, maybe simply a swing in the pendulum. Ebbs and flows in sports are pretty commonplace.

One other thought is that the Big Ten is finally gaining some stability on the coaching front.

In recent years on the women's side, there have been almost too many coaching changes to count. For example, over the last five years, seven Big Ten women's teams have gotten a new coach.

While that doesn't seem like an overly big deal, coaching changes can take their toll on recruiting since many players are hesitant to pull the trigger on an unproven product.

And as we all know, just a few sub-par recruiting classes can take years to recover from.

Right now, I think the Big Ten has a pretty good group of coaches. Even Northwestern has a star in longtime veteran Joe McKeown.

Good, stable leadership could be exactly what the Big Ten needs to return to its rightful place as one of the most powerful power conferences in women's basketball. Here's hoping what we're seeing right now is just the tip of the iceberg.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com