Here's an article I wrote about the Big Ten, it's a little hard on them because I'm a Big Ten fan and want only the best from the conference. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Big Ten big teams in bit of trouble Michigan State started the season as the fourth-ranked team in the nation and three first place votes in its pocket. Illinois was recently 6th in the country and a projected #1 NCAA tournament seed. Indiana was also previously in the top ten at #9, and Iowa was once ranked 12. Wisconsin was a top 15 team just two weeks ago, and Ohio State was one of the country's last unbeatens. Michigan also broke into the top 25 last week, for the first time. Now, however, no Big Ten team has a single digit number next to their name in the rankings. And of those big seven teams (Illinois, Michigan State, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin), five have fallen victim to one of two failures that are damaging the prestige and reputation of the #1 RPI conference. BAD LOSSES As the bruising powers of the Big Ten jockey with each other for position, they will inevitably deal each other some losses. With so many good teams in the league, the occasional loss to a powerful conference rival is all but assured. And that is exactly why any contending team cannot afford to drop a game to one of the league's cellar dwellers. But that's exactly what has happened to several of the league's top teams. The nation might not mind if you lose to Michigan State, or Illinois. The selection committee probably won't dock you much. But if you're Indiana, and you surrendered Minnesota's only league win (1-7), that doesn't look good on your resume. If you're Wisconsin, and you drop a game to Purdue (2-8) , that doesn't boost your profile. And if you're Illinois, it's downright shocking when your NCAA-leading home win streak is snapped by a struggling Penn State team (3-6). BLOW OUT GAMES Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois can take a little bit of consolation here. Their faces might be red from some embarrassing losses, but at least their behinds aren't, which is not something that Iowa and Michigan can say after getting their tails kicked this conference season. Iowa, currently the sole Big Ten conference leader, is 0-2 against the other contending teams on the road. And to make matters worse, one of those losses was an 85-55 thumping at the hands of Michigan State. It leaves a black mark on a conference that's not easily erasd when its leader has a 30-point blowout conference loss, but Iowa is doing their best to redeem themselves. That's because Hawkeyes turned around and dished out a little punishment to the Michigan Wolverines. Just breaking into the national scene after a win over the Spartans, people began to think the Wolverines were a team that might be for real. That was, until they traveled to Iowa for a big conference test and lost by 28 points, 94-66. While bad losses and big losses don't do anything to flatter these five (Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa) of the league's best seven, the league suffered even more in another regard. OUT OF CONFERENCE FAILURES After heading into league play, with the conference being touted as potentially the nation's best, the Big Ten then turned around and lost a few games to out of conference opponents. The Badgers' impenetrable homecourt, which they had defended against Michigan State and Iowa, was first invaded this season by North Dakota State in the upset of the year and a major black eye for the conference. In a league where it's "impossible" to win on the road, Indiana failed to defend its turf against Big East power Connecticut. Not exactly an embarrassing loss, but a missed opportunity for the conference to prove a point. BEATING EACH OTHER UP Two teams so far have won the games they were supposd to win, and managed to keep close the games they lost. Those two teams are the Michigan State Spartans and the Ohio State Buckeyes. OSU, in fact, went perfect in out of conference play. Their only three losses on the season have been nailbiters, and they all came against quality opponents. This team certainly hasn't made any glaring errors, but they do still have something to prove. Despite being 5-3 in Big Ten play, they are just 1-3 against the top seven teams, and 0-2 against those teams on the road. Going to Michigan this Thursday, they desperately need a win. However, they're facing the same Wolverine team that just had it handed to them by Iowa. If Michigan loses, then one of the top seven Big Ten teams will be even further devastated. If Michigan wins, then Ohio State leaves 1-4 against the Big Ten's better half and still searching for a quality win, with their victory against Wisconsin meaning less and less each passing day. This problem is something the Big Ten, and no other conference, can really help. When two good teams square off, one of them has to lose, and when you have a deep conference - which is a good thing - that goes hand in hand with good teams having to lose a lot. Michigan State is one of these teams. They haven't fallen victim to the two major pratfalls that most of their brethren have. They even have a key win away at Ohio State, and were the team that gave Iowa that 30 point thumping. They beat Indiana at home by 14. But the Michigan State Spartans are only 5-3 in Big Ten play. When talking about teams beating each other up, MSU has to spring ot mind first. That's because the Spartans have an incredibly demanding Big Ten schedule. They've already faced Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan on the road, losing three of those games. Up ahead, more games of the same loom, including road games at Iowa and Indiana. The teams that unlucky MSU only gets to face once? Penn State (3-6), Northwestern (3-6), Purdue (2-8) , and Minnesota (1-7). OUTLOOK The Big Ten isn't necessarily in trouble. Its conference RPI should remain stable, even as its teams beat each other up. But its image is taking a hit. If the Big Ten can relay that strong conference RPI into seven tournament bids, however, that will be a start. Its top teams are all lined up for invitations now, and as long as they can fight off collapse, they should be in. Onlookers may now agree the league is inferior the Big East, with Connecticut, Villanova, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Georgetown all on their way up the rankings to the top 15, rather than down, like the Big Ten. But if the Big Ten secures seven invites, they will have plenty of opportunities to prove themselves when it really counts, in the NCAA tournament. And in recent years, the Big Ten has always done just that.</div>Someone pointed out to me that MSU did kind of get blown out by Wisconsin so it's slightly wrong I guess but still there you go.
