The Big Ten's been hearing it for years, but this year it's actually legitimate — the league is having a down year.

After a lackluster football season in which only Wisconsin and Penn State were able to win its bowl games, the Big Ten's basketball season is shaping up to be just as disappointing.

Just as it was Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin on the top and then not much else in football, it's Wisconsin and Ohio State on the top and then a bevy of average teams floating around basketball in the Big Ten.

However, it's not as bad as media pundits make it out to be. After all, it's still Division I college basketball.

"That's something you can never buy into," Penn State's preseason All-Big Ten selection Geary Claxton said about the Big Ten having a down year. "This is college basketball. Anybody can beat anybody on any given night."

Nevertheless, it's true — the Big Ten isn't as good as it has been in the past.

Wisconsin and Ohio State are on another level, no doubt, but the rest of the conference is filled with question marks.

Michigan is off to a hot start, but we've all seen the Wolverines in this position before — on pace to make the NCAA tournament only to end in a heartbreak. Here's hoping things go differently your last time out, MU seniors Dion Harris, Brent Petway, Lester Abram and Courtney Sims.

Indiana just cracked the national rankings, but the verdict is still out on the Hoosiers. D.J. White's as good as any low-post player in the Big Ten, but Indiana's guard-play has been inconsistent to say the least.

However, Kelvin Sampson and company do have quite the impressive résumé thus far, only having lost by five or fewer points on the road in non-conference play to Kentucky, Duke and mid-major powerhouse Butler. As for conference play, losses at Ohio State and Illinois aren't bad, either.

As for Illinois, Bruce Weber's Illini may be the most disappointing team in the Big Ten this year. Junior captain Brian Randle has been injury prone — most recently sitting out with an ankle injury. And when Randle has played, he's been shaky shooting the ball.

Purdue was supposed to make some noise with both David Teague and Carl Landry back, but no dice. Ditto for Penn State with its young tandem of Claxton and Jamelle Cornley.

Michigan State's a young team that should rise from the middle of the pack down the stretch, but the Spartans may be putting too much of the scoring load on the tiny shoulders of Drew Neitzel.

Iowa's been playing better than expected, but nothing was really expected before the season. Preseason All-Big Ten selection Adam Haluska has been putting up his points, leading the league in scoring at 20.1 points per game, but he's also been getting help from newcomer Tyler Smith (13.4 points per game).

And to round out the Big Ten, Minnesota and Northwestern wouldn't be fare much better in the Ivy League this year. At least former Gophers head coach Dan Monson was smart enough to bolt as soon as he got the chance.

But as bad as the Big Ten may seem, the conference is still no cakewalk. No. 5 Ohio State already fell to No. 2 Wisconsin, and it's unlikely the Badgers will make it out of league play undefeated.

Yet, when Wisconsin drops its first Big Ten game — which it inevitably will — the only thing every media outlet outside of the Dairy State will be pointing to is how poor the conference is and how the Badgers aren't that good. After all, UW has never been a school to earn much respect on the national level in any sport.

And it's a shame, because the Big Ten shouldn't define Wisconsin.

The Missouri Valley Conference hasn't been so good lately because of the conference itself, but rather because of the teams it contains. Teams win games, not conferences. Bradley and Wichita State didn't make it to the Sweet 16 last season because of the MVC. The Braves and Shockers had to go out and knock off top-ranked teams themselves.

So when tournament time comes around, the Big Ten's off year shouldn't affect the Badgers' seed. Then again, it won't matter to Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, as it's always just about the next game on the schedule no matter where his team's at.

Michael is a senior double majoring in journalism and communication arts. If you would like to place a bet on who will win the Jan. 31 match-up of Minnesota at Northwestern, please send your wagers to [email protected].