As the end of the regular season draws to a close, no team has emerged as a dominant force in the race for the Big Ten conference title.
The closeness of the Big Ten race is due to the surprising play of a number of teams. Despite the shuffle toward the bottom of the league, Indiana, Ohio State and Minnesota have managed to hold on to the top three spots in the conference.
Indiana holds the number-one spot in the conference with a record of 8-2 in the Big Ten and 16-7 overall.
Head coach Mike Davis said, “I don’t think we can play any better than we have been playing.”
The Hoosiers also are playing well at home, with a record of 8-0 this season. Their success at home might have something to do with the fanatical Hoosier fans.
“Our fans have been a key for us,” said Davis. “They have motivated our team.”
Wednesday the Hoosiers will host Wisconsin, followed by Michigan Sunday.
In the meantime, Ohio State has been struggling to keep their number-two spot after two key losses on the road. Last Wednesday the Buckeyes were upset 94-92 by the Badgers and then by Michigan State, 67-64.
“We need to be a little more aggressive, especially on the defensive end, on the road,” said OSU head coach Jim O’Brien. The Buckeyes will face Iowa this week in hopes of getting back on track.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the last couple of weeks is the Gophers. Last week Minnesota beat Iowa 86-78 in Iowa City. The Gophers (14-7, 7-3 Big Ten) have now become a major threat. Having won seven out of their last nine games, they are looking for a win at Northwestern Wednesday.
“This week we are probably going to have to play two of our best basketball games to win,” Minnesota head coach Dan Monson said. The Gophers are going into the game with poise.
“The guys are confident in each other,” Monson said. Minnesota has high hopes of taming the Wildcats.
At the lower end of the conference sit Penn State and Purdue. The Nittany Lions have a disappointing conference record of 2-9 and 6-16 overall. Despite a down season, the team is young, starting the most freshmen since the ’98 season.
PSU Coach Jerry Dunn said, “These young kids are going to be good players.”
Down but not out
Some teams sit in the middle of the conference with confidence that they will end up atop the Big Ten come the end of the regular season.
The preseason expectation that Illinois would be a major contender in the conference has slowly faded. They have fallen to a conference record of 6-5 and an overall record of 17-7, putting them fifth in the Big Ten.
“We still haven’t been whole as a team,” said head coach Bill Self. “We need to have a full complement of players.”
Michigan endured a tough week with one non-conference game against Colorado State last Monday night, which they lost 70-66. They hope to redeem confidence when they play the struggling Boilermakers Wednesday. They will wrap up the week Sunday against the confident Hoosiers.
“The kids would rather play than practice,” head coach Tommy Amaker said. Michigan finds themselves ranked seventh in the Big Ten with a conference record of 5-6 and 10-11 overall.
Illinois head coach Bill Self best summed up this year’s Big Ten race when he said, “I believe anybody can beat anybody.”
The season is not over until it’s over, and with all the upsets and surprises so far, the Big Ten is clearly up for grabs.
