While the Badgers were busy taking care of Indiana’s “basketball” team, they also completed their comeback from being bottom feeders in the Big Ten to receiving a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

Some might overlook that achievement, but you can bet Bo Ryan and his Badgers are relishing the fact they don’t have to face a team like Iowa or Northwestern in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Looking at the Big East Tournament, which league officials expanded to include all 16 teams in the conference, UW must be especially happy it won’t have to face a “lowly” opponent Thursday.

Just to give a couple of examples, DePaul, which went 0-18 in Big East play this season, defeated Cincinnati yesterday in the tournament’s first round. Think that’s it? How about St. John’s (6-12 Big East) upsetting Georgetown 64-59? Remember when the Hoyas started their season 12-3 before dropping out of Big East contention?

Now you might be saying the Big East is far superior to the Big Ten. I completely agree. What I will argue though, is the Big Ten is just as competitive as its Eastern counterpart.

In fact, top to bottom, the Big Ten has teams with better records and with similarly good wins as teams in the Big East. Looking even further, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has been so impressed by the Big Ten that he believes eight teams from the conference will make the big dance.

That’s right, eight. Just a year after only four teams — Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue and Indiana — made the NCAA Tournament, that alone shows how much the conference has improved and how much respect it has earned over the course of a season.

Again, I’m not sure if Big Ten teams will be as successful in the NCAA Tournament as will Big East teams. I mean, considering the Big East might boast three of the four No. 1 seeds in the field of 65 — something that has never happened before — it’s unfair to say any conference is better than it.

This all relates to my point that the Badgers should be more than thrilled they don’t have to play in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Considering they already lost to Northwestern on a virtual home court and lost to Iowa at Carver Hawkeye, Wisconsin should be pretty psyched they don’t have to contribute to another DePaul-like upset.

Making things look better for the Badgers is the fact that they have been in the Big Ten Tournament’s final game in four of the past five seasons. Now, it might just be that Ryan is a great coach (I don’t think I have to explain why), but in all of those seasons, Wisconsin did not have to play in the tournament’s first round.

And though I might be speculating a bit too in depth, I’d like to reiterate that no team since sixth-seeded Iowa in 2001 has won four straight games to win the Big Ten Tournament.

This season though, with teams like Northwestern, Minnesota, Michigan and Penn State all fighting for spots in the tournament — and they all have legitimate chances — avoiding that first game is more important than ever.

So that Indiana blowout game was more than just a win for the seniors. It was more important than just finishing the conference season with a winning record. For Ryan and his squad, it gave them an advantage that will give them a chance to get away from those inevitable upsets.

Even with their midseason slump, Ryan was pleased with the way the Badgers performed down the stretch of the season. And how could he be upset? With its 7-2 finish to the season, UW put itself in a position to make some noise in the Big Ten Tournament for the sixth straight year.

“It’s good for our guys,” Ryan said following the Badgers’ win over Indiana. “The fact that we’ve been successful, the players have committed to that and they took care of the basketball in those games.”

If the Badgers can take care of the basketball over the next few days, maybe they’ll be as successful this year in the Big Ten Tournament as they have in years past.

Jonah is a sophomore majoring journalism and Hebrew and Semitic studies. Think the Badgers missing the first round of the Big Tournament is a big deal? Think it doesn’t matter in the long run? Send your thoughts to [email protected].