The talk around the country is that the Big Ten is having a down year. With only one Big Ten team in the top 25, the argument may have some validity, yet many coaches in the conference disagree heavily with those sentiments.
“Everyone talks about how the conference is mediocre at best,” Indiana head coach Mike Davis said. “The public fails to realize that there is no tougher place to get a road win then the Big Ten, and it simply is a matter of the conference beating up on each other.”
With only three weeks left of Big Ten play, no team has distinguished itself as the team to beat.
“It’s a tight race,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. “We have a very competitive conference from top to bottom.”
Indiana Struggling
The biggest story in the conference, and quite possibly the country, is the demise of the Indiana Hoosiers. Coming off a stellar run in last year’s NCAA tournament, the Hoosiers were picked as a solid top-10 team. At 14-8 overall and a game under .500 in conference play, the Hoosiers will likely need to win four of its last seven games to get an NCAA tournament bid.
“We need to get to 18 wins,” IU head coach Mike Davis said. “If we can do that, I think with our extremely difficult non-conference schedule, we should have no worries about a spot in the big dance.”
Injuries and a lack of cohesion on both sides of the court have put the Hoosiers in a difficult spot as the season winds down. There may be panic amongst the fans at Indiana but certainly not from the players and coaches.
“We can’t seem to find our rhythm at both ends of the floor,” Davis said. “We aren’t used to five-game losing streaks here at Indiana, but I still believe in this team, and I still think we can obtain the goals we set over the summer. We just need a victory and some momentum.”
Hats off to Tommy Amaker
After a turbulent offseason full of scandals and punishment for the Michigan basketball program, no one thought this year’s edition of Michigan basketball would make any noise. Getting off to an 0-6 start validated those comments, and the team was left for dead.
“We struggled early on,” Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker commented. “Yet we kept believing in ourselves and turned this thing around through hard work and dedication.”
After it was discovered that players such as Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and Robert Traylor were taking money from boosters in past years, the team was stripped of scholarships and the chance to play in the NCAA tournament.
“Our regular season is our tournament,” said coach Amaker. “It would be something special if this group of guys could win the conference even if we can’t compete in this year’s NCAA tournament.”
