The Former Big Ten

Last fall we heard about how powerful the Big Ten Basketball Programs were... How they were going to be a dominating force nationally. But as of last night the Big Ten seems much less the Elite Conference because none of the teams qualified for the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

I remember the perennially great Indiana University Program and that more recently powerful program at Michigan State... But like its football programs, Big Ten Basketball has fallen into mediocrity... And it makes me sad.

There will still be hype... And I suppose that is a money thing... A financial consideration... But collegiate sports greatness seems to have moved on to other conferences... The truly powerful SEC in football, and the ubiquitous talent among schools of all sizes in college basketball.

So today I'll pull for Butler - less than 5,000 students - that has no business being there except for the character of its coach and athletes. Tomorrow I'll root against the shameful Kentucky Program with its one-and-done non-student-athlete NBA players.

And I'll hope that the process is cyclical... That the discipline of a Bob Knight, and the coaching of a Jud Heathcoate will return to the The Big Ten, and transform it into something the midwest can once again be proud of.

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