Big Ten Overrated

Let me start off by saying I don't hate Big Ten, I just think the conference is incredibly overrated in not just football but in basketball. Every year the Big Ten bitches and moans about getting shut out from a National Championship or some other big bowl game, but every year their teams get smacked, remember the USC vs Michigan Rose Bowl aka Lloyd Carr's last game. If Ohio State looses tonight the conference will be a pathetic 2-6 in bowl games, with their only two wins coming from Iowa and Illinois both beating equally pathetic teams. Worst than that the Conference was 0-5 on New Year's Day, the day when the important bowls are played. Now every conference experiences a rough year in bowl games, like the Pac 10 a few years back, but no conference is more arrogant than the Big Ten. Shockingly the lowly Big East who many consider one of the worst conference in football is 3-2 in bowls with Pitt left to play. Future member TCU maybe you've heard of them won as well.

Now lets turn to Big Ten hoops, again I am actually a fan of many of the programs there, but coming off winning the Big Ten/ACC Challenge (frankly the ACC teams all had slow starts and is slightly weaker than past years), ESPN in typical ESPN fashion had everyone on claiming the Big Ten is going to produce the most tournament teams. Guess what they only have 5 teams in the top 25 and Wisconson and Michigan State have both greatly underachieved. Lets be serious Ohio State and Michigan State are both going to make runs in the Tourney because they both have great talent and great coaches but the rest of the conference is going to be one and done if they even make it.

Call me biased for living in Big East country but the Big East is the best conference in college hoops. Top to bottom, any team can beat any team in conference on any given night with the exception of USF, DePaul, and Providence. They have 8 teams in the top 25 and lets be serious St. John's is on the rise and when Jeremy Hazell returns Seton Hall is gonna get hot. I'm a Duke fan, and ACC hoops is good, but there is no conference tourney like the Big East tourney, perfect precursor to the Big Dance.

PS. I read Rich Rodriguez's Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez and lets be serious how did he ever get hired by Michigan to coach football. Embarrassing...wait that was a different Rich Rod, my bad I guess anyone with that name just sucks at life.