Big Time Basketball: How the Big Ten, Big 12, and Big East look Dominant!
True college basketball nuts love ranking conferences just as much as they love ranking teams. KenPom, for example, has a formula designed to rank the strength of each conference in relation to each other. Upon examining this statistic, a shocking revelation occurs. The top 3 conferences all share one thing in common: “big.” The Big 12, Big Ten, and Big East take spots 1-3 in the rankings, and today, From Downtown is here to give you a rundown on the most important storylines from each of these conferences as conference tournament week approaches.
Big 12: Race to the Top
CBS’ bracketology expert Jerry Palm projects a staggering 8 Big 12 teams into the tournament (West Virginia currently projects to head to Dayton and compete in the First Four). This is unprecedented, as it means the Big 12 could account for nearly an 8th of all teams in the field. While the aforementioned West Virginia and TCU (who has dropped a few games with their star player Mike Miles injured) are a few games behind, the other 6 teams are all within 1 loss of each other. Oklahoma State has exploded onto the scene recently, as 7’1” behemoth Moussa Cisse returned from injury and is confounding teams on offense. The other 5 teams have been great the whole season, with Kansas State and Iowa State in particular being notable for exceeding their preseason expectations. Oklahoma, the team that currently sits in last in the standings, eviscerated the currently projected #1 team in the country with a double digit destruction of Alabama. Even Texas Tech, the team that lost 8 straight conference games, has knocked off Iowa State, Kansas State, and Texas in the last 2 weeks. Simply put, the Big 12 is a congested group of strong teams.
Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks are shocked by the strong nature of the Big 12. Self has won 16 of the last 19 Big 12 regular seasons, and they have the opportunity to get back into a tie for first if they take down the Oklahoma State Cowboys tonight. Alongside them, Texas and Baylor are both bouncing back from adversity in incredible ways. After losses to Virginia, Marquette, and a 3 game losing streak at the start of 2023, Baylor has won 10 of 11. A fair portion of their recent success can be attributed to overcoming injuries, as LJ Cryer and Adam Flagler were absent for a few of Baylor’s losses, and the return of sensational Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua. As for Texas, their previous coach was fired after beating his wife, but interim coach Rodney Terry is keeping the Longhorns on course in what surely surprised the rest of the league. In fact, Terry received a raise, and is definitely in contention to assume the role of coach for the future if he continues to be successful. Unfortunately, the Big 12 as we know it has limited minutes, as the exodus of Texas and Oklahoma will be replaced by new entries from Houston, BYU, UCF, and Cincinnati. In the meantime, enjoy what is surely the strongest college basketball conference while it lasts!
Big Ten: Mayhem in the Middle
There is no debating that Purdue is the premier team in the Big Ten, as they have a 2 game lead on 2nd place in the loss column, and are favored in the rest of their games. However, almost the rest of the Big Ten is in a sea of tournament-viable teams scrambling for high seeds in the Big Ten tournament. At 9-5 is a familiar face and a shocking surprise. Indiana and Northwestern — 2 of the 3 teams to hand Purdue a loss this season — are both contending for the tournament, but their preseason expectations were tremendously different. Indiana was projected to handedly win their conference by most analysts, and while they have not necessarily disappointed, they will likely need to prove their mettle in the postseason in order to exceed expectations. On the flip side, nobody expected Northwestern to be within striking distance of 2nd in the Big Ten, let alone a tournament berth. Chris Collins was in jeopardy should Northwestern have had another down season, but the best coach in Northwestern history is proving his mettle with a scrappy, physical team with a top 25 defense.
Speaking of defenses, Illinois, Rutgers, Michigan State, and Maryland all have a defense KenPom ranks in the top 30. Additionally, all these teams are 8-6, and have a spectrum of different coaches. While Kevin Willard is in his beginning year at Maryland’s helm, Tom Izzo has been coaching Michigan State (who had a horrible tragedy this week, and From Downtown’s thoughts and prayers are with the East Lansing community) since the 20th century. In the middle, Rutgers’ Steve Pikiell and Illinois’ Brad Underwood are building respectable careers, but need a big push to the Sweet Sixteen to put themselves on the level of the Big Ten greats. Behind that stretch of 4 teams are Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Penn State. Penn State got a big win against Illinois today, but likely needs a bit more to navigate back to tournament contention after a brutal stretch where they lost 6 of 8. Wisconsin projects as a First Four team according to Jerry Palm, and Iowa and Michigan have good records but very inconsistent gameplay. Still, Iowa and Michigan are right there with the rest of the bunch at 8-6, and could end up as high as the 2nd seed when the Big Ten tournament begins. The Big Ten race for 2nd place is extremely exciting to watch, just as the 8-9 teams that make the NCAA tournament will be as well!
Big East: Impossible to Predict
The Big East boasts 5 ranked teams, and all 5 of these teams are killers for different reasons. Providence has been discussed in articles ad nauseam at this point, but they are nonetheless notable for their strong coach, incredible rebounding, and tenacity in close games (they just had their 2nd 2OT win of the season). Speaking of Creighton, Greg McDermott’s Blue Jays — before their loss tonight against Providence — had the nation’s 5th longest win streak, including wins against Xavier, Providence, and UConn. Currently leading the pack is Marquette, a team with a top 3 offense according to KenPom. Shaka Smart has tremendously exceeded expectations this year, as the team projected to finish 9th in the Big East is currently in 1st place. UConn, conversely, has faltered in 2023. The Huskies, after going 14-1 in 2022, are just 5-7 in 2023. Nonetheless, their recent win against Marquette proves they are still a team to be feared when playing at their best. Finally, Xavier marched out to a commanding Big East lead at first, but has shown splashes of inconsistency with losses to Butler and DePaul. Nonetheless, they have one of the most talented starting lineups in the country, and are a force to be reckoned with on offense.
While the team that wins the Big East regular season will likely not include UConn, the other 4 teams are now neck and neck for the regular season title. Marquette has the opportunity to cement a 1.5 game lead with a win against Xavier, but things become really murky at the top if the Musketeers get it done. Additionally, the Big East conference tournament is sure to have some incredible matchups as well. Any of these teams truly can win or lose to any one of the other teams. Make sure to keep Seton Hall in the conversation as well. Shaheen Holloway — the coach responsible for the St. Peter’s miracle — has been doing good things for the Pirates in year 1, and is in the tournament bubble right now. They will need a few more good wins to get strongly considered, but they have the opportunity to do that against UConn on Saturday. Now is the time to get excited for the Big East tournament, as it is likely to be the least predictable and, therefore, most exciting tournament for the conference in years!
