Following a dismal 0-2 start to my blog, I decided to take winter break off and try to grasp who even wants to win a National Championship this April. With two months left in the regular season a number of teams are solidifying themselves as the top teams in the country (Kentucky, Mizzou, Syracuse and Ohio State) while others are faltering during conference play (North Carolina, Duke, and Baylor). As we all know, whoever gets hot in March will be in the drivers seat for making it to New Orleans so I wouldn't sleep on anyone yet. The Big East is down this year and I expect Syracuse to run away with the regular season title. The SEC is starting to shape up into a four team race between Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. With Vandy and MSU starting to play to their potential...finally, don't expect a cakewalk for UK. I am not even going to discuss the Pac 12 because they are beating themselves up so badly they may only get one bid in March (automatic qualifier). The Big 12 will have a very interesting finish between Kansas, Mizzou, and Baylor but I have to give the edge to Mizzou because Kansas is looking at back to back road games against the Tigers and Baylor Bears in February. Without a doubt, the most intriguing conference, and arguably the best this season belongs to the Big Ten. The Big Ten could see as many as eight teams make the "Big Dance" and rightfully so. Ohio State is still the front runner but they will need to find a way to play outside Value City Arena if they have any intentions on winning the conference and going deep into the NCAA tournament.
This gives me a nice segue to bring up the Game of the Week in the Big Ten Conference between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Wisconsin Badgers. A few weeks ago, Indiana was the hottest team in the country and Wisconsin was in a free fall to the bottom of the conference standings. Four games later, their roles have reversed. Following the Hoosiers 15-1 start, they have managed to salvage a 1-3 record since, including losses at home to Minnesota and at Nebraska. Their inexperience is also evident in their 1-3 away record to start Big Ten play. Cody Zeller continues to lead the team in scoring and rebounding and has gotten a lot of help from four other players averaging double digits in scoring, including sharp shooter Jordan Hulls. I know what team to expect when the Hoosiers play at Assembly Hall but I'm still trying to figure out what team will show up when they don't have the crowd behind them.
The Badgers have had a roller coaster season thus far, which includes three losses at the Kohl Center. Losing two home games all season usually comes as a shock to most Badger fans, let alone three by the midway point in conference play but I still wouldn't sleep on the home court advantage. Wisconsin had a promising start to the season, posting a 6-0 record before losing in a dogfight to North Carolina. Although they lost, the Badgers showed the country they can hang with anyone. A loss to Marquette at home followed along with two straight home losses to Iowa and Michigan State to start Big Ten play with a 1-3 record. The turning point came when they were able to knock off Purdue in West Lafayette and Illinois in Champaign last Sunday. Wisconsin is only a half game back of the Big Ten lead and are looking like a team taking their anger out on their opponents. After a slow start, even Jordan Taylor has picked his game up, averaging a team high 17 points and 4.6 assists per game. The guard spent most of the non-conference schedule getting his teammates involved but has looked to assert himself more once conference play began. The Hoosiers have the unlucky task of coming into Madison against a Badger team that may be playing their best basketball of the season.
Prediction: I love the way Indiana plays, feeding off the energy of Coach Crean, but I am not sold on their play away from Bloomington. They are reeling after a fast start and play one of the hottest teams in the conference. Bias aside, I think Bo will have the Badgers ready and they will be able to take care of business at the Kohl Center like they normally do. If Indiana comes up with the victory, I will promise to pick them next time they make a Game of the Week match.
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