College Basketball: Who Will Take the Big Ten?

This year, the Big Ten has been one of the most competitive conferences in college basketball.  With four teams with a chance to grab the conference's top spot, theres no telling who will pull it off.

Wisconsin's only losses within the conference have been to Purdue. However, they have had a couple nail biters.  One ended with an unlikey Brian Butch three pointer to edge Indiana, 68-66, and a 60-54 win at Iowa. Their final tests should be Michigan State and Ohio State. 

The Michigan State game could determine the regular season conference champion.

Purdue ripped off an 11-game winning streak, earning themselves a national ranking and a top spot in the conference before falling to Big Ten foe Indiana.

With an Ohio State match looming on March 4th, that will be their big make or break as far as the conference title goes.  But if they can recover from that Indiana loss, they'll be a tough team to beat in the Big Ten tournament.

Indiana just came off that big win against Purdue, showing they can outlast a team that won 11 straight.  They also proved they have the will and endurance to stick around in a close game.  Even with the Kelvin Sampson controversy, this team has enough talent and leadership in Eric Gordon and DJ White to rally the troops to a big win, even if Sampson is fired.

Once again, Ohio State is another team that could  ruin the chance for top rankings within the conference.  With Michigan State right after Ohio State, they'll have to be team players if Sampson doesn't make it that far.

Michigan State is the team with most to gain out of the top four in the Big Ten.  They play Wisconsin, Indiana, and Purdue, along with Ohio State.  If they can beat Ohio State and Ohio State can beat the other three they will have a chance at the regular season title. 

But with four conference losses already compared with two for everyone else, it may be too little too late for the Spartans of Michigan State, and may have to wait until Conference Tourney time to prove that they are the best. 

However, anything is possible, and Michigan State has just as much of a chance as the other three.

Ohio state is out of any chance to win the regular season title. However, they have to play all four of the top four.  With victories over any of these teams,  confidecne and momentum will be plenty.  More than any other team, this team has control of the final standings.

The Big Ten tournament will be a great one to watch.  With four nationally ranked teams (as of 2-22-08, Wisconsin No. 10, Indiana No. 14, Purdue No. 15, Michigan State No. 17) in the mix and playing each other as well as a wild card toward the end of the season, the tournament will determine who is really the best out of these four.  But there is still a lot of basketball to be played, and anything can change.  If the most competitive, well rounded, most interesting games interest you, the Big Ten is your best bet from here on out.