Big Ten Tournament 2012: Ohio State Ready to Claim Rightful Place Atop League

Who's No. 1?

It's a simple question, really, one that the college basketball universe has been asking of the Big Ten all season.

And one that Ohio State finally appears prepared to answer in the affirmative this week. The Buckeyes claimed a share of the conference's regular-season title by way of a 72-70 victory over Michigan State in East Lansing on Sunday, sharing the honor with the Spartans and arch rival Michigan at 13-5 in league play.

For the Buckeyes, though, the achievement was more anticlimactic than anything else—the fulfillment of an expectation held well before the season tipped off. Anything short of a Big Ten title would've been a disappointment for a team as talented as the Buckeyes, who boasted a quartet of blue-chip contributors—Jared Sullinger, William Buford, Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas—that was (and still is) unmatched within the conference.

But once the Big Ten schedule began, OSU hardly appeared the shoo-in for supremacy as which it had long been touted. The Buckeyes can be forgiven for losing on the road to Indiana and Michigan, but failing to defeat Illinois and hold down home court against Michigan State and Wisconsin, as good as those latter two teams are, qualifies as behavior unbecoming of a potential national champion.

For that, the Buckeyes will probably pay the not-so-heavy price of going into the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 or No. 3 seed rather than as one of the top four overall, regardless of what happens in Indianapolis this week.

As for the tournament itself, Ohio State can't be considered the hands-down favorite to be the last team standing at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Granted, Michigan State won't be the same threat to the Buckeyes' supremacy now that Branden Dawson is out with a knee injury.

But that doesn't mean the Wolverines and the Badgers—both of whom have beaten the Buckeyes this season—won't be up for the challenge again. Last I checked, Trey Burke and Jordan Taylor are still fit to play.

And who knows? Maybe the Hoosiers will so enjoy the privilege of playing in their backyard that they make a run to the tournament final and give the Buckeyes all they can handle.

Still, the Buckeyes deserve to be No. 1 in the Big Ten for now and should (should) finish that way in the Circle City on Sunday.

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