A Big 10 representative hasn’t won college basketball ‘s national championship since 2000 (Michigan State), but Indiana got to the title game in 2002, as did Illinois (2005), Ohio State (2007) and MSU (2009), so they’ve been knocking on the door. Here’s a look at some of the best of the Big 10 with the March tournaments on the horizon. Michigan: Not a lot about Michigan you can look at and say, “Here’s where they can be exploited.” Michigan lost at Ohio State (56-53) as +1.5 dog and got bumped at Indiana last week, 81-73, but they’ve been mostly great. This team is a powerhouse on offense, 15th in the nation in scoring, third in shooting (.505%) behind soph G Trey Burke (18 ppg, 7.1 apg), 6-6 junior Tim Hardaway Jr. (15.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg), 6-6 freshman Glenn Robinson III (12 ppg, 6 rpg) and 6-6 freshman Nik Stauskas (13 ppg, 3.5 rpg). They can play defense, too, allowing 40% in Big 10 play, while the offense is second from three point land shooting 40.8%. Michigan thumped West Virginia (81-66), beat talented NC State (79-72) and Pitt (67-62). Michigan coach John Beilein shut down Pitt via a switch in defensive tactics in the second half. The Panthers led by eight in the first half and six in the second, but Michigan began to use its 1-3-1 defense to slow them down. The Wolverines are 19-8-1 ATS in their last 28 road games and 29-12-1 ATS against the Big Ten. The rematch with Indiana ends the regular season in four weeks. Indiana: After an 8-2 spread start, Indiana went 3-7 ATS, losing to Butler (88-86 OT) and to Wisconsin (64-59) at home. However, they are No. 1 in the nation in scoring (84 ppg) and shoot 50% as a team for Coach Tom Crean, led by 7-foot sophomore Cody Zeller (16 ppg, 8 rpg), 6-5 junior Victor Oladipo (14 ppg, 6 rpg) and 6-9 senior Christian Watford (13 ppg, 6.5 rgp) up front, with freshman G Kevin Ferrell (7 ppg, 4.5 apg) running the break. They won a showdown with No. 13 Michigan State (75-70) two weeks ago and come off a showdown at home against No. 1 Michigan. Indiana is tops in Big 10 in free throws (73.5%) and three-pointers (42.3%). The Hoosiers are 10-4 over the total against a road team with a winning percentage of greater than .600. Ohio State: The Buckeyes prefer a slower pace, starting 11-6 under the total, with a lack of depth but a pair of dynamic players in 6-7 junior Deshaun Thomas (20 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and 6-4 junior Lenzelle Smith, Jr. (10 ppg, 5.7 rpg). They are their only two players in double figures in scoring. Ohio State lost 73-68 to Duke, 74-66 to No. 9 Kansas, a 74-55 loss at No. 11 Illinois and a 59-56 loss at Michigan State. Kansas shot 51% against them and held Ohio State without a field goal for 10+ minutes. The Buckeyes hit just 9 of 36 shots from the field in the final 20 minutes. For the game, they ended up making only 31 percent of their shots from the field. Junior G Aaron Craft (8.3 ppg, 5 apg) runs the break and the Buckeyes can play defense, No. 2 in the Big 10 giving up 57.4 pts, and second in field goal defense allowing 37% shooting. Wisconsin: Bo Ryan’s club is all about slowing the pace down, tops in the Big 10 in points allowed (55 pg), though 8th in FG shooting defense (40%). They started 11-6 under the total and have been money-burners, starting 6-13 ATS. After a 7-game win streak, Wisconsin faded, losing 3 of 4, at Iowa (70-66), home to Michigan State (49-47), and at Ohio State (58-49), sandwiched around a win at home over fading Minnesota (45-44). They are led by 6-10 senior Jared Berggren (12 ppg, 6.5 rpg), and 6-6, 208-lb senior Ryan Evans (10 ppg, 7.5 rpg), but are not a good shooting team, just 43% in Big 10 play. They shot 36% in a loss at Ohio State, allowed 51% shooting as the Badgers were 11 of 28 from three point land (39%). Wisconsin had controlled the tempo with deliberate passing, finding the open man, but couldn’t cash in enough on offense. In fact, they did not shoot a free throw! Wisconsin was just the 30th team since the start of the 1996-97 season to attempt no free throws in a game against a Division-I opponent. The Badgers started 8-1 under the total in Big Ten play. Michigan State: You need frontcourt muscle in the Big 10 and the Spartans have it with 6-10 junior Adrian Payne (9.4 ppg, 7 rpg) and 6-9 senior Derrick Nix. But it’s the backcourt that leads this balanced team in scoring with junior Keith Appling (14 ppg), freshman Gary Harris and 6-6 soph Branden Dawson. They’ve had some trouble on the road, however, losing at Indiana, Minnesota and Miami, and this week host Michigan and play at Nebraska. They also have road games at Ohio State and Michigan coming up.
