Brunt: Big Ten needs Michigan to win title to save face
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
The Big Ten was a powerhouse during the non-conference season and a dominant force in the national rankings throughout January and February.
Now, it’s hanging by a thread.
Michigan is the conference’s only hope in the Final Four. Yes, Michigan. The same team that needed an out-of-this-world second-half performance by national player of the year Trey Burke to beat Purdue, the same team that went 3-4 in February, the same team that fumbled away a shot at a share of the conference title at home. That is the last remaining team from what had been widely considered the nation’s best league throughout the college basketball season.
Make no mistake, the Big Ten is well represented in Atlanta. Michigan is talented enough to win it all. Talent was never the issue — the problems were a lack of focus and consistency. But now, that great talent has figured it out, and the Michigan we all expected in February has popped up in March. If it pops up in April, the Wolverines could be champs.
And Michigan needs to win it all for the Big Ten to save face.
It’s well documented — the Big Ten hasn’t won a national championship since 2000. Before that, the last Big Ten team to win a national title was Michigan in 1989. With that backdrop, fans throughout the league spent the greater part of a scintillating regular season waiting for it to end so their teams could get to the end of the postseason. Now that we’re at the end, more Big Ten teams have already met their end than expected. Louisville is in the role Indiana was supposed to be playing in the Final Four, that of odds-on favorite.
For all the talk about how great the Big Ten was during the season, all the talk about its depth, only one result gives it all the talk a chance to be valid — a national title for the Wolverines.
Michigan has a challenge on its hands against Syracuse’s 2-3 zone on Saturday, but if anyone can deal, it’s Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr. A Michigan-Louisville final would boast as fine a group of guards as a title came could have. Michigan could win — why not, at this point. The Wolverines are playing great basketball and have carried the banner well for the Big Ten in the postseason.
For the record, even if Michigan wins it all, the Big Ten still will not have fully lived up to the hype. In mid-January, there was talk of two or more Big Ten teams possibly getting to Atlanta. But a trump card is always good to have.
The Big Ten did have a very strong year. The fact that Iowa reached the NIT final and the fact that Purdue got a postseason berth with a losing record says a lot for the league’s depth. But the NCAA tournament did not go as planned, and that’s the ultimate measure.
Of all the teams that have fallen short, Indiana will have the most to regret. The Hoosiers were preseason No. 1, were ranked No. 1 for much of the season and won the toughest conference in the nation in the regular season. Indiana then struggled, losing to Wisconsin in the Big Ten semifinals and probably costing itself a chance to play the regional semifinals and finals in Indianapolis. The Hoosiers struggled against Temple in the round of 32 before getting rolled by Syracuse in the Sweet 16.
The Hoosiers had the potential to successfully break Syracuse’s 2-3 zone in the Sweet 16 and didn’t. They failed to move the ball. They failed to make shots. They failed to put Cody Zeller in position to make plays. Zeller forced things, making him look ineffective and bringing questions about his readiness for the next level. Make no mistake, Zeller is still 7-foot, 240 pounds, runs like a deer, is smart, skilled, has successful brothers and was an All America-caliber player. But he struggled to play smart and grasp what he needed to do against the Orange.
And, sorry to say it, but remember that altercation between Indiana coach Tom Crean and Michigan assistant Jeff Meyer? Who would have thought that Meyer would get the last laugh?
Wisconsin is next on the disappointment list. Bo Ryan was named Big Ten coach of the Year, then followed it up by leading the Badgers past Indiana in the Big Ten tournament. Big things were expected of the fearless Badgers in the NCAA tournament, and it was thought by some that Wisconsin could beat some teams with smart play, good defense and its grind-it-out style. Instead, the Badgers lost to Ole Miss in the first round. I know some people who had Wisconsin in the Final Four. Yes, Ole Miss should have been seeded higher. But this one left me with an empty feeling.
Michigan State was solid and lost to a very stout Duke team. The Spartans are excused. Losses to Coach K in March come with asterisks, even when your name is Izzo.
Ohio State’s loss to Wichita State was a surprise, but the Shockers are just one of those teams. The Buckeyes reached the Elite Eight, which is about right for their talent level. They just happened to run into this year’s George Mason, Butler or VCU.
Illinois and Minnesota won first-round games. Minnesota beat UCLA in the round of 64, a mild upset given the fact that Minnesota was not a certainty to even make the field. Illinois pushed Miami in the round of 32 before losing.
Overall, though, the feeling that this was a dominant season has dissipated. Now, there is only saving face for an entire conference.
It’s all on Michigan.
Hey, Coach Beilein. No pressure.
