Is the Big Ten Down this Season?

There has been a perception the Big Ten was down this season, largely because no team from the league was ranked any higher than 15 in either the AP or coaches poll. Even though seven teams from the BIG– Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Maryland and Michigan State– earned bids to the NCAA tournament, perennial power Indiana did not make the bracket and Purdue was the highest seed as a 4.

Fast forward to this week where three Big Ten teams– Purdue, Michigan and Wisconsin– are still alive in the Sweet 16. Purdue will play top seed Kansas in a Midwest Region double header at Kansas City Thursday that will also include Michigan (7) vs. Oregon (3). Wisconsin, which was an unfathomable 8 seed, will play 4 seed Florida Friday in the East Region semi-finals at the Garden.

And even though Kansas will be playing in its backyard, all of them have a chance to advance.

Michigan, which made 16 threes against Oklahoma State and got 26 points from 6-10 center Moe Wagner and 40 points in the paint during a 72-69 victory over Louisville, has the versatility to play with an Oregon team that is playing without injured 6-10 shot blocker, rim protector Chris Boucher.

Wisconsin, an efficient team that went to the Final Four in 2014 and 2015 and has four starters back, including 6-10 center Ethan Happ, forward Nigel Hayes and guard Bronson Koenig, from a Sweet 16 team last year and is coming off a 65-62 victory over top overall seed Villanova in a second round game at Buffalo, is as tournament tested as any team in the East region.

Purdue has the physical size inside with 7-2 Isaac Haas and 6-9 heavyweight All America forward Caleb Swanigan — who had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists in a wild 80-76 second round victory over Iowa State– could do some serious damage against Kansas’ four guard lineup and its thin depth up front, provided the Boilermakers don’t allow Josh Jackson and Frank Mason to run wild.

Don’t sleep on the Big Ten.

“I think you had a couple teams in our league, especially us and Wisconsin that had some opportunities to move into the Top 10 and stay in the Top 10,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We got beat by Villanova and Louisville in non-conference, those would have been big wins for us especially the Villanova game at home.

“Wisconsin had a tough stretch there at the end when they lost five of seven,, but both of us and Indiana had a lot of injuries. So some things happened, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have great basketball.

“I think the fact we didn’t have one or two Top 10 teams, the national media picked up on that and took away from the quality of other teams. Wisconsin, there is no way on earth they’re an 8 seed if you watch them play and see how efficient they are. They are really, really good and you see how Michigan has played.”

“We definitely are not surprised we have three teams still alive,” Swanigan added. “Top to bottom the Big Ten is one of the best in the country and showed in the tournament. We’ve got three teams here and even our last place team improved. I’m not sure where all the disrespect came from, but it’s not valid. Big names like Indiana and Michigan State were’t powerhouses like they usually are. If Duke and North Carolina had an off year, people would say the ACC is off. I think that’s more where it came from.”

The strength of the Big Ten has always been its coaches, who have a reputation for being strong teachers. Tom Izzo of Michigan State is in the Naismith Hall of Fame. John Beilein is a brilliant technical mind who took his team to the NCAA championship game in 2013. Wisconsin hasn’t missed a beat since Gary Gard took over for Naismith finalist Bo Ryan, who took the Badgers to two Final Fours in 2014 and 2015. Matt Painter is a Gene Keady disciple who has led the Boilermakers to 10 NCAA appearances and three Sweet 16s in 12 years. Chris Collins is a rising young coaching star who took Northwestern to its first NCAA tournament in school history Richard Pitino Jr. won the NIT in 2013 and 24 games in this, his fourth year at the school.

They are at their best in close game situations, which makes their teams dangerous in late round games.