The Big Ten's Big Problem!
I hope that someone went back in the archives of this blog and read the "Beware of the Big Ten" article I wrote last month before you filled out your brackets. The Big Ten has pulled off an incredible feat for the number one rated RPI conference, a total of zero teams made it to the second weekend. How can this be? It is not because the conference is not wildly overrated, but it may have to do with the traditional Big Ten style of play. Big Ten basketball has a very Midwestern, football conference, attitude. They play very deliberate, slow, basketball. Their offenses perform the best in a home environment against similar style teams.
The conference seems to run into trouble in games that don't involve feeding off emotion from the crowd, or frantically paced games. Iowa, for example, would have never blown their double digit lead at home, because the fans would give them to much of a boost. This is true for many clubs across America, but Big Ten fans are different. They are football fans with nothing to do during to offseason, so they bring their loud, angry, unmatched intensity inside. This is why home court is so much more important to Big Ten teams, and why only traditional basketball schools like Michigan State and Indiana ever perform consistently in the NCAA's. ACC, Big East, and Pac Ten schools are more prepared for the more quiet, controlled crowds of the tournament, in which you have to find your own motivation.
The Big Ten also has trouble when their style is interrupted. This happens to every team to a degree, but the Big Ten is most affected because they all play the same style and are not prepared well for other ones. Tom Izzo remedies this by playing various styles out of conference. The ACC have half court, Princeton, and running teams. The same can be said of the SEC, Pac-10, and Big East. The Big Ten must expand its offensive prowess beyond the half court set.
So that's it, that is why you do not pick the Big 10. Points to those of you listening earlier.
The conference seems to run into trouble in games that don't involve feeding off emotion from the crowd, or frantically paced games. Iowa, for example, would have never blown their double digit lead at home, because the fans would give them to much of a boost. This is true for many clubs across America, but Big Ten fans are different. They are football fans with nothing to do during to offseason, so they bring their loud, angry, unmatched intensity inside. This is why home court is so much more important to Big Ten teams, and why only traditional basketball schools like Michigan State and Indiana ever perform consistently in the NCAA's. ACC, Big East, and Pac Ten schools are more prepared for the more quiet, controlled crowds of the tournament, in which you have to find your own motivation.
The Big Ten also has trouble when their style is interrupted. This happens to every team to a degree, but the Big Ten is most affected because they all play the same style and are not prepared well for other ones. Tom Izzo remedies this by playing various styles out of conference. The ACC have half court, Princeton, and running teams. The same can be said of the SEC, Pac-10, and Big East. The Big Ten must expand its offensive prowess beyond the half court set.
So that's it, that is why you do not pick the Big 10. Points to those of you listening earlier.
posted by Sean Umstead at 9:42 PM
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