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Tough to find the bottom in deep Big Ten LUCAS AT LARGE MIKE LUCAS • UWBADGERS.COM Valley team might be seeded in the NCAA men's basketball tourna- ment led to a testimonial on an- other league's depth and strength. Michigan State's Tom Izzo quali- A fied his remarks on Monday's Big Ten teleconference by professing "incredible respect'' for successful programs that carry the "mid-ma- jor'' label (and/or burden). But he also questioned what kind of records — and ultimately what kind of seeding — some of these teams might have "if they had a steady diet of 18 games in an ACC or Big Ten schedule.'' Izzo cited a football example — Boise State — to support his con- tention. "I love them and they were a great story,'' he said. "But you can win (to the degree Boise State has during the regular season) when you've got to plan for only a couple of games a year. But that steady diet normally affects you. "I'm a big fan of Murray State,'' he continued. "Could that team survive in any league? Yes. Would it mean they'd win the ACC, Big Ten or Big East? No. "Just the record alone is not the criteria that should determine that (seeding).'' Coming into this week, the Big Ten had the No. 1 RPI ranking in college basketball. "Our league has proven that we can compete,'' said UW coach Bo 10 » VARSITY JANUARY 26, 2012 question about Murray State and where a poten- tially undefeated Ohio Ryan. "The Big Ten Network gets into so many homes nationally that the people out there know how tough it is, 1 through 12.'' Michigan State (4), Ohio State (9), Indiana (20), Illinois (28), Michigan (29), Wisconsin (33), Northwestern (38), Minnesota (47) and Purdue (50) were all ranked Nebraska beat Indiana but still opened the week tied for 11th. "I don't think there's a bottom of the Big Ten this year,'' countered Ohio State's Thad Matta. "It's quite amazing.'' among the top 50 in RPI. "When you have Carolina and Duke, the ACC looks phenomenal because of those two teams,'' Izzo said. "Right now, the Big 12 has three teams ranked in the Top 10 (Missouri, Kansas and Baylor).'' Izzo was not diminishing the quality of any of those programs. On the contrary, he stressed, "Con- ference strength should be ranked by the bottom of the conference more than the top.'' Nebraska beat a ranked Indiana team, but they still they opened the week tied for 11th. "I don't think there's a bottom of the Big Ten this year,'' countered Ohio State's Thad Matta. "It's quite amazing.'' Despite two conference losses, the Buckeyes continue to loom as the favorite to win the Big Ten championship, though they still must go on the road to Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan State. It's going to be challenging to get any separation from the pack, if they do. Addressing the mid-to-late January gridlock, Izzo said, "When you still have eight or nine teams that are legitimately playing for NCAA spots and a couple of others that can beat those teams … "And maybe are playing for NCAA spots but definitely play- ing for a postseason tournament, I think you're stating why the Big Ten is the best conference in the country from top to bottom.'' It would be understandable if Ryan had a flashback to the 1978- 79 Big Ten season, when he was a UW assistant coach and three teams tied for the league title: Michigan State, Purdue and Iowa. Each had 13-5 conference re- cords. Ohio State (12-6) was one game back of the leaders, while Indiana (10-8) was fifth. The Magic Johnson-led Spartans went on to win the national cham- pionship, with their last defeat coming at the hands of 6-12 Wis- consin in the regular-season finale at the UW Field House. The Badgers were near the bot- tom of the Big Ten. Such was the depth of the con- ference then, and now, 33 years later.