Big Ten rapidly earning more respect

It’s no secret that over the past few seasons, the Big Ten’s reputation has been beaten and battered like one of Muhammad Ali’s old punching bags.

Embarrassing defeats in bowl games, maddening blowouts in the NCAA Tournament, and other feats of futility have left scars on the reputation of what used to be extolled as arguably the nation’s premier conference on both the gridiron and hardwood.

After another ho-hum football season that saw Ohio State get railed by Southern Cal, Michigan tumble against Toledo and Illinois get shattered against Western Michigan, many die-hards thought the conference would have to wait another year to regain its swagger.

Turns out, it doesn’t have to wait at all.

With five teams ranked in the AP Top 25 and six teams ranked in the RPI Top 40, the Big Ten is beginning to take shape as the deepest conference in the nation, save the Big East.

The Big Ten already has seven wins against Top 25 teams to its credit, five of which were against teams in the Top 10. On Saturday, the Big Ten had one of its best days in recent memory, finishing 7-2 overall and 3-0 against ranked teams.

The conference’s success has started on top with NCAA Tournament mainstays No. 11 MSU, No. 10 Purdue, No. 15 Ohio State and Wisconsin, but has received a major shot in the arm from No. 23 Minnesota, No. 24 U-M, Penn State and Illinois – all of which have gotten off to torrid starts.

U-M (8-2 overall) gets credit for two of the Big Ten’s Top 10 wins this season, boasting upsets over highly ranked Duke and UCLA on its résumé; and more impressively, winning those games without sharp-shooting guard Laval Lucas-Perry, who recently became eligible to play after transferring from Arizona.

Minnesota (10-0) appears to have taken another leap in the right direction under second year head coach Tubby Smith, a notion that was accentuated by its 70-64 win over then-No. 9 Louisville on Saturday.

Illinois (10-1) looks to have revived its moribund program after a two-year nosedive, while Penn State has arguably the best threesome in the conference in Jamelle Cornley, Stanley Pringle and Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Talor Battle.

Of course, it will be hard for the conference to rival its success from 2005, when it sent three teams (MSU, Illinois, Wisconsin) to the regional finals and two teams (MSU, Illinois) to the Final Four, but it’s more than likely that at least six teams will be invited to the Big Dance this season.

The Big Ten’s turnaround should make for an intriguing conference season, which kicks off Dec. 30 with a game between Illinois and Purdue. MSU will begin its run at a conference crown Dec. 31, when it takes on the Golden Gophers in Minnesota.