It so often seems that all you hear about college basketball is Big East blah-blah-blah and yadda-yadda-yadda ACC. The two conferences have definitely earned their reputations, producing the national champions each of the past three seasons, and eight of the last 11. Annual debates about which conference ranks as the best in the country will lean more heavily towards the Atlantic Coast once Syracuse and Pittsburgh make their leaps away from the Big East.
Sitting in the weeds, as it were, of the discussion are the Big 12 and Big Ten who have produced just one national champ each the past dozen dances (Michigan State in 2000, Kansas in 2008). A quick check of the current rankings, however, suggests those two conferences have a bit more cream at the very top than the ACC and Big East this year, and could be in line to add a hoops crown to their coffers come this March.
The Big 12 and Big Ten both have three teams that entered this past week sitting in the top 10 of the two major polls, and matchups between some of those squads get marquee billing as Week 10 ends Sunday and Week 11 begins on Monday.
No. 7/8 Indiana at No. 5 Ohio State
Sunday, Jan. 15 – 4:30 p.m. (ET) CBS
An early rematch on the conference slate finds both the Hoosiers and Buckeyes level in the Big Ten standings at 3-2 in a tie for fourth before Saturday's contests. Fourth place – or better – is crucial at the end of the regular season since the top 4 clubs will earn a first-round bye for the conference tourney in Indianapolis (March 8-11).
Both clubs are also coming off losses by nearly identical scores to add to the importance of this second meeting between Indiana and Ohio State. The Hoosiers were upset by Minnesota on Thursday night when the Golden Gophers came to Assembly Hall in Bloomington and posted a 77-74 victory as 9½-point underdogs. Two days earlier at Champaign's Assembly Hall, the Buckeyes dropped a 79-74 road decision to Illinois who was getting 8½ from the oddsmakers.
Thad Matta and OSU will have revenge on their minds from the New Year's Eve defeat at Indiana, 74-70. The Buckeyes entered that game ranked second in the land and laying five on the road, jumped to an early 7-0 advantage and then watched a 10-point lead evaporate thanks in part to 17 turnovers and off nights by both William Buford and Deshaun Thomas. That pair combined for just 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting while point guard Aaron Craft committed a season-high six turnovers.
Jordan Hulls, meanwhile, paced five Hoosiers in double digits with a game-high 17 points, canning four of his five 3-point attempts. The win snapped Indiana's 6-game losing streak vs. Ohio State who had also covered seven straight in the series. It also marked the third consecutive 'over' between the clubs.
Tom Crean and Indiana will now look for their first win in Columbus since Feb. 2008 when the Hoosiers pulled off a 59-53 upset as 3-point underdogs.
No. 4 Baylor at No. 10 Kansas
Monday, Jan. 16 – 9:30 p.m. (ET) ESPN
Early control of the Big 12 will be on the line Monday at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence where the Bears and Jayhawks tangle. That's assuming both Baylor and Kansas take care of business and don't get caught looking ahead to this game in their Saturday matchups which were still pending. Both crews were at home and laying big points with the Bears 13½-point favorites against Oklahoma State while the Jayhawks were giving up 14 to the Iowa State Cyclones.
Baylor went into the contest against the Cowboys as one of only three unbeatens remaining, Scott Drew's troops racing out to a 16-0 mark and going 5-3-1 against the spread in the process. Don't mistake having just nine lined games on the college basketball betting front with the Bears playing an easy schedule. They got past San Diego State early on, just covering a 9-point spread in a 77-67 win over the Aztecs, and have since taken down BYU, Saint Mary's, West Virginia and Kansas State either on the road or at neutral sites.
Bill Self and Kansas were riding a 6-game win streak into Saturday, that stretch starting after an 80-74 loss to Davidson in the not-so-neutral confines of Kansas City's Sprint Center on Dec. 19. The Jayhawks were whopping 13½-point favorites in that game which caught them in a combination letdown-layoff spot after beating Ohio State nine days earlier.
Kansas had covered four of the five lined games during the win streak, all five of those contests staying 'under' the total and the Jayhawks 11-3 to the low side for the campaign. That contrasts the last two meetings between Kansas and Baylor which have gone 'over.'
This will be the first time Baylor will be involved in a Big 12 matchup between top 10 teams, something Kansas obviously has more experience with. The Jayhawks have dominated this series, going 16-2 overall and 9-0 at home. Baylor's last win over Kansas came in the 2009 conference tournament played in Oklahoma City, and the Bears have covered three of the last five battles.