Friday, March 13, 2009

MORE BIG TEN BASHING

ESPN.com writer Pat Forde offered his latest backhanded compliment to the Big Ten today. Forde, who predicted that Indiana would upset Penn State yesterday, now seems bewildered that the conference might get eight teams into the NCAA Tournament. He points out that it would be "surreal" for the Big Ten to have more bids than the ACC or the Big East, and that it could produce "Linda Blair 'Exorcist' reactions."

Although Forde includes that the "season-long, nationwide concensus" has been that the ACC and Big East are clearly superior to the Big Ten, the RPI ratings sing a different tune. According to the lastest rankings, the Big Ten is ranked as the second toughest conference in the country behind only the ACC. The Big East comes in at fourth, behind the Big XII.

Forde also makes sure to single out Penn State from the other teams that won in Indianapolis yesterday:
So simply by avoiding a really bad day, the Gophers, Wolverines and Nittany Lions had a really good day. It's not clear beyond a doubt that they locked themselves into the bracket -- especially Penn State -- but they certainly did not kick themselves out.
I was hoping that once football season was over, the Big Ten bashing would end too but it seems like some writers are on a mission to put the conference down. Instead of pointing out how three of the top four seeds in the Big XII lost in their first conference tourney game, or how UConn and Pitt both got bounced in their first action of the Big East tourney - Forde wishes to point out the horror of eight Big Ten teams earning a berth in the tournament. Thankfully we're just 48 hours away from learning exactly what the field of 65 will look like and whose bubbles have burst. Maybe then we can be spared of being reminded just how pathetic and weak the Big Ten is.

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