This year’s NCAA tournament will see Arizona, North Carolina, UCLA and Indiana missing from the dance card. Those four tradition rich programs have produced 22 National Championships and 144 tournament appearances. So what are the benchmarks, the numbers, the standards of entry into the same class as the four historically elite programs I just mentioned?

Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, whose program has been in the national conversation for the last 10 years or so, offered a couple definitions. Izzo has led his Spartans to 6 Elite Eights in 9 years, 5 final fours in 11 years. However, his most impressive statistic is the fact that every player he’s coached for all four years at State has been to at least one Final Four.

“The old adage is true: it’s harder to stay there than to get there. There’s more outside distractions, not the media, but for the players: agents, different things they deal with, and recruiting is getting harder. I think there’s more cheating, I think it’s getting worse as we make more money- let’s be honest about it,” Izzo said.

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So what is the gold standard?

“There’s NEVER an off-season when you’re at a a school like ours; which means the school doesn’t recruit to itself like a Kentucky or Kansas or Carolina does.  We’re not Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State football; those are all 100 year deals. But you still have to stay up to those standards,” Izzo said.

I asked for further clarification on what the term “recruit to itself” means. Basically, it seems like the benchmark is having more people come to you than you coming to them.

“The program {Michigan St.} does not recruit to itself, but I’m not sure it ever will and there’s only 5 or 6 programs that do that. Do I think we’re in that next tier? Yeah I do, the UConns, Texas, Florida, UCLA’s a different bird because they were so good for so long. But I have to be out every day of the summer. I think I’ve missed two days in 14 years. Those programs {the top tier} they work, but they can be out 10-12 days in the summer. And that’s not gonna change, not in my era. Because what I’m trying to build, they built at Kentucky and Carolina in 50 and 70 years. What I’m hoping to do is get to that point where the basement and first floor are so good. Maybe one of my guys comes in from there and takes it up another level down the road,” Izzo responded before later articulating about what growth he himself has left to achieve:

“My next step is to learn to enjoy what we have, because we proved now that we’ve sustained it, and that was a big deal because if you can do it for 10-12 years or more, you should be able to say, yeah we weren’t a shot in the dark. And I’m not sure I’ve learned to do that. Players got to learn new things, so do coaches,” he said.

Essentially, Tom Izzo regards his program as not within the top tier of elite programs, but in the second tier right beneath it. Is the pantheon the ultimate goal for him?

“It bothers me enough to drive me, but it doesn’t eat me alive. And makes me want to say let’s win the third national championship, let’s be elite in that way; not many coaches have done that. The comparisons to the Dukes and Carolinas, that stuff is ultimately out of my control.”

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

This past Saturday Purdue lineman Zach Reckman received another one gamer for a cheap shot at the end of the Boilermakers’ loss against Northern Illinois.  Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez didn’t do Purdue any favors by mentioning that the Big Ten better keep an eye on everyone in his press conference this week.  Anyway, Reckman will miss Purdue’s game against none other than Charlie Weis’s Fighting Irish.  Here’s the video.

Now, I’m not against suspending players for the cheap stuff.  Both of these guys deserved some punishment for their actions.  Rodriguez and Danny Hope should have been out in front of these, announcing anything from “we’ll handle it internally” to “he’s out for a quarter, a half, or a game.”  However, this is not the job of the Big Ten and they are setting a precedent with these suspensions that will get them in trouble and annoy the hell out of fans in the future. 

If only there was some kind of feature that would allow me to explain my displeasure in an organized fashion one by one.  Bullets!

• Problemo uno is that Mouton’s suspension came down on Thursday afternoon and Reckman’s sometime on Wednesday.  WTF Delaney?  Michigan had no time to prepare for a missing defensive starter, as most teams restrict Fridays to walkthroughs.  Purdue didn’t get much better notice, only getting one full day of practice for their backup. 
• A off-shoot of uno is that most of these situations likely are brought to the Big Ten’s attention by opposing coaches.  If you’re coaching against Ohio State and Terrelle Pryor pops a guy to defend Mike Vick’s honor, you better believe you’re sending that tape in as late as possible so they won’t be able to prepare. 
• That leads in to the biggest problem of all.  Coaches are going to comb the desert Spaceballs style for any evidence of foul play.  Not in their own games, but in the games of their upcoming opponent.  Then we’ll hear them mention it and complain in hopes that the Big Ten will bring the boom on some starter from their future opponent’s squad.  If you think coaches won’t do this, you’re crazy.  Any coach will do what it takes to give his team any competitive advantage.  Plus, it’s not like they will be taking advantage of the system, this is essentially what the Big Ten is asking for. 
• Finally, I can’t wait for a star to do something questionable the week before a big game.  Evan Royster gives a stomp to an opponent the week before the OSU game, or heaven forbid Terrelle Pryor reverts to his high school basketball days and gets in a fight the week before that game.  We’ll see if Delaney steps up when something like that happens, but hopefully the Big Ten realizes the overreaching arm of the law they’ve extended and stops. 

Again, I’m not saying that players who dole out cheap shots shouldn’t be punished.  Coaches should be responsible for suspensions though, with a failure to do so resulting in negative publicity for the school.  Sure, that’s not much of a punishment, but it beats the alternative of Wednesday suspensions and whiny coaches looking to get college kids thrown out of games.

5:30 pm (2) Illinois vs. (7) Michigan-

The first issue that comes to mind with this game is the availability of Chester Frazier for Illinois.  Frazier isn’t the most talented player on the team, but his importance has been noted here many times.  No offense (or pun) to Travis Walton, but Frazier is the best defender in the Big Ten.  Michigan and Illinois met twice this season, and played by the rules of the Big Ten and each won at home.  Other than the venue, the difference in the two games was easily Mike Tisdale.  Tisdale was non-existent in the first game due in part to a slow start and in part to Bruce Weber’s decision to put a smaller, quicker player on DeShawn Sims.  In the rematch, the big white had 24 points on 10 of 12 shooting, while Sims was held to seven points.

The teams’ experiences couldn’t be less similar leading up to the game this afternoon.  Michigan finished the season on a hot streak that has ensured them a spot in the NCAA Tournament, including a blowout win over Iowa yesterday.  The Illini have lost their last two games and haven’t played in eight days.  Michigan needs to keep pounding the ball down to Sims to be successful.  Sims scored 16 points in the first ten minutes yesterday and the combination of better seals down low and better entry passes has been key to Michigan’s success down the stretch.  For Illinois, they’ll need to find gaps in that 1-3-1 zone like they did in their last match-up and McCamey and Meacham will need to knock down shots.  If Frazier is indeed out, Brock and Meacham will both need to take on some ball handling responsibilities and Alex Legion will need big minutes.  With no Frazier, it could be a little more of a high scoring affair with him not controlling the offense and shutting it down on defense.  By higher scoring, I mean 60s.

8:00 pm (3) Purdue vs. (6) Penn State-

Here’s another case of the home teams winning the games in the regular season.  The underdog has the momentum in this case too.  The Nittany Lions are on the verge of solidifying their NCAA bid and have won three of their last four, while the Boilermakers have lost three of four.  Purdue has generally underachieved this season and they should be hungry to prove themselves in the postseason.  Penn State will look to keep the good balance with Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle on the perimeter and the nice inside-outside game of Jamelle Cornley.  Purdue is more talented than Penn State, but have proven they can struggle against anyone.  Robbie Hummel will be the key for the Boilermakers.  He needs to step up and be the leader they expected at the start of the season.  I know he is playing through injury, but now is the time they need him.

**Update: Sounds like Chester Frazier is out for the Big Ten Tourney and questionable for the Big Dance.

11:00 am (8) Minnesota vs. (9) Northwestern

The teams split games during the regular season, with each winning at home.  The most recent game was a 72-45 drubbing in favor of the Golden Gophers.  The key for Minnesota will be to use their size advantage inside, while making someone other than Koble and Moore beat them.  For the Wildcats, that means a lot will be riding on point guard Michael Thompson.  In wins for Northwestern he has been great, but if he doesn’t show up today, the Wildcats probably won’t win.  It’s hard to talk about Minnesota without talking about Lawrence Westbrook.  The star guard scored 17 against Northwestern last time they met.  Minnesota is on the bubble, while Northwestern needs to reach the finals to have a shot at the tournament. The winner will play Michigan State Friday.

1:30 pm (7) Michigan vs. (10) Iowa

Another split series in the 7-10 game as the Wolverines and Hawkeyes both won their home games against one another.  Michigan is coming off a giant win at Minnesota and can ensure themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years with a win.  Iowa’s season was marred by injury and disappointment, but the Hawkeyes have a star back in Cyrus Tate, while sophomore guard Jake Kelly has carried the team in his absence.  The Hawks will need to look to big men Jarryd Cole and Tate to make an impact on both ends.  For the Wolverines, they’ll need a better performance from their own sophomore Manny Harris, as the 1st Team All Big Ten player had one of his worst games of the season the last time the teams met.  Michigan has a chance to get in the tournament even if they lose, but things will be a lot calmer in Ann Arbor is they win.  The winner takes on Illinois Friday.

4:00 pm (6) Penn State vs. (11) Indiana

Penn State has experienced plummet in their seeding propsects in the last week or so.  Going into Saturday, the Nittany Lions had the opportunity to secure the two seed in this tournament, but with a loss to Iowa and the way the other results came they are now playing in the 6-11 game instead of waiting to play the winner of the 7-10 game.  This game would seem like a yawner at first glance, but the match-ups have been pretty close this year, including a 61-58 win for Penn State at home.  For Penn State, they just have to limit the turnovers, hit open shots, and do the due diligence on the glass to win.  Indiana, well, they need to stop Penn State from doing that stuff that clear favorites want to do.  In terms of the bubble, Penn State absolutely has to win.  Their awful out of conference resume has fooled some of the experts, but it won’t get past the committee.  They have good wins in the Big Ten, but the best team they beat outside the conference was Georgia Tech, who won about a half game in the ACC this year.  The winner gets Purdue.

In: Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois

The Spartans clinched at least a share of the Big Ten Championship Sunday, beating Illinois.  With a trip to the finals of the conference tournament the Spartans will likely lock up a two seed in the field of 64.  Purdue and Illinois have been impressive all year, hovering in the top 25 for most of the time.  Both suffered big losses this week (at Michigan for Purdue and against MSU for Illinois) that will knock them down a peg or two when it comes to seeding.  If you don’t think the last week and the conference tourney is important for these two, the difference between a 3 seed and a 4 or 5 could mean the difference between playing UNC or Kansas to start the second weekend.

Out: Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern

Northwestern had a chance to sneak into the bubble talk, but a stretch where the Wildcats lost 4 of 5 probably doomed them.  With games at Purdue and Ohio State left, it doesn’t look good.  NU fans should be proud of this group though, they played hard all the time and were actually pretty fun to watch.

On the Bubble: Ohio State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Penn State

Most think the Big Ten ends up with 6 or 7 spots in the tourney, meaning that one or two of these teams will be playing in the NIT.  Ohio State is the safest this bunch I think, with season sweeps against Michigan and Penn State.  They played a respectable out of conference slate and finish out with easier games against Iowa and Northwestern.  Wisconsin is also pretty safe after a big win against Michigan Sunday.  The Badgers played the toughest schedule of the bubble teams, have the best RPI, and are 9-7 in the conference.  Wisconsin plays at Minnesota and finishes with Indiana at home.

Minnesota, Penn State, and Michigan are the interesting ones here.  Penn State saw their touney dreams flash before their eyes on Saturday as they barely escaped with a win at home against Indiana.  The Nittany Lions have 20 wins, but played an embarrassing non-conference schedule including such tournament bound teams as…well, no one.  Lunardi has PSU as one of the last four teams in the tournament right now, but they might need to win out to stay in with the winner of the Michigan-Minnesota game this weekend likely getting a big boost.

Minnesota and Michigan play on Saturday and the winner has a very good chance of making the Big Dance.  Both teams have very impressive non-conference wins; Louisville for Minnesota and Duke and UCLA for Michigan.  I’d say Michigan has to win at Minnesota and their first round game in the Big Ten Tournament to get in, while Minnesota has to split their home games against Wisconsin and Michigan this week and win one tourney game as well.

Big games to watch:

• Ohio State at Iowa, Tue. 8:05 PM (BTN)
• Wisconsin at Minnesota, Wed. 7:30 PM (BTN)
• Illinois at Penn State, Thu. 8:00 PM (ESPN)
• Michigan at Minnesota, Sat. 11:00 AM (ESPN)
• Penn State at Iowa, Sat. 1:05 PM (BTN)
• Purdue at Michigan State, Sun. 11:00 AM (CBS)
• Indiana at Wisconsin, Sun. 6:00 PM (BTN)