B1G showing its strength as basketball conference

I had a friend growing up, a good friend of mine, who, as a Michigan resident, was a fan of Michigan State university. Him and his dad would watch the games, and the roller coaster of emotion than came into that house was more stressful than amusing to me, at least at that point in my life.

However on the rare occasion when my friend and I would talk about our beloved Big Ten conference (I'm an Indiana University fan, by way of my father), it rarely went well, for he had such a pessimistic, defeated attitude towards the Big Ten as it matched up to other conferences. He would go on and on, saying how outclassed the Big Ten teams were against the might of the ACC, SEC and Big 12. We'd argue about it, neither one of us really getting headway with the other on our respective points.

Him and I don't talk much these days, which is sad, because if we did, I would have some pretty damn good evidence to back myself up. The Big Ten has fought with tooth and nail to gain respect once more in the world of college basketball, restoring pride to what was once a great basketball conference. Six teams are currently ranked from the conference, including two in the top five all season. My friend's beloved Spartans sit precariously at No.18 as of this writing, and I think even he would be forced to admit that this conference can ball with the best and come out ahead.

A strong showing of this improving conference has been the Big Ten-ACC Challenge every year, in which teams from either conference play one game against an opponent from the other conference. ACC, a powerful basketball conference for many years now, has been unable to beat the Big Ten in the challenge since 2008, which shows good promise for years to come.

The difference has been a mix of dynamic new talent entering the conference in the form of talented young recruits and seasoned, successful coaches. Players such as Brandon Paul, Trey Burke and Cody Zeller are stars that the Big Ten has needed so desperately in recently years, and having quality coaches such as Tom Crean, Tom Izzo, John Beilein has put the conference into the upper echelon of college basketball, where they can compete and win against the best.

As the season progresses and March draws closer, teams will buckle down and focus on the end goal, postseason play. This conference should have a strong showing at the Big Dance, and with the talent shown thus far, could potentially send a team to challenge for the national title. Will it be Indiana, the preseason No.1? Or Michigan, the team of young guns that has been incredibly strong this season? Minneosta? Illinois? Michigan State? It remains to be seen who will succeed later in the season, but from the standpoint of this committed fan, the Big Ten has never looked stronger, and that gives me hope that it will stay this way.