Well, it’s about that time.   It’s officially the time when we can start asking about our favorite basketball teams, where they’re going to finish in their respective conferences, which conference is toughest, and most importantly, who’s going to win it all. But all that can wait.  My question for you today, before we engage in this long journey, with the big dance being the ultimate goal, is which brand of conference basketball do you enjoy watching and is that influenced by where you live?

Me, being born and raised in Big Ten country, there’s only one brand of basketball that’s near and dear to my heart.  However, living all across the country, I’ve come to find some other brands of ball just as entertaining.  For instance, the Big East/ACC can be fun to watch.  When arguing with Big East/ACC fans, they usually start their argument with they have some of the best coaches in the country and consistently produce the top number of teams in the tournament, even with an occasional final four winner thrown in there.  They usually follow with they’ve produced their lion’s share of NBA players. I usually agree on the coaching point, but usually rebut their secondary argument with the fact that I want to watch college team basketball, not some over-hyped, under-achieving group of premature NBA talent, who is doing everything possible to try and get drafted.  I mean if I wanted to watch the D-League, I would tune in to NBA TV on a night where I had nothing else going on, be it on TV or ummm, with the ladies.   Don’t get me wrong, there are some great teams in these respective conferences with great talent, but the overall depth of watchable team basketball in these conferences is lacking.   

Now, if one were to ask where to find this brand of basketball, that I love to watch and praise so much, I would suggest tuning into the Big Ten basketball.  Call me bias.  Call me a homer.  That’s fine.  I just love to watch the grind it out style of the Big Ten.  The defense, the rebounding, and the tough mentality these teams must utilize to win, make each possession matter, which in turn makes the game more entertaining.  I also love to watch a team (with emphasis on TEAM), that grows before your eyes.  Take the Purdue Boilermakers for instance, who with fairly new head coach Matt Painter, started their journey back to national prominence just a couple of years ago.  Now, he has changed the culture of Purdue Basketball once again, even having people talking about the days of old, when Big Dog (Glenn Robinson), roamed West Lafayette.  Don’t get me wrong, you must have talent to do what Purdue has done.  I just love the development of these players and the process of the boys becoming men.

Some would say it’s the blue-collar nature I was raised with, being from the Midwest, which I don’t disagree with, that causes my attraction to this brand of ball.  I just think that the true essence of basketball is embodied in intangibles that do not show up on the box score, and from top to bottom, the Big Ten shows the most complete commitment to these intangibles.