The Best of the Best in College Basketball

As conference tournaments are getting underway across the country I thought I would share some opinions on which conference and team I think are the best in nation.  In the first year with an expanded 68 team NCAA tournament, college basketball is as wide open as I've seen it in my life.  This is the first year in recent memory that there really isn't a consensus top conference and top team.  So, for what its worth, here are my two cents.


Best Conference

The fight for the title of best conference is college basketball this year is essentially a two horse race.  The Big East and the Big 10 have established themselves as the top two conferences the last few seasons.  A lot of college basketball fans, including our own Mr. Tritschler, will talk your ear off about how the Big East is far and away the best conference in the country, but I am going to have to disagree. 

Most of the arguments I hear coming from Big East supporters are centered around shear volume of good teams in the league.  I can't argue the fact that the Big East has the highest number of quality teams, but that should be expected from a league that is almost twice as large as most other conferences.  Of the 16 teams in the Big East, only two managed to crack the RPI top 10.  A lot of people will tell you that this is because all of these top teams beat up on each other, but that's hogwash.  It really comes down to the fact that the Big East doesn't have a top level team, but rather a lot of "good" teams. 

The Big 10, while not quite as deep as the Big East, does have that top team to go along with their supporting cast of quality contenders.  Ohio State has established itself atop the conference followed closely by Wisconsin and Purdue.  From there the Big 10 has 3-4 other quality teams that should make the tournament.  The Big 10's top tier is much better than the Big East's and at the same time it doesn't lack depth.

This really is a horse a piece but I'll take quality over quantity every day of the week.

Best Team

If you look at the current AP top 5 (Ohio St, Kansas, Pitt, Notre Dame, and Duke) only one team really stands out.  Ohio State is the only team on that list that has consistently played well all season long.  Boasting a 29-2 record (16-2 in the Big 10), OSU has avoided the "bad loss".  They have all the ingredients to make a deep run in the tournament. 

The Buckeyes are a great shooting team and when Diebler and Lighty are hitting they are almost unbeatable.  But what really sets them apart is their ability to win games when their shooters aren't having a great night.  OSU's true horse is National Player of the Year candidate Jared Sullinger.  He gets high percentage shots around the rim and sets the tone for them offensively.  His ability to pass out of double teams has led to good lucks for those previously mentioned shooters.  Lastly, the emergence of Aaron Craft has been the icing on the cake for the Buckeyes.  Quality point guard leadership is essential in the tournament and Craft has proven he can step up in big games.

Like I said earlier, this tournament is wide open, but unless Diebler really cools off this weekend I don't see anyone beating the Buckeyes.