Penn State Win Is Redemption for Big Ten

When Michigan State shocked Louisville last Sunday, college basketball fans around the country had to take notice. The Big Ten, which was supposed to be having another down year, had sent its eighth team to the Final Four since 2000. Maybe this conference wasn't as bad as some people thought?

Last night Penn State put the emphasis on the redemption of the Big Ten season by knocking off Baylor and securing the NIT crown at Madison Square Garden. And the Nittany Lions won the National Invitational Tournament by knocking off some quality opponents.

Penn State not only beat George Mason, Rhode Island and Florida to get to the Big Apple, but Penn State then finished off their title run with wins over Notre Dame and then last night against Baylor. And Big Ten fans could not be happier.

For years, critics of the Big Ten have been complaining about the style of play, the type of athletes and the overall lack of depth in the teams in the Big Ten. And every year, the teams in the Big Ten go about their business and when the season is over, they look back and see NCAA wins, NIT wins and overall a pretty good season.

This year, the Big Ten was criticized for having six teams in the NCAA tournament, but what did those teams go out and do in the first round. Win four of those games and then send two teams to the Elite Eight and one to the Final Four.

And then last night, Penn State showed that the conference not only is playing quality basketball at the top of the standings but that the league does have depth. The Nittany Lions were not on anyone's radar at the beginning of the season. In the previous two years, Penn State scraped by to garner about 25 wins. Then this season, they took a step forward, gaining some national recognition, becoming a bubble team and then eventually taking care of business in the end at the NIT.

Add to that the run that Northwestern made at the end of the regular season and suddenly, the Big Ten is a conference that goes eight or nine teams deep in terms of potential NCAA tournament selections. There are not many other conferences that can be said about.

So while critics may not like the style of play with games finishing in the 50s or 60s. And they may bemoan the lack of "NBA talent" but the bottom line is the Big Ten is getting the job done and year after year proving itself to be worthy of being in the discussion as one of the top three or four basketball conferences in the country.

To those who constantly harp that the Big Ten is having a down year, I would say if this is a down year, I wonder how good they will be when they finally turn things around.