First, Indiana’s first-round exit is pretty sad when you consider the Hoosiers were a Elite Eight team two months ago. A Eric Gordon-D.J. White combo should NEVER lose in the first round to an average-at-best Arkansas team. Obviously, the coaching situation played a major factor in Indiana’s 3-4 finish down the stretch. Tom Crean (a former Michigan State assistant and the thought-to-be successor to Tom Izzo at Michigan State) will get the program back to elite status… in a few years. (If he did it at Marquette, he can do it in Indiana, a hoops hotbed.

Purdue played extremely well and, had it beaten Xavier, would have reached the Elite Eight in my opinion. I’m a big fan of Purdue’s freshman class and an even bigger fan of the way Chris Kramer plays basketball. He’s got some offensive talent, but he’s the conference’s best defender not named Michael Flowers. I expect Purdue to be just as good if not better next season, though it will be tough to top a 15-3 Big Ten mark.

Michigan State showed it can play when it wants to in reaching the Sweet 16. But, Memphis showed just how inconsistent the Spartans were this season with the Sweet 16 beatdown. This team had talent but the pieces just didn’t mix very well. Toward the end of the season you saw how the team played when players other than Drew Neitzel took over a game (Goran Suton, Kalin Lucas…). With no Neitzel (or Drew Naymick) next season, the Spartans will be relying heavily on Lucas and Suton to be the inside-outside combination. That doesn’t include incoming freshman Delvon Roe, who has been ranked anywhere from No. 6 to No. 14 in recuriting lists. Roe and Morgan, who hopes his sophomroe slump doesn’t continue into his junior season, will be solid at the 3 and the 4 and MSU should have enough depth to play 9-10 deep daily.

Wisconsin’s loss to Davidson was the worst I have seen Wisconsin play in six years. I have seen the Badgers in person about 10 times in that span and Friday’s loss to Davidson was absolutely awful. Yes, Davidson played extremely well, both offensively and defensively, but Wisconsin didn’t help themselves. It didn’t help matters that Trevon Hughes was injured. He’s one of those “glue-guys” that when not on the floor, things definitely don’t run as smoothly.

All in all, the Big Ten went 5-4 in the NCAA Tournament which, based on seeds, is what “should” have happened. Purdue and Wisconsin played to their seed; Indiana played below its seed and Michigan State was the lone team to play above its seed.

I fully expect the Big Ten’s swoon to be in the past when next season rolls around. The early projections on who will lead the league (not my opinion but those of Big Ten media and coaches) is: 1-Michigan State; 2-Purdue; 3-Ohio State; 4-Wisconsin… That doesn’t include Illinois, who undoubtedly will make some sort of a jump in the standings. Indiana will still be talented, but losing possibly the entire starting lineup won’t bode well in 2008-09. Minnesota loses its senior leadership but I’m sure Tubby Smith will keep the Gophers around .500 in the Big Ten. Penn State should fall back toward the back of the pack with Northwestern. I expect Michigan to make strides, though how big I can’t tell.

Here is what Beilein did at West Virginia, the only comparable program to Michigan, in his first 3 seasons:

2002-03 West Virginia 14-15 5-11
2003-04 West Virginia 17-14 7-9 NIT 3rd Round
2004-05 West Virginia 24-11 8-8 NCAA Elite Eight

He’s coming off a miserable 10-21 season in Ann Arbor. I don’t see the Wolverines making the NCAAs next season, but I do see Michigan approaching 17-19 wins and an NIT berth. Then, in year three, the Wolverines should be back in the Big Dance, somewhere in the 7-12 seed range as the Big Ten’s 5th or 6th best team.

Those are just some thoughts on the Big Ten’s past and future.