Monday Reading Room -- Big Ten has 15 expansion names on its list, even Ohio State low on buzz for basketball

Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is one of the best beat writers in Big Ten country, and he had a good scoop recently.

In this Journal Sentinel story, Jeff has Wisconsin athletic director on the record saying the Big Ten has hired a firm to research potential candidates for as the league ponders a possible expansion, and that 15 schools are being considered at this time.

None are named Texas. I guess you don't really need to do much thinking if you'd like that juggernaut to be part of your little cartel. You just would. Sso why bother with exploration?

The 15, of course, aren't mentioned by Alvarez. As has been his wont, however, he wasn't afraid to say what conference officials don't dare. From Potrykus' story:

"You saw what happened a handful of years ago with the ACC and the Big East," Alvarez said. "I think there may be a re-alignment, and I think people are out there trying to position themselves, saying: 'When the music stops, we better have a chair.'

"I think people are looking right now and trying to decide what's best for them. I think our league is doing the same thing."

Anyone want to play Name the 15? You've got to start with Pittsburgh, Nebraska, Rutgers and Missouri. After that? Connecticut? Cincinnati? Colorado School of Mines?

Notre Dame is one that Alvarez rules out. He says he doesn't think the school would be interested.

Ohio State improved to 21-7 overall and 11-4 in Big Ten men's basketball Sunday with its 74-67 win at Michigan State. It has the league's likely Player of the Year in Evan Turner. It also doesn't have Columbus talking.

So says Columbus Dispatch columnist Bob Hunter in this column. This was from part of that Sunday essay:

The Buckeyes have been to the Final Four twice in the past 11 seasons and are less than three years removed from a loss to Florida in the NCAA championship game. They are in the midst of their sixth consecutive 20-win season, No. 9 in the nation, one game out of the Big Ten lead and have arguably the most exciting college player in the nation in Evan Turner. They are about to play their third straight huge game, today at Michigan State.

And there is no detectable buzz around town. None. ...

Wednesday night's game against No. 4 Purdue was OSU's 16th home game this season, and the first sellout. Worse, it is one of just three games in which the crowd topped 17,000 in a building that seats more than 19,000. Why? ...

Ohio State is a football school. The atmosphere in Value City Arena isn't the best. The best seats are committed to seat license-holders. Many longtime ticket-buyers were treated like third-class citizens when the team moved from St. John Arena and have moved on to other things. The nonconference schedule looks like it was designed by a coach who doesn't care about the fans.

This Cleveland Dispatch story of Feb. 8 noted the Buckeyes were on a pace for their lowest season attendance in the 12-year history of Value City Arena.

Said Turner: "But you've got stuff on TV, you've got American Idol. Somebody asked me if I saw America's Best Dance Crew. You've got some TV shows -- I probably can't beat prime time."

Doug Lesmerises' story quoted Turner.

"... you've got stuff on TV," Turner said, "you've got American Idol. Somebody asked me if I saw America's Best Dance Crew. You've got some TV shows -- I probably can't beat prime time."

But wouldn't Iowa like to have Ohio State's smallest home crowd of the year for its home-finale next Sunday against Indiana at Carver-Hawkeye Arena? Yes, yes it would.

Oldsters out there who followed Iowa basketball in 1970, when the Hawkeyes went 14-0 in the

 Big Ten (Iowa's last outright regular-season title) will remember Rick Mount. He scored 61 points for Purdue in a home loss to the Hawkeyes that season.

Al Hamnik of the Northwest Indiana Times caught up with Mount recently. He couldn't be blamed for noting he played before the college game had the 3-point shot.

"The night I got 61 against Iowa at Mackey my senior year, coaches went back and charted that game on tape to see how many 3s I would've had," Mount said. "I would've had 13. I would've had 74 points instead of 61.

"My range was unlimited."

Mount averaged 32.3 points a game as a senior. That was a drop of three points an outing from his junior year.

Mount says anyone can become a good shooter but it takes constant practice, maybe even a cold Saturday out on the driveway. Problem is, today's coaches are allowing players to shoot 3-pointers in middle school and junior high.

"These coaches don't know what they're doing. The kids are too young. They're not strong enough. They're just shoving it and throwing it, their form goes, and they get a bunch of bad habits," Mount said. "Then when they get up on the varsity level, they wonder why they can't shoot over the defense.

"I want them to shoot it from 15 feet on in and work on their form."

I didn't come across this Feb. 11 Q&A with The Sporting News' college basketball columnist, Mike DeCourcy, until this weekend. But since it probably is inflammatory in these parts, here's taking a flame to some gasoline.

Would Iowa be better off with Steve Alford right now?

DeCourcy: Of course. What Iowa fans missed as they pushed Alford toward the door-and it's not that they weren't warned-was that he'd done extensive work on the weakest part of his program in the latter part of his Iowa tenure.

He'd brought in Craig Neal to serve as an assistant coach, and "Noodles," as he is known, was doing a terrific job for Iowa in recruiting and coaching.

Neal helped Alford bring in Tyler Smith, among others. The future was promising. Alford can coach. It takes coaching talent to win a big-time conference tournament because it's necessary to do so much reinvention (because opponents are so familiar) and invention (because the games come at teams so fast). Alford won the Big Ten Tournament twice, same as Tom Izzo and Bo Ryan.

It's much the same as what happened with N.C. State nudging Herb Sendek toward the door. That program was moving forward, and fans worried about the past. You can't win games that already have been played.

I think Alford is still the coach of the Hawkeyes today if they had beaten Northwestern State and then West Virginia in the 2006 NCAAs. But why be worried about the past?

Finally, for the first time I've seen something from New York Post TV-radio columnist Phil Mushnick on the Big Ten Network. This excerpt is from Mushnick's Sunday column.

"Keys to the Game" graphics remain fantastic indoor fun for the whole family! The Big Ten Network telecast of last week's Minnesota-Northwestern basketball game began to a graphic declaring that Minnesota would have to "Limit turnovers." Apparently, the same didn't go for Northwestern, which could commit limitless turnovers.

BTN didn't get to Northwestern's "Keys to the Game" until the game was five minutes old, Minnesota about to take a 14-4 lead. The key to Northwestern's success, this day? Get a "Quick start."

Too late for that.

Now, those who would next be inclined to leave that game -- seeing how Northwestern's very slow start only could serve as preface to a Minnesota victory -- would have missed Northwestern's 77-74 win.

You may be a fan of Brett Favre or Peyton Manning or LeBron James or Joe Mauer. I like Phil Mushnick.