Does parity make Big Ten a basketball powerhouse?

IOWA CITY - It wasn't that long ago that Illinois was the king of the Big Ten basketball castle.

As of Thursday, Illinois was unbeaten at home, won three straight and owned the conference lead. Five days and two losses to a pair of unranked teams later, the Fighting Illini sank from the first-place throne to the fifth-place stall.

Illinois Coach Bruce Weber has no plans to wallow in pity. Anything and everything changes daily for the Big Ten. Just two weeks ago the Illini knocked off powerhouse Ohio State. Illinois hardly was blown out last week, losing both games by a combined six points.

"I'm not sure what's an upset, if there is an upset," Weber said Monday. "We've got a very balanced league.

"We're not that far off."

Such is the life in today's Big Ten, where every team literally can beat any team, ranked or otherwise. Nine teams are within two games of first place in the Big Ten standings, and 11 of the league's 12 teams (Purdue excluded) have beaten a ranked foe. Eight times this season an unranked Big Ten team knocked off a ranked league opponent. Six times a top-10 Big Ten team has lost in league play.

But that's hardly a sign of weakness or league mediocrity, Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said. It's a sign of league strength.

The Big Ten ranks first in RPI, a measurement based on wins, losses and strength-of-schedule that often determines NCAA Tournament invitations. The league also ranks first in strength-of-schedule and beat the Atlantic Coast Conference 8-4 in the leagues' annual showdown.

Izzo said nine or more Big Ten teams still are playing for NCAA Tournament bids and the others have a legitimate postseason shots.

"I think conference strength should be ranked by the bottom of the conference more than the top," Izzo said.

"I think if anybody looks at it and doesn't see a lot of talented, tough-minded, well-coached teams in this league, they're not looking at it from a realistic view," Indiana Coach Tom Crean said. "It a high-powered league that's been years in the making, decades in the making."

Only Penn State has a losing overall record (10-11) among the league's 12 schools. But that has failed to hold back the Nittany Lions, which beat No. 25 Illinois last week and popped former conference leader Purdue by 20 points in the season's third game.

All five teams with losing Big Ten records - Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Nebraska, Penn State - have beaten ranked league opponents this year.

Iowa knocked off then-ranked No. 13 Michigan, two weeks after surprising No. 11 Wisconsin to end a nine-game losing skid at Kohl Center. That was the league's first eye-popping win, but hardly its last.

Minnesota lost its first four Big Ten games, then toppled No. 7 Indiana at Assembly Hall for its first road victory over a top 10 team since 1981. The Gophers since have won three straight.

Northwestern upset No. 6 Michigan State for only the fourth time (4-43) since 1987. Nebraska beat No. 11 Indiana, its first signature win in its inaugural Big Ten season.

"If you don't have your ‘A' game, you're going to get beat," Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. "If you don't have a game plan that's followed, you're going to get beat. I think that's what makes the regular season so much fun. I think we sometimes tend, especially these days, to jump to March so early and every week the standings in this league change. Every week there's one that (seems to be) an upset, but I'm not sure they are."

Even the league's current tri-leaders are susceptible to the madness. Michigan lost by 16 one afternoon at unranked Iowa and beat No. 9 Michigan State three days later. Michigan State lost two straight road games after winning 15 games in a row. Ohio State's margin of victory is 29 for its five wins and its margin of defeat is 3.5 points for its two losses.

Perhaps no team symbolizes the league's topsy-turvy championship chase quite like Wisconsin. The Badgers had won 22 of 23 Big Ten games at Kohl Center entering the season. Wisconsin then dropped its first two home league games to Iowa and Michigan State and lost three games in a row. The Badgers since have won a league-high four straight, including a road win at Illinois.

If Wisconsin doesn't fit the league's image, perhaps Indiana does. The Hoosiers have beaten a No. 1 (Kentucky) and a No. 2 (Ohio State) at home, yet has lost to a pair of unranked teams (Minnesota, Nebraska) in Big Ten play.

"There's a lot of parity in this league," Penn State Coach Patrick Chambers said. "On any given night, anybody can beat anybody. You've got to be ready to compete and play hard for 40 and see what happens."