By now, everyone’s heard it and most of you have said it. The Buckeye football team’s national championship gives us every right to talk trash on the field, but it’s basketball season now. As an OSU fan and college basketball junkie, it’s time I come to the Big Ten’s defense.

First of all, I think the college game has changed a lot in recent years. I’m not really fond of the NBA and its style. The game is dominated by overly flashy guards and growling post players, a trend that seems to be catching on at the collegiate level. The right to bare teeth is determined by one’s chest-thumping abilities, and individual super-stardom is the pathway to success. It seems every team who earns any national recognition these days runs a quick, guard-oriented offense that is pleasing to the eye and alluring to professional scouts.

On the other hand, the Big Ten has traditionally been characterized by its physical play and patient, almost lethargic, tempo. The evolution of the college game hasn’t exactly worked in the Big Ten’s favor. Power forwards who look more like Neanderthals than basketball players are harder and harder to come by, as the men down under are inching further from the basket to perfect the 15-foot jumper. Quicker-paced teams like Michigan State can run with the best in the country, but teams who use every second of the shot clock find success, too. A talented backcourt and hard-nosed defense gives Wisconsin the ability to shut down the nation’s best scorers. Their style might not catch your attention during the ESPN highlights reel, but it works for them.

It might never return full force, but remnants of the league’s rough-and-tumble reputation linger still today. Basketball fans may remember a particularly large former Michigan player, Robert “Tractor” Traylor. Traylor could eat the Fab Five for dinner and just barely make it up the court faster than your average John Deere. Sure, it’s disgraceful, but the guy got the job done. It’s true that a 300-plus pound player is a rare find in college basketball, but Traylor was a presence to be reckoned with.

Is anyone afraid of the Big bad Ten now, though? Apparently not. The Big Ten might not have the charisma of the ACC, the agility of the SEC or the power of the Pac 10, but they still hold their own pretty well. As far as I can recall, the league has sent at least five, sometimes six, teams to the NCAA Tournament every season.

Year after year, the NCAA selection committee gives those teams who have earned it most the opportunity to capture the national title. And every year, the Big Ten represents. Last season it was Indiana, led by second-year head coach Mike Davis, temper-tantrum extraordinaire. The Hoosiers were runner-up to Maryland in the NCAA title game.

After a season in the conference cellar, no one ever expected the Buckeyes to sweep through the brackets Cinderella-style en route to the Final Four in 1999. Too bad the respect they did gain was so short-lived.

For the Big Ten to rise above the ACCs of the world, they’ve got to prove they can get the job done. OSU has played some high-profile opponents thus far, including the likes of Pittsburgh, Alabama and Duke, all of which were ranked in the top five nationally at the time. Another team might go undefeated until conference play, but have so many cupcakes in their preseason schedule, they’re licking frosting off their fingers clear through March.

The way I see it, Big Ten basketball is a lot like Purdue head coach Gene Keady’s hairstyle. If you’re at all familiar with Keady’s ‘do, you know he’s taken a lot of slack for the old comb-over. It’s got a rich history and traditionally produces success, but skeptics recognize that it’s a look in need of a little refreshing. If the Big Ten wants respect, they need to prove they can keep up with the latest style — a more up-tempo kind of game.

Amanda Manser is a senior in journalism. She has nothing against receding hairlines or farm machinery, she’s just lousy with analogies. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].