With reports that everyone from Notre Dame to Texas could be joining a 12, 14, or 16-team Big Ten conference, the first event to take place is reportedly the addition of the Nebraska Cornhuskers to the Big Ten. After many internal meetings, it appears the Huskers are willing to leave the white dwarf that is the Big 12 and head to the true Midwest, amid rumors that as many as six of their conference counterparts could bolt to a jumbo version of the Pac 10. Official word could come as soon as tomorrow, but the main source is the Chicago Tribune, so I'm inclined to believe them.

Immediately, there are many issues that will have to be addressed upon Nebraska's welcoming party. How do you break down the presumed six-team divisions and do you start playing a championship game immediately? Are more teams on the way, and do you wait until there are more teams to start the championship game?

My proposal is to begin playing a championship game immediately with the two six-team divisions being broken down in a North/South fashion. This may be counterintuitive, but my reasoning is sound. First, you cannot have Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State in the same division, and that's exactly what you would have with an East/West split. That leaves Wisconsin or Iowa with a "free pass" each year to the championship game in my opinion.

A counterargument to that would be if you break up Ohio State and Michigan into opposite divisions, they wouldn't be able to play each other every year. Not true, if the Big Ten continues to designate that rivalry games are maintained across division lines (the other that sticks out with my breakdown is in-state rivals Illinois and Northwestern).

So, without further ado, here is how I would breakdown the Big Ten of the future.

Photo: Neal C. Lauron/Columbus Dispatch

"In the blinking of an eye, that moment's gone..."

The 2010 Ohio State Buckeyes' one shining moment has come and gone all too soon, done in by a tough matchup for them in the transition-heavy, deep, quick Volunteers and an atrocious defensive gameplan. Coach Thad Matta rested his hopes of winning on a 1-3-1 zone that the Bucks have used quite a bit this year, but it backfired relentlessly, allowing Tennessee to own the paint with 50 points there and 20 offensive rebounds. The officials had a role in this one crippling the Buckeyes, but Ohio State did themselves in with lack of team play, matador defense, and just not enough effort.

In the opening minutes, things looked positively great for the scarlet and gray. They got a couple of buckets right at the rim, and their first seven offensive possessions were nearly flawless, scoring on six of them. From that point, though, the Buckeyes never found their comfort zone again. The officiating crew, who in medieval times might be hanged for their role in this one, took David Lighty out of the game with two incredibly cheap fouls, including one where I'm pretty sure there was similar contact on every single play the whole night. I'm referring to the over-the-back foul Lighty picked up for his 2nd foul at the 13:44 mark against Brian Williams, his second in 23 seconds. That forced the Bucks' defensive leader to sit for the remainder of the first half and pressed Jeremie Simmons into the fray. To his credit, Simmons actually did a solid job, knocking down 3-of-4 three pointers for 9 points, but there's no question that Lighty sitting affected the Bucks' defense, and it kept Lighty out of the flow of the game, from which he and the team never recovered. Lighty finished with 9 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in 26 minutes. With the way things were going and the Buckeyes still tightly contesting the Vols, I feel it was alright to sit Lighty, but at times, like a single elimination tournament, you have to gamble and bring Lighty back in. After all, he only picked up one second half foul.

Photo: Morry Gash/AP

Against one of the largest frontcourts they've faced all season, Ohio State played their way through an incredibly slow start and showed their experience in eliminating the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, marching on to the Sweet 16 next week. They are going to St. Louis because their star Evan Turner returned to form and carried them through the first half, sharpshooter Jon Diebler is having some of his best games all year in this tournament, and David Lighty continues to be the veteran leader and defensive glove of this squad.

Icicles on the rims: Ohio State's a team that shoots it at about 49%, so it was shocking to see them come out shooting so frigid after a 41% game against UCSB. The Buckeyes hit just 1 of their first 8 shots over the first 7:46 of the game and did not score until the 17:03 mark. Fortunately for them, Tech was having their own issues and were only up 10-2. Georgia Tech started in full court pressure after seeing that it had pestered Evan Turner to a point in the previous game, and the Bucks responded by turning it over four times in the first four minutes.

Photo: Morry Gash/AP

A good number of people are reluctant to believe in the Ohio State Buckeyes because they're not sure what else they have besides Evan Turner. The "others" were thrust into the spotlight in tonight's first round game as Evan Turner battled his way through a 2-for-14 shooting performance. The team survived largely thanks to Jon Diebler's hot shooting, Dallas Lauderdale's defense and rebounding, and solid contributions from both William Buford and David Lighty. The Gauchos of UCSB did their part though as they shot just 32% from the field and surrenderred runs of 13-3 and 13-0 in the first half to send the Buckeyes to the second round on Sunday.

Circus shot and an offensive wrinkle to start: The first thing I noticed early in tonight's game was that Ohio State had installed a little wrinkle into their offense, utilizing William Buford in the short corner on multiple trips. One of those plays finished in a fantastic circus shot layed in by Buford underneath the hoop that resembled Dr. J. The sophomore guard seems to play well off the ball as a secondary option, and this is a nice way to get him some easy looks without him having to create with dribble penetration like Lighty and Turner do so well. Buford reached double digit scoring with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block in 39 minutes.

 
Photo: Associated Press

After all the Buckeyes had been through in the last two days, including a buzzer-beater from 40 feet by Evan Turner to beat Michigan and a gusty, surviving performance against Illinois that took 2 overtimes, they seem determined and focused to finish the job against the sixth-seed Minnesota, who had taken down Michigan State and Purdue on back-to-back days. Evan Turner was once again brilliant, but it was David Lighty and Jon Diebler that helped the Bucks run away with a big lead in the second half, outscore the Gophers 57-31, and clinch the Big Ten conference tournament championship, their third since the Big Ten started the conference tourney in 1998. It set up the Buckeyes for a number 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Slow start for both: This game resembled the Big Ten style early as both teams kept the score low. Minnesota had a five and a half minute scoring drought after their first basket of the game, while the Bucks hit just 1 of their first 8 shots. The turnovers were occurring at a record pace for both teams at the outset, with each team having six in the first ten minutes. The Buckeyes had each of their starters pick up a foul in the first ten minutes, and Dallas Lauderdale picked up foul number two at the 7:03 mark, causing him to sit the rest of the half.

Photo: Darron Cummings/AP

A 20-0 run, ten extra minutes, and surviving two last shot defense scenarios is what it took for the Buckeyes to keep their Big Ten conference championship hopes alive. Their star, Evan Turner, played like he was in the NBA already, willing himself into the paint and marching to the line. Ohio State battled foul trouble, hot first half shooting from Illinois, and a tremendous amount of turnovers, but their defense got stops when they absolutely had to, their pressure forced turnovers and caused Illinois trouble, and their supporting cast kept it close into crunch time, allowing The Villain to put his stamp on this one.

Start 'em up: The first four minutes of the game went really well for the Bucks, who took an 8-2 lead. Evan Turner had a nice breakaway jam, and the Illini started hitting just 1-of-7 shots and turning it over 4 times. Demetri McCamey missed his first five shots from the field, and the Illini looked much like the team that the Bucks handled with relative ease in two earlier contest this season. However, the Buckeyes learned just how hard it is to dismiss one team three times in the same season, especially one fighting for their tournament lives.

This guy has the total package.

That's what ran through my mind as Evan Turner drilled a 40-foot leaning jumper to send the Wolverines home for the season. Turner's shot was a prayer answered after Manny Harris and Michigan surged in the game's final minutes to take the lead behind several clutch shots. This win may prove to be a worthwhile scare for the Bucks, and it keeps their hopes for a number one seed alive, heading into tomorrow night's matchup with the winner of the Wisconsin-Illinois game. March Madness has truly kicked off.

Sims's quick start, kicking the rust off: DeShawn Sims got plenty of nice looks for the Wolverines early, and his quick 8 points gave Michigan the early lead. The rest of the U of M squad was aided by open driving lanes thanks to a cautious OSU defense that looked afraid to foul early in a game where the calls were few and far between. The Bucks also had 5 turnovers in the game's first 10 minutes as a couple of passes simply bounced off their hands. With a 10 day layoff, much of this is understandable, but U of M was not about to let them get away with it.

Photo: Bucknuts.com

I would like to apologize for leaving you hanging following the Buckeye victory against the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. What took so long, you ask? Well, unfortunately, I cannot truthfully claim to have been on a month-long party cruise celebrating the Buckeyes sixth consecutive win against 'that team from up north' that resulted in the first back-to-back losing seasons by the 'scUMmers' in nearly 50 years (the last time occurring in 1962-1963). The truth is that my brief thoughts on Ohio State's regular season finale aren't really worthy of a full-blown article for two reasons: 1) because any 'team' from that terrible state doesn't deserve that much attention, especially one that finished at the cellar of the Big Televen, and 2) because my thoughts on the victory in Ann Arbor can be summed up in just a few paragraphs:

Photo: ESPN.com

For the first time in 13 years, Ohio State is going to Pasadena to compete in the Rose Bowl. In a thrilling afternoon game in the 'Shoe, the Buckeyes came away with a sensational overtime victory against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Not only will the win send the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl, but it also clinches the Big Ten title for the fifth straight season. Make no mistake, Iowa battled hard and had their fair share of chances to earn a victory, but the Buckeyes ultimately came out on top thanks to a 39-yard field goal by kicker Devin Barclay.

The fans erupted in passionate excitement after the game as they stormed the field to congratulate their Buckeyes on Senior Day in Columbus. In the first start of his collegiate career, Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg played his heart out as he very nearly led his injury-battled Hawkeyes to a victory in front of more than 105,000 screaming fans. The 2009 season has not been marked by very many 'nail-biting' games (aside from Southern Cal) for the Buckeyes, which made tonight's victory even sweeter. Here are my thoughts on this afternoon's hard fought victory:

Stuffing the Run

The Ohio State defense held Iowa to a mere 67 yards rushing on the game. It is no secret that the staple of our 2009 defense is our defensive line. They have made big plays all year long and seem to improve each week in defending the run. It should be noted that Iowa was utilizing their fourth string (freshman) halfback due to injuries, but holding any team, especially one with an offensive line as talented as Iowa's, to under 70 yards on the ground is quite an achievement. I know I'm not exactly 'going out on a limb' here, but judging by the way this season has gone so far, we are in store for a couple more big plays from this defense that will have a large impact on our next two games.