HOPPEN: Big Ten basketball shines with talented players despite low scoring

There's really not a whole lot more to say about Nebraska basketball at this point. The team is struggling to find any sort of answers and just lost by 16 to the worst team in the conference. It's going to take some time for them to get the situation fixed.

So instead of piling on, I'd like to take this space to observe the Big Ten as a whole. The move in football was analyzed on every level, but it has seemed to go under the radar basketball-wise, despite the fact that Big Ten hoops is in much better shape as a whole than its pigskin counterparts.

I'll admit, I wasn't excited about the move coming in. I'm a fan of Big 12 basketball and loved seeing teams like Kansas and Texas come to Devaney. I was going to miss Kansas' perennial abundance of talent, Missouri's break-neck pace and Kansas State coach Frank Martin's terrifying glares.

Once NU divorced itself from the Big 12, I thought the days of seeing players like Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley and Blake Griffin were gone.

I was wrong.

The Big Ten has exceeded every expectation I had of it as a hoops conference. Coming into the year, it appeared to be one of the stronger leagues. But did anyone really expect it to be running neck-and-neck with the Big 12? Did anyone think two-thirds of the conference would have a legitimate shot of making the NCAA tournament on Valentine's Day?

The Big Ten has five teams ranked in the top 20 right now, all of which are virtual locks to be dancing in a few weeks. Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois and even Northwestern will all have the chance to make their case in the coming weeks that they too deserve to be included in the field of 68.

And the talent? There's no lack of that. Ohio State's Jared Sullinger snaps up all the headlines and is probably the conference's only national player of the year candidate, but there are some really good players in this league. Draymond Green has not only kept Michigan State afloat, but he's got a young, unproven squad playing much better than last year's underachieving bunch. Cody Zeller has seized control of Indiana as a freshman and brought the Hoosiers back from the brink.

But the guys that fly under the radar are the ones who've really impressed me. John Shurna of Northwestern leads the league in scoring while shooting 48 percent. Penn State's Tim Frazier is second in scoring and nearly notched a triple-double against the Huskers Saturday.

The depth is astounding. Every team has some special talent (you couldn't always say that about Iowa State and Colorado) and that's a big reason why we've seen so many upsets. You never know when Illinois' Brandon Paul is going to score 43 points and knock off Ohio State, the conference's best team.

Of course, there's the ever-present elephant in the room for the Big Ten — the games are ugly. Teams are defensive-minded and physical, leading to lower shooting percentages and underworked scoreboard operators.

But you know what I've discovered? Ugly can be kind of beautiful.

Believe me, I love offense. Who doesn't? It's tremendously fun to watch Duke and North Carolina sprint up the floor and put up scores in the 80s and 90s.

But I can appreciate the brand of basketball the Big Ten endorses, too. Guys legitimately care about defense. They aren't constantly thinking about the next offensive possession.

And from what I've seen, there aren't a lot of and-ones in the Big Ten. If you take it inside, you can expect to get pummeled. No easy buckets. I like that.

Is the Big Ten perfect? Of course not. There are going to be some unwatchable games, some slugfests featuring so little offense that you can almost hear Dick Vitale crying softly in the background.

But this season has shown me that Big Ten basketball has a lot to offer, and as the teams have improved, that sentiment has become a popular one among national pundits.

I miss the Big 12. The Big Ten is a very different style of basketball.

But it's become obvious now — different doesn't mean worse.

Dan Hoppen is a senior news-ed major. Reach him at danhoppen@dailynebraskan.