Next game: Thursday, February 28 vs. Michigan State
Joined in progress after Bucks-Nets on 620WTMJ

A correction to the original story:

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- In a Feb. 27 story about Big Ten basketball, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the conference had been shut out of Final Four play two straight years. Ohio State was in the Final Four last year.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Anybody else getting a bad feeling about the NCAA Tournament? As far as Wisconsin and the rest of the Big Ten are concerned, this probably isn't going to end well.

Here's guessing the next two weeks play out something like this: The Badgers, ranked No. 10 in the most recent AP poll, win Thursday's home game against Michigan State, beat Penn State and Northwestern and have a strong showing at the Big Ten Tournament.

Then they'll be stiffed on Selection Sunday, slipping to a No. 4 seed.

Badgers fans will scream disrespect.

The rest of the country will chuckle: "Big Ten champs, eh? That and four bucks will get you something tasty at Starbucks."

Then Bucky will be shooshed for good by an earlier-than-expected exit.

At least our furry friend will have plenty of other Big Ten burnouts to commiserate with, as it's hard to imagine Purdue, Indiana or Michigan State surviving the first weekend of the tournament -- unless one of those teams lucks out and gets an officiating crew who allows the Big Ten's brand of clutch-and-grab defense. More on that in a minute.

It's nothing new, of course, for national pundits to suggest that the Big Ten is "down." It's been happening for about a decade -- and for most of that time, it's been a complete crock.

TV talking heads saw the ugly 56-47 scores filter in from the frozen Midwest and figured those teams weren't to be taken seriously. Then they'd inevitably end up slapping their foreheads in amazement when one or two Big Ten teams ended up in the Final Four.

Between 1999 and 2005, the Big Ten was shut out of the Final Four only twice and put two teams in the Final Four three times. True, only Mateen Cleaves' Spartans brought home the hardware in 2000, but the conference still could make a compelling case for being an elite place to play basketball.

Now, painfully, the perception seems to be trickling toward reality.

And the roundball revival needs to start with the officials.

Gather Ed Hightower and the rest of the fellas in a room, swear them to an oath of silence and give them the following speech: Hey, fellas, those things around your necks? They're whistles. For the love of Jud Heathcote, start using them.

For the Big Ten to advance, it must stamp out the clutch-and-grab brand of defense that turns its basketball games into hockey without skates. No more 10-6 snoozefests 10 minutes into the first half.

Those ticky-tack no-calls in the Big Ten? They're darn near felonies in the ACC or Big East -- and, more important, in most NCAA Tournament games.

And at the risk of oversimplifying, did you ever notice how the vast majority of the athletic, creative, must-see players in college basketball seem to enjoy scoring points? Maybe some of those top-flight Midwestern talents might be more willing to stay closer to home if they could play a brand of basketball that lets them showcase what they do best.

Yes, such a move means waving goodbye to the longstanding identity of Big Ten basketball: Tough guys playing a contact sport. Those gritty grinders and "try-hard guys" who floor-burn their way into fan favorites? They'll be back where they belong: Strong sixth men.

Or in the Patriot League.

And yes, de-emphasizing defense would be nothing less than an unconditional surrender to the whims of the dunk-oriented Sportscenter generation. Bo Ryan surely would throw a fit. But how much do you want to bet he'd be able to adapt? And wouldn't it be fun to watch him try?

Sigh if you must. But if the Big Ten wants to be taken seriously as a basketball conference on the national stage, it's time to lead.

And in this case, leading is following.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)