Michigan State, Oklahoma lead way in 'Big' conferences

It's time to turn the focus to the Big Ten and the Big 12.

The Big Ten, as a whole, has been a pleasant surprise to any college basketball fan this season, and the Big 12 is still a tough conference, just like every year, with three teams in the top 25.

The pairity in the Big Ten this season is absolutely remarkable. This is one conference that I honestly believe every team, with the exception of a rebuilding Indiana team, has a chance to win the conference tournament come March. Also, there are nine teams fighting for spots in the NCAA Tournament.

However, I came here to discuss who will win the regular season title. In that case, only one team sticks out to me at this point, and that team is Michigan State. After an impressive 76-47 win over 19th ranked Minnesota, the Spartans remain atop the Big Ten standings with an 8-2 conference record.

The Spartans suffered losses to a surprising Northwestern team, and a very talented Penn State team. Their remaining schedule isn't all that easy, either. They have road games against Michigan, Purdue, Indiana, and Illinois, not to mention home games against Wisconsin and another battle with Purdue. Of these opponents, the Spartans have only played two of them so far, Illinois and Iowa, both of which they won. They also need to watch out for Purdue. The Boilermakers have struggled as of late with the injury to Robbie Hummel, and now Chris Kramer, but this team can still play, and is right in the thick of things in the race for the title.

However, Penn State and Illinois pose the biggest threats for the Spartans to lose their top spot in the conference, so the March 1 contest against the Illini will likely be the difference between an outright Big Ten championship, or a possible shared title.

The Big 12 has also been a fun conference to watch this season. Kansas and Oklahoma are both still unbeaten in conference play. The Sooners have impressive wins over Texas and Baylor, but had to survive a close one against Texas A&M. Right now, they are the strongest team in this conference, and ultimately one the strongest teams in the country, led by Player of the Year candidate Blake Griffin.

Texas had a slim chance at making a run at the title, but after the upset loss to Missouri, they will have to wait until the Big 12 tournament to have a chance at being conference champions. At this point, it really boils down to just Kansas and Oklahoma. Missouri is still hanging by a thread, and will get a crack at Oklahoma on March 4 and still have two meetings with Kansas.

My prediction is that Kansas will beat Missouri, and that it will come down to the February 23 showdown when the Jayhawks take on the Sooners in Norman.

My pick is going to Oklahoma. Blake Griffin is just too strong for Kansas to contain, and is, in my opinion, the favorite to win National Player of the Year. Oklahoma will win the conference, earn a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, and have a great chance at playing in the Final Four in Detroit.