Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, June 6, 2012

Many experts have Indiana atop their way-too-early 2012-13 men's basketball polls. Here's another accolade for the Hoosiers: ESPN.com ranks the Indiana job as the top position in the Big Ten (see the complete rankings). It's amazing how fast a program can reclaim its status, isn't it? What do you think is the best job in the Big Ten? Cast your vote on the poll inside or leave your thoughts in the comment box at the bottom of the post.

ESPN's top 5 Big Ten jobs
1. Indiana
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan State
4. Michigan
5. Wisconsin

*See the entire list

Here is ESPN's criteria for ranking:

"When voting, our 14 panelists were asked to take into consideration facilities, expectation level, athletic budget, wins and losses, recruiting base, fan support/pressure and all of the other factors that go into determining the "best" jobs in the ever-crazy profession of college basketball coaching."

Knowing that, here are a couple observations:

Too high on the list: No. 5 Wisconsin – Bo Ryan has made the Badgers into the most consistent Big Ten team during his tenure, but I'm not sure they would be this high if they had another coach. Put it this way: If you're a high-level coach and there are openings at Wisconsin, Illinois and Purdue, the two schools directly behind the Badgers in this poll, which vacancy interests you the most? Exactly.

Too low on the list:  No. 6 Illinois – Illinois isn't one of the nation's top 10 jobs, as one expert argued immediately following Bruce Weber's firing. That said, it's a good job, one that provides direct access to a little city called Chicago. You could say there is some nice talent playing there. Don't let the recent hiring process downgrade this position, because there were other important factors involved there.

Brent Yarina is a web editor and blogger for BTN.com. Find all of his work here and follow him on twitter at @BTNBrentYarina.