Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, March 25, 2015

In case you didn?t already have an inkling of Tom Izzo?s greatness in March, this story should seal the deal for you: He?s the best coach in modern NCAA tourney history. Period. And, it?s not even close.

The story on FiveThirtyEight.com has some great numbers and data to back up the premise of Izzo?s March greatness. You should be impressed and feel the urge to get a ?Tom Izzo Is Awesome? tattoo after reading it.

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There's this: Yogi Ferrell recently said ?Thank you? to Indiana fans on Instagram.

Talk amongst yourselves.

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The gang at InsideNU.com recently discussed who they felt was the Northwestern hoop MVP. Now, they take a look at Vic Law, who struggled for much of the season, but had a five game stretch in late February and early March during which he averaged 11.8 points and shot 54.5 percent from 3-point land.

The question the staffers answered: Was Vic Law's late season surge a fluke? Or a sign of things to come? Did it convince you that Law can eventually become a star?

Oh, he?s a star. And Chris Collins will deliver an NCAA bid.

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Yes, March Madness is heating up, but so is spring football. It?s a great time of the year, isn?t it? Michigan State is starting to hit. Here is a nice video preview with Mark Dantonio.

There are not too many glaring deficiencies with MSU, Version.2015. Yes, it?s good to be Dantonio-not as good as being Izzo, but pretty good.

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Matt Hayes of Sporting News has an interesting piece on Christian Hackenberg, who may have a greater upside than Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota. Yep, you just read that.

Says an AFC scout from Hayes' story: "If you're asking me right now who has the best upside to play the position in our league — physical, mental, emotional — at the highest level of the game, it's an easy answer between those three, it's Hackenberg — and, frankly, it's not really close."

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There will be no more watched spring storyline than the Ohio State quarterback situation. All together now: Who will it be, Braxton Miller? Cardale Jones? J.T. Barrett? And the reality of the situation is dawning on Urban Meyer, as he has a tough decision ahead with three quality options.

"Everything is positive," Meyer said. "Talent. Quality of people. Value to the program. Investment in the program. Check, check, check, check. Negative? Two people are going to have to watch."

Me? I?m going with Barrett.

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It was good to see Michigan hire Erik Campbell, who was tabbed for the off-field position of Operations Assistant.

The former Wolverine-and Jim Harbaugh teammate–has been a good receivers coach in the past at Michigan and Iowa. At Michigan, he coached a number of elite college wideouts — Tai Streets, Amani Toomer, Braylon Edwards, David Terrell, Jason Avant, Mario Manningham, Steve Breaston and many others. At Iowa, Campbell helped Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Marvin McNutt both break receiving records for the Hawkeyes.

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Bob Flounders of Pennlive.com takes a look at the NFL draft, which isn?t that far away. How many Big Ten players will be picked? Who will be the first Nittany Lion selected?

Flounders says five Big Ten players consistently appear in first-round mocks — Nebraska pass rusher Randy Gregory, Iowa offensive lineman Brandon Scherff, Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes, Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon and Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams. Three other names Flounders says to remember are Ohio State wideout Devin Smith, Iowa defensive tackle Carl Davis and Michigan receiver-tight end Devin Funchess.

Now, back to watching Daniel Jeremiah and Charles Davis.

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Dan Duggan of NJ.com has the five biggest questions facing Rutgers in spring drills.

No. 1: Will anyone emerge at quarterback? Chris Laviano and Hayden Rettig are battling. Duggan says Rettig and Laviano will get plenty of reps this spring in first-time coordinator Ben McDaniels' offense. It's highly likely that the battle for the most important position on the team will extend into the summer, but one quarterback could move ahead in the competition this spring.

My money is on Rettig, the LSU transfer.

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It?s no secret: Minnesota needs to improve its passing game if the Gopher offense wants to evolve. To that end, QB Mitch Leidner has a new source in his development: ex-Minnesota and new G.A. QB Adam Weber, the school?s all-time leading passer.

?Leidner?s got to get more consistent, just like our whole football team needs to,? Jerry Kill said after a recent practice.

?I?ve said it over and over again - Adam Weber?s helped him a bunch because he?s about his age, and he played here.

?[Weber] went through four offensive coordinators [with the Gophers]. He?s been in the NFL with two or three different teams. So he?s got a great deal of knowledge, and he?s from Minnesota.

?I think with him and Jimmy working with [Leidner] - that was strictly my call, and I think that?s going to help our football team.?

About Tom Dienhart BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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