Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, December 9, 2014

This is kinda cool: The conference will have a ?Big Ten Day? in New York beginning in 2016 and 2017 that will include basketball and hockey doubleheaders.

The men?s hoops tourney will be in Madison Square Garden in 2018. But the Big East traditionally plays its tourney at MSG the weekend that culminates with Selection Sunday, so the Big Ten tournament will be played one week earlier, according to the report.

That means more conference games in December and, more jarringly, no significant games in the week before teams try to impress the NCAA tournament selection committee. I think that last item is highly overrated, as it?s my belief seeds are basically set prior to league tourneys.

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Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz called his team?s finish to the season ?disappointing.? Sounds about right.

Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids Gazette notes that Sunday night, Ferentz was asked if a 7-5 record is unacceptable.

?I?m not sure unacceptable would be the word I would use,? Ferentz said. ?We?re disappointed, certainly, with the outcome of the last two ball games.?

On possible staff changes, A.D. Gary Barta said Friday he thought Ferentz would make adjustments, he but hadn?t mentioned any specific changes to him. Ferentz was asked Sunday if he started evaluating if coaching staff would come back next season.

?Ongoing process. I evaluate day by day,? he said.

Stay tuned.

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Cleveland.com has seven things you need to know about the Alabama-Ohio State matchup in the Sugar Bowl.

No. 1. Alabama is ranked No. 11 in the country in total defense. The Crimson Tide allows an average of 312.4 yards. Alabama has given up 2,908 passing yards and 1,153 rushing yards. Alabama is No. 4 in scoring defense (16.6 points), ranked higher than any opponent Ohio State has played. Bottom line: This will be another good challenge for Cardale Jones.

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This is interesting candor from Baylor coach Art Briles, whose team will take on Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl. He says he always has respected the Spartans but hasn?t always voted them high in the coaches poll.

Mike Griffith of Mlive.com took a look back through the poll's archive, and Briles' ballots show the Baylor coach has ranked Michigan State lower than any of the other coaches two of the past three seasons the Spartans have been ranked in the Top 25. Interesting.

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On the subject of MSU-Baylor, if you look at Michigan State?s resume, you?ll notice a glaring lack of a notable win. Well, the Cotton Bowl vs. Baylor is a great opportunity to show America how good this Spartans? squad is.

Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press says Michigan State wanted - and needed - a game against the best opponent possible. The Orange Bowl - and three-loss Georgia Tech - wasn't going to be that opponent. Baylor will be. Now, the Spartans get one more chance to show they deserved all the playoff talk this year.

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Flashback to Nebraska?s big comeback at Iowa on Black Friday. Pretty good stuff for the Huskers, who showed a big talent edge vs. the Hawkeyes. Sam McKewon on Omaha.com takes a look at what that comeback and talent mean for new coach Mike Riley.

McKewon says there?s definitely enough talent on hand to reach the Big Ten championship next year, though Ohio State?s 59-0 smashing of Wisconsin on Saturday night cements the Buckeyes as a formidable league bully. Urban Meyer has lost one conference game - the 2013 Big Ten championship - in his first three years in Columbus. He can coach.

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It was too bad that Indiana?s Tevin Coleman wasn?t a Heisman finalist.

With an historic 2,000-yard rushing season, it would have been nice to have seen him at least get to New York for the ceremony. The guy was a virtual one-man gang and the focus of every defense-yet he delivered each week.

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Sen. George Mitchell filed a ninth quarterly report on Penn State?s compliance with the post-Sandusky Athletics Integrity Agreement.

Mitchell concluded "Penn State continued to fulfill its obligations under the Athletics Integrity Agreement, and follow through with… recommendations made in the Freeh Report.

"Penn State's administration has remained fully cooperative (with the monitoring process) throughout this time," Mitchell added.

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The home loss to NJIT was difficult for Michigan to swallow. But, John Beilein hopes his team learns from it. How else can you spin such a heinous defeat?

"We try to make a positive out of everything," Beilein said. "So that's the positive right now. They know that they have to be ready in every way — not just ready for the game, but ready on every possession — and give their all. We learned a lot about that."

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Minnesota freshman forward Josh Martin is leaving. The kid looked like a nice player.

"It was a surprise to us, but that was the decision he made and we respect it," Gophers coach Richard Pitino said. "Every kid is different, every personality is different. More than anything, we move on and I think the guys in the locker room love our chemistry. I think they're still extremely excited about the guys in this locker room."

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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