FanNation

Instead of ranking the entire country in college basketball, I will just rank the teams in Indiana.  This season for Indiana basketball is definitely better than it has been in past years.  Four teams could make it in as an at-large in the NCAA Tournament, and there are a few that could win their conference.  Indiana only has 10 Division 1-A basketball teams, but they have a lot of talent and will contend for league and national championships.

1. Butler Bulldogs (Horizon): Butler is not ranked the highest in the AP poll, but Butler is better than IU.  They are returning seven of their eight leading scorers from last year's Sweet 16 team.  AJ Graves is an amazing shooter.  Mike Green is a very competent point guard.  Matt Howard is one of the best sixth men in the state, and he was a top 100 recruit.  The Bulldogs won the Great Alaska Shootout and are currently undefeated.

2. Indiana Hoosiers (Big Ten): IU and Butler are almost 1A and 1B, but Indiana has lost a game, even though it was to Xaiver.  The Hoosiers have improved from last year after the addition of Eric Gordon, a top 5 recruit.  Gordon is already an All-American candidate, and he may be the best freshman in the country.  DJ White and Armon Bassett are both great scorers, and IU has numerous other new faces who have made a big difference.

3. Purdue Boilermakers (Big Ten): Purdue definitely stayed in state this season.  Four of their freshmen are from Indiana, including E'Twaun Moore from East Chicago Central and JaJuan Johnson from Franklin Central.  Purdue is very young, but they are showing that they can contend in the Big Ten.  Their only loss is to number 18 Clemson.

4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Big East): Like Purdue, the Irish are very young, but they can win.  The Irish have a 22 game home winning streak.  The Irish do not play a tough non-conference, but they have played two good teams.  The only problem is they lost.  Georgia Tech and Baylor defeated Notre Dame on buzzer beaters in the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.  The Irish's only senior is Rob Kurz, a big man with a good shot.  Kyle McAlarney and Tory Jackson are good passers, and Luke Harangody is a great big man who is only 6-8 but plays like he is 7-8.

5. Valparaiso Crusaders (Horizon): Valpo moved up in conferences, going from the Summit League to the Horizon League.  In the Summit, they had to worry about IUPUI and Oral Roberts.  Now, Butler and Wright State are in their conference.  Valpo will have to be able to pull an upset in the tourney, because this conference seems locked up.  Valpo's only loss is to Vanderbilt.  Crusader fans are looking to January 5th when they take on Butler, a game that could decide the regular season in the Horizon.

6. IUPUI Jaguars (Summit): IUPUI has lost rival Valpo, but they have also lost a competitor.  Now, it looks like IUPUI is a favorite in the Summit for the conference's bid in the NCAA Tournament.  The Jags are led by star guard George Hill, who had an amazing freshman year.  Now, he is coming off of an injury.  IUPUI scared Marquette, but couldn't pull off the upset.  Portland State beat the Jags in a thriller, but besides those two games, IUPUI has been magnificent.

7. Indiana State Sycamores (Missouri Valley): Indiana State is long past the days of Larry Bird, but they are still competitive in a major conference.  Indiana State is 3-3 with losses to teams who were NCAA Tourney teams last year: Butler, North Texas, and Purdue.  The team is very balanced with no player scoring more than 11 points per game.

8. Evansville Aces (Missouri Valley): Evansville is struggling mightly.  They only have one win over winless Ball State by one point.  Besides that win, they have been terrible.  Evansville will have to do better to compete in the Valley.  The only bright spot is that there are no seniors on this team.

9. IPFW Mastadons (Summit): IPFW is in its first season in a conference.  Their coach, Dane Fife, is only 26 years old and played in an NCAA Championship game: five years ago!  Fife has done a good job leading the Mastadons to 12 wins last season.  Now, he has to contend in the Summit.  No one can say that they overscheduled.  They have two wins over DII schools.  They will have to play better against better teams to move up on this poll.

10. Ball State Cardinals (Mid-American): Ball State is struggling over the Ronny Thompson incident.  It seemed like they had great potential under the son of a great coach, John Thompson.  The Cardinals have no wins right now.  Thompson quit, and they might get sanctions because of him.  There are racism claims by Thompson, and problems are overwhelming this team.  This season will go down as one of the worst in state history.