- The schedule for the 2012 Big Ten/ACC Challenge has been released. Ohio State at Duke and North Carolina at Indiana seem to be the most intriguing match-ups during this annual tradition between the conferences. In an era of constant conference realignment, this challenge still garners national attention and is one of the best non-conference events of the entire college basketball season.
- Michigan State’s Derrick Nix has been sentenced to community service for his recent charge of driving while impaired. Tom Izzo has reinstated him onto the team but will need Nix to be a mature leader next season after the departure of senior All-American Draymond Green. Nix and Adreian Payne have the post moves in the paint to complement the guard play of Keith Appling and Branden Dawson next season, which makes Michigan State once again one of the favorites to win the regular season.
- Speaking of Tom Izzo, Michael Rosenberg believes that the Michigan State head coach could be a potential candidate to take over USA Basketball after Coach K steps down following the London Olympics. Izzo certainly has the basketball acumen and his leadership abilities are impeccable, which makes him an excellent candidate to take over the team. The Big Ten would have a great representative at the national stage if Izzo does succeed Coach K into the head coaching position.
- It is never too late to go back to school, the saying goes. To that end, Hall Of Fame coach Don Nelson finished his degree at the University of Iowa after 50 years away from campus. He was eight credits shy of a degree, which he finished over the last few months now that he’s retired after winning 1,335 games in the NBA. Nelson started his career at Iowa in 1959 and was selected to the All-American team twice before he left Iowa City and began a half-century career in the pro game.
- Nebraska head coach Tim Miles signed a seven-year contract that will pay him $1.4 million annually and $2.15 million in the 2018-19 season. The contract is the longest and richest in the history of Nebraska basketball, and Miles has a tough task of meeting expectations of leading the Huskers to NCAA Tournament appearances over the next few seasons. Athletic Director Tom Osborne has made it clear that Nebraska is committed to building a good basketball program to complement its football history, and this contract certainly indicates that the program may be on the right track.