Ohio State Football: Surprise teams the Big Ten should target

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 22: The Big Ten Conference logo is seen on the field during the Big Ten Football Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium on July 22, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 22: The Big Ten Conference logo is seen on the field during the Big Ten Football Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium on July 22, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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If the Big Ten wanted a basketball blue blood, they could try to add Duke to the conference. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports
If the Big Ten wanted a basketball blue blood, they could try to add Duke to the conference. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports /

Go straight basketball power

If the Big Ten wanted to just bring in the best talent in basketball there are a few compelling options.

The less likely would be going after North Carolina and Duke. While they have a long-standing tradition in the ACC, the Big Ten might be able to offer them a longer runway to greatness. The Big Ten historically brings in significantly more money than the ACC and that could help both schools in their athletics and academic pursuits. The biggest challenge here would be convincing both schools to leave the ACC together.

The Big Ten would obviously benefit most on the hardwood with both schools have decent but not great football. But bringing in two of the best basketball programs ever certainly wouldn’t hurt the conference.

This scenario would be exciting for the conference but would cause the biggest amount of waves across the rest of the country. Speculation tells us that the Big 12 may be the conference with teams jumping ship with the other four conferences preparing to potentially add schools.

Taking teams away from the ACC would be a huge coup that would leave the ACC (and some of the teams within the conference) scrambling, making this option the least likely.