It's not an accident that Meechigan and Wisconsin keep making it this far. Throw in Michigan St. most years. Ditto Ohio State. Painter does an excellent job with Purdue. If IU finds anyone decent, they'll be back in the top 20 year-after-year. Take Northwestern: had they had Dererk Pardon (their true MVP) in their game against ND early in the year, they'd have won by 8-10 points. And they just got into the Tournament.
Most everyone has remarked on how great a move it was for ND into the ACC. I loved the Big East and miss it a lot. There was a bit of a recruiting niche for ND in that league. I'm not seeing it in the ACC.