While having three of your games pulled from broadcast television and shown only on limited outlets might not hurt the juggernaut that is OSU football recruiting, having nearly half of your basketball games hidden from sight just might.

Many of the games now on the Big Ten Network are watched by a fraction of the viewers who would see them when the games were on one of the ESPN channels.  So what?

I’ll tell you.  Think of a talented kid who plays basketball out in Los Angeles, California.  He’s going to consider scholarship offers from teams he has seen and liked.  In the past, he could see a team like Michigan State or Wisconsin and decide whether his style fit their program.  But what are the chances that a kid living in Los Angeles will have a subscription to the Big Ten Network?  Zero.

So when MSU coach Tom Izzo comes calling and tells the kid he wants him to come to East Lansing, that kid is going to wonder four things:  1) Who is Tom Izzo?; 2) Where is East Lansing?; and 3) Does MSU play in Division 1?; and 4) What style of basketball is played at MSU?

Tom Izzo is going to wonder only one thing.  Why am I not getting any out of state recruits?  But he won’t wonder that for very long.  He’s a smart guy.

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