By: NANCY ARMOUR (The Associated Press) –

INDIANAPOLIS — The buying prescription drugs online without a prescription Big Ten can be an easy mark.

Boring. Ugly. Obsessed with defense.

And those are some of the nicer things said about the conference’s heavy-contact, low-scoring games — by fans who didn’t rush for the remote when those games come on, that is.

But it’s the Big Ten that keeps getting the last laugh.

Michigan State’s appearance at this Final Four is its second straight and the third in four years by a Big Ten team. Since 2000, the Big Ten has had nine teams make the Final Four, second only to the Atlantic Coast Conference (10).

Oh, and while most leagues — ACC and Big 12, we’re talking to you — are built around one or two teams, the Big Ten is scary deep. Five different schools account for those nine Final Four appearances over the past 11 years. Four schools have played for the national title during the span, with Michigan State’s “Flintstones” winning it all in 2000.

“Prettiness isn’t what it’s all about. It’s about winning,” said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, whose Spartans are playing in their sixth Final Four since 1999, best current run of any school in the country. “I do stick up for our league. I do get disappointed sometimes that (the Big Ten) seems to get picked on. … I’ll put our coaches and conference up against anybody in the country.”

Poking fun at the Big Ten come basketball season has gotten so popular, the joke is “much maligned” ought to be an official part of the conference’s name. Part of the bias could be that most major media companies are located on the East Coast, making it easier for announcers and analysts to see — and appreciate — Big East and ACC teams.

The bigger issue is that Big Ten play is based on defense and the fundamentals coaches preach from the very first time a kid picks up a……

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