In any sport, there is always a conversation of whether a team is built for regular season success or for a potential playoff run.

It’s that way in the NBA, Major League Baseball and in college basketball, where the playoff -- the 68-team NCAA Tournament -- is the crown jewel of the sport.

But can a team really be built for one and not the other?

On Monday's Big Ten teleconference, most coaches agreed that when it comes to tournament play, the strongest teams have good, experienced guards to lead them. Last year’s national champion, Duke, had Nolan Smith. Michigan State, which made the Final Four, had Kalin Lucas.

“You’ve got to have some good players across the board,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “But you’ve got to have some guards.”

Part of the reason is that in close games, guards are more in control of the ball and can also take defenders off the dribble and can create in late shot-clock situations with the game on the line.

In the Big Ten, all of the main contenders have good guards: Purdue (E’Twaun Moore), Ohio State (David Lighty, William Buford), Wisconsin (Jordan Taylor), Penn State (Talor Battle), Illinois (Demetri McCamey), Michigan State (Lucas) and Michigan (Darius Morris).

"When it’s one-and-done time, your margin for error is so small," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "That’s why they always say good guards are key, because they can control the ball and make better decisions."

Big Week No Big Ten team has a bigger upcoming week than Penn State.

The Nittany Lions, who are currently tied for fourth in the conference with Michigan State and Illinois, play league leader and potential NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed Ohio State on Tuesday night.

A win over the Buckeyes, on Penn State’s senior night, might be the difference between an NCAA Tournament bid and some NIT games.

“We’ve got our own motivation,” Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. “It didn’t matter who came in tomorrow night, it’s a very important game for us.”

While true, being able to add a win over Ohio State to a resume that already features wins over Michigan State, Illinois and Wisconsin could be the difference.

Playing well No team in the Big Ten is playing better right now than Purdue, which has won six straight games, including wins over Wisconsin (70-62) and Ohio State (76-63). The Boilermakers, who are led by seniors Moore and JaJuan Johnson, were mentioned as a Final Four contender before Robbie Hummel tore his ACL in the preseason.

Now, they are being looked at in the same light again.

“We’ve made some good decisions,” Painter said. “And done a good job taking care of the basketball.”

Purdue (24-5, 13-3) has an outside shot of winning the Big Ten regular season title. If the Boilermakers sweep Illinois and Iowa this week, they'll need Ohio State (27-2, 14-2) to lose to either Penn State or Wisconsin to share the title.

This and that Iowa coach Fran McCaffery has been impressed by home crowds at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season even though the Hawkeyes are struggling. Announced attendance at eight home Big Ten games averaged 12,195. Earlier this month, the Cedar Rapids Gazette documented the Hawkeyes' ticket sales rebound after "the program plummeted to astounding lows last season." … JaJuan Johnson was named the league’s Player of the Week and Michigan freshman Tim Hardaway Jr. was named the league’s Freshman of the Week for the third straight week and fourth time overall. … Indiana coach Tom Crean skipped the call again — he’s notorious for doing that — and assistant coach Steve McClain filled in.

Michael Rothstein covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.