Why does this happen every year?

At the beginning of the season, after the Big Ten teams won the ACC challenge and looked like a solid 6 bid conference, I noted that it would just be a matter of time before the media started crapping all over the Big Ten. Well, it's happened. now that Big Ten teams have started playing some real opponents (read, themselves) and have proven themselves to be generally competitive, it's a sign of weakness.
WHAT?!
There were 6 quality teams, and since Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin have started to separate themselves from the pack, that means every other team must be inferior? I don't understand the logic. What makes this increasingly frustrating is the look out east at the Big East. They apparently have 7 locks for the tournament. Why doesn't losing conference games affect them?
Of course, the tournament committee usually does an admirable job placing the teams without biases, so hopefully this bizarre media infatuation with crapping all over the Big Ten (I think it's actually painted inside Seth Davis' toilet) doesn't matter. And the Big Ten always comes to play come tournament time. At least we will prove it on the court.