I think people need to remember that these are true basketball guys we are talking about; with very few exceptions, the types of guys we'd be going after don't want a cushy job in a cool city (think USC).
They're winners, and they grew up following the sport. Lawrence, KS is no different than Champaign (nice, true college town in the middle of cornfields, not overly far from a big metro), and coaches don't give a rat's a5s. They want to go where they think the infrastructure is there to build a program that has a shot at getting them to a Final Four, and that infrastructure includes good recruiting grounds nearby, facilities they can show off to those recruits, a passionate fan following/good gameday atmosphere they can both show off to recruits and use to steal a home win or two, historical success they can build off of and an administration that will support them, both morally and financially.
I think we check all the boxes. Within the Big Ten - IF you take out personal ties - I think coaches would rank the jobs like this:
TIER ONE
Indiana ... former Blue Blood, enough said
TIER TWO
Illinois - We all know the advantages we enjoy
Maryland - See Illinois' advantages
Michigan State - Izzo has turned this into a top-notch job, and I don't see that changing
Ohio State - Backseat to football but similar advantages to Illinois and Maryland
TIER THREE
Michigan - Share the state of Michigan with MSU and a clear backseat to football but a ton of advantages, too
Purdue - Great basketball tradition/support but share Indiana with IU, Notre Dame and now Butler ... facilities lacking
Wisconsin - Great facilities and fan support, and I think Ryan permanently elevated that program
TIER FOUR
Iowa - Decent job but not overly easy to craft a consistent winner there
Minnesota - No instate competition and decent fan support, cool gym, but not much history to build on
Nebraska - Great facilities and fan support, but poor recruiting location, backseat to football and almost no history
TIER FIVE
Northwestern - Academic restrictions, zero history, crap facilities
Penn State - Really should be a much, much better job, but the hole is dug too deep ... could easily skyrocket in the next 3-4 decades with the right leadership
Rutgers - See Penn State
None of this is to comment on the current state of these programs ... for example, we are a dumpster fire, and NU is lookin' real nice under Collins. This is what I think would be the pecking order if all Big Ten coaches were magically fired, and we all had until Fall 2017 to find a replacement.