We are now in the thick of Big Ten play and the clouded
picture that was the conference outlook is starting to clear up a little bit.
Here are my updated Big Ten college basketball power
rankings:
1. Michigan (19-1,
6-1) – I still feel that the Wolverines and Indiana are the top two teams
in the Big Ten, but both teams have to show they can win some big games on the
road. Michigan has three of its next four on
the road against Indiana , Wisconsin
and Michigan State
2. Indiana Indiana
has looked average at times and has appeared very beatable at home. Though
their toughest road games are still later in the season, the Hoosiers host Michigan on Saturday in
a huge game.
3. Michigan State
(17-4, 6-2) – Michigan State looked impressive in a loss at Indiana . The Spartans
have been the most surprising team to me, in a good way. I didn’t expect MSU to
have the talent to compete night-in and night-out in the Big Ten. MSU has
competed, and it showed at Indiana
that it can possibly win this conference.
4. Ohio State Ohio State still has to head to Ann
Arbor and Bloomington ,
and they still have to host the Hoosiers on Feb. 10.
5. Wisconsin
(14-6, 5-2) – The Badgers have established themselves as a contender thanks
to a big win at Indiana .
Despite that, Wisconsin still lacks a lot of
scoring, which sets up losses to teams like Iowa . If the Badgers can find more
consistent scoring, they can be a tough team to beat going forward.
6. Minnesota Minnesota has lost four straight. Three of
the losses have been on the road and three have been to three of the top five
teams on this list. With the schedule getting a little lighter going forward, look
for Minnesota
to work its way up the standings.
7. Purdue (11-9, 4-3)
– The Boilermakers are young and have had trouble keeping pace with the
high-scoring teams in the conference, but they still have beaten the lesser
teams in the Big Ten. It’s possible Purdue could make the NCAA Tournament if it
continues to beat the bottom half of the conference.
8. Illinois
(15-6, 2-5) – The Fighting Illini had a great non-conference season,
beating the likes of Butler and Gonzaga, but Illinois has not been
very good in conference play. The Illini have some talent, but it isn’t
translating into wins right now. Illinois has
MSU, Wisconsin and Indiana in its next three games.
9. Iowa Michigan was really able to blow Iowa
out of the water, as the Hawkeyes lost to Indiana by four and MSU by three. Iowa has beaten the likes of Northwestern and Wisconsin and now have a
stretch of winnable games.
10. Northwestern
(12-9, 3-5) – The Wildcats have been hot and cold. They have beaten the
likes of Illinois and Minnesota
but suffered a 20-point loss at home to Iowa
and a 15-point loss at Nebraska .
If Northwestern can find some consistency, it can perhaps play spoiler for a
few Big Ten teams in the second half of the conference season.
11. Nebraska
(11-10, 2-6) – Not much was expected of Nebraska in basketball when it joined the
Big Ten, and the Cornhuskers haven’t provided much. But, they can be happy they
are not Penn State
12. Penn State (8-12,
0-8) – There really is nothing positive to say about the Nittany Lions right
now. Penn State
can’t even get past Nebraska .
Seven of the eight conference losses have been by at least nine points.
So, now that you have seen my rankings, who do you see as
the favorite to win the Big Ten right now?
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