B1G Power Rankings: Top Three Reign

1.) Wisconsin 15-0 (2-0), Last week (1): Wisconsin looked great in its opening B1G game, but Northwestern will make most teams look great. Still, a 27-point road victory is impressive in conference play. Iowa nearly upset Wisky, but the Badgers came out on top. Ben Brust led the way with 19 points. This is the program’s first 15-0 start in 100 seasons, and there are no signs of slowing down. With an incredibly easy schedule for Big Ten standards, Wisconsin is poised to roll through the Big Ten until February. (Upcoming: Illinois 1/8)

2.) Ohio State 15-0 (2-0), Last week (2): Ohio State was tested early when it traveled to West Lafayette. A close game throughout, the Buckeyes eventually defeated the Boilermakers by nine. OSU ended the week with a 31-point thrashing of Nebraska, highlighted by its elite defense. The offense is lacking a bit, but the Buckeyes’ defense can carry them through a bad shooting night. The number one team in the KenPom Rankings will face a huge test when visiting Lansing this Tuesday in a matchup of top five teams. Will Ohio State prove itself as a legit contender? (Upcoming: @Michigan State 1/7, Iowa 1/12)

3.) Michigan State 13-1 (2-0), Last week (3): Bad news for college basketball: Sparty is finally healthy. Michigan State’s starters seem to have healed up, and are now ready to take over. After a sloppy first half at Penn State, the Spartans outscored the Nittany Lions by 23 in the second to score a 16-point victory. MSU later waltzed into Assembly Hall, and overpowered the Indiana Hoosiers for a 17-point win. Essentially, Michigan State is finally looking like one of the best teams in the nation. After two big road wins, the Spartans welcome the Buckeyes to Lansing Tuesday in a battle for Big Ten supremacy. (Upcoming: Ohio State 1/7, Minnesota 1/11)

4.) Illinois 13-2 (2-0), Last week (5): The Fighting Illini survived a scare when Indiana took them to overtime in Champaign. Illinois, led by an outstanding performance from Rayvonte Rice, was ultimately too much for the Hoosiers and opened conference play with an 83-80 victory. John Groce’s squad had a much easier time handling Penn State, cruising to a 75-55 home win. The Illini have the makings of a low top 25 team, and will get their first big conference test, as it heads to Madison to take on Wisconsin. It’s safe to say this team has slightly exceeded expectations. Will it keep up the pace or crumble in the coming weeks? (Upcoming: @Wisconsin 1/8, @Northwestern 1/12)

5.) Iowa 12-3 (1-1), Last week (4): The Hawkeyes are down just one spot to five. Iowa beat Nebraska by ten at home before facing Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. After taking a nine-point lead into the half, things went south in the second. Fran McCaffrey had an epic meltdown, which led to an ejection, while his team was outscored 51-36 in the second. Iowa outplayed Wisconsin at Wisconsin for most of the night, and probably should have won. While Michigan didn’t suffer a loss, it’s hard to drop Iowa all the way to six. Maybe Fran can keep his cool this week. His team will need it. (Upcoming: Northwestern 1/9, @Ohio State 1/12)

6.) Michigan 10-4 (2-0), Last week (8): The Wolverines are the highest risers this week, jumping up two spots to six. While many believed Michigan would stumble without star Mitch McGary, the team appears fine after outlasting Minnesota on the road. Zak Irvin led the way with 15 points on 5-8 three-point shooting, and Nik Stauskas scored 14. This week also featured a 23-point win over Northwestern. UM remains a top 20 KenPom team, and has the tools to win even with McGary on the sidelines. It’ll be interesting to see how its season progresses. The Wolverines have an easy week. (Upcoming: Nebraksa 1/9)

7.) Minnesota 12-3 (1-1), Last week (6): The collective blood pressure of Gopher faithful can’t be good. Three points decided each of Minnesota’s games this week, with the team finishing 1-1. The fan base can feel positive, but not great after the start. The Golden Gophers narrowly lost to Michigan, and squeaked out a win over Purdue. As Pitino grows, so will this team. Right now, it is a borderline tournament team, but there are chances to improve its résumé. The Hollins brothers must continue to step up. (Upcoming: @Penn State 1/8, @Michigan State 1/11)

8.) Indiana 10-5 (0-2), Last week (7): “There are troubling times in the kingdom.” Indiana could’ve had a nice week, one that would have built their tournament résumé. Instead, a case can be made that the Hoosiers gave away a game on the road and were flat bad at home. Turning the ball over 23 – yes, 23 – times and making two whole baskets in the final 16 minutes of the game led to a three-point loss at Illinois. Fast forward to Saturday, and Sparty manhandled the Hoosiers at home. Poeroy is now projecting IU to finish 15-16, which doesn’t sit well with Hoosier Nation. A “Fire Crean” bandwagon is the opening stages of development, while low expectations are sinking even lower. Although they only have one game this week, the Hoosiers have a lot of questions to answer. (Upcoming: @Penn State 1/11)

9.) Purdue 10-5 (0-2), Last Week (9): The Boilermakers put up a noble fight at home against Ohio State on New Year’s Eve, but came up just short. If AJ Hammons can contribute anything close to 18 and 16 night in and night out like he did against the Buckeyes, Purdue can upset its fair share of teams. Hammons was non-existent against Minnesota, and, not shockingly, Purdue lost. If the Boilermakers want to go anywhere this season, Hammons needs to step up and be the player he is capable of being. The bad news: That’s a lot easier said than done. (Upcoming: Nebraska 1/12)

10.) Penn State 9-6 (0-2), Last week (10): Things started out great for the Nittany Lions when they look a seven point lead over Michigan State into halftime New Year’s Eve. In its next three halves, however, Penn State was outscored by 43 points. The Spartans bottled up Tim Frazier, and PSU’s top players were held in check by Illinois. This team can’t afford that if it wants to win some games in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions have two winnable home games this week, and need to capitalize. (Upcoming: Minnesota 1/8, Indiana 1/11)

11.) Nebraska 8-6 (0-2), Last week (11): The Cornhuskers had arguably the toughest opening week, which featured road games at Iowa and Ohio State. Tim Miles’ squad fought hard in a ten-point loss to Iowa, but suffered a 31-point defeat to Ohio State. It’s going to be a rough, long year for the Huskers, but at least Northwestern will save them from the 12 spot. (Upcoming: Michigan 1/9, @Purdue 1/12)

12.) Northwestern 7-8 (0-2), Last week (12): The Wildcats lost by 27 and 23 this week. Sadly, that may be the norm this season. Chris Collins may be the right man to build this program, but year one will not be fun, as it’s hard to see a victory in the near future. (Upcoming: @Iowa 1/9, Illinois 1/12)

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