Power Ranking the Big Ten Basketball Teams Midway Through Conference Play
A lot can change in the span of two weeks, especially during the wild, unpredictable 2015-16 college basketball season.
When we debuted our Big Ten conference power rankings 14 days ago, the Michigan State Spartans were a team set to distance themselves from the pack with Denzel Valentine back in the lineup. Instead, the Spartans dropped three consecutive games and were on the verge of falling out of the AP Top 25 with another defeat.
Farther down the standings, the Nebraska Cornhuskers were set for a season at the bottom half of the Big Ten. But in its last four games, Tim Miles' side has won all but one game and beat Michigan State at the Breslin Center.
As much as things have changed recently, some have stayed the same. The Indiana Hoosiers and Iowa Hawkeyes are still red-hot, while the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Minnesota Golden Gophers are anchored to the bottom of the standings.
Due to the topsy-turvy nature of the season to date, only four teams remained in the same spot we had them in two weeks ago, and two of them were Rutgers and Minnesota.
Continue reading to see who landed where in our latest Big Ten power rankings.
Nos. 14-10 Rutgers-Penn State
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No. 14 Rutgers (6-14, 0-7 Big Ten; Previous Ranking: 14)
Instead of mentioning all the negative things about the Rutgers basketball program—and there are many of them—let's focus on the one positive: The Scarlet Knights gave Iowa a bit of a test on Thursday at home. The 14-point loss to the Hawkeyes was the lowest margin the Scarlet Knights were defeated by since the conference opener against Indiana.
No. 13 Minnesota (6-14, 0-8; 13)
Minnesota earns a slightly better position than the other winless team in Big Ten play because it hasn't been blown out in almost every game since the calendar flipped to January. The Golden Gophers have lost by a combined 17 points in their last three contests.
No. 12 Illinois (10-10, 2-5; 10)
Since their surprising win over the Purdue Boliermakers on January 10, the Illinois Fighting Illini fell to Nebraska and Indiana before beating up on lowly Minnesota. In Saturday's win over the Golden Gophers, Michael Finke pulled down the most rebounds by an Illini player since 2011, per the team's official Twitter account.
No. 11 Northwestern (15-6, 3-5; 7)
The Northwestern Wildcats are trending downward, and the hopes of qualifying for the NCAA men's basketball tournament are sinking fast in Evanston, Illinois. After falling to the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Wildcats dropped contests to the Maryland Terrapins and Indiana. We could easily see Northwestern at 3-7 in the Big Ten since Michigan State and Iowa are next up on its schedule.
No. 10 Penn State (11-10, 2-6; 12)
Penn State may have a worse record than Northwestern, but the Nittany Lions are ranked above the Wildcats because they won the game between the two teams on January 16 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. An unexpected win on the road is a nice result for Penn State, whose only remaining conference wins could come at the hands of Rutgers, Northwestern and Illinois.
9. Wisconsin
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Record: (11-9, 3-4)
Previous Ranking: 9
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The Wisconsin Badgers recovered from a three-game losing streak with wins over Michigan State and Penn State in the last week. The 77-76 victory over the Spartans on January 17 at the Kohl Center was the highlight of Wisconsin's Big Ten season to date. But the Badgers responded to that win by beating the Nittany Lions by only six on the road in their next game.
The Badgers are an ordinary, middle-of-the-pack team this season, and unless something drastically changes over the next few weeks, they will remain in the bottom half of the conference standings.
By the numbers
Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes combined for 52 of the team's 77 points in the upset win over Michigan State. Koenig earned his season high in points with 27, while Hayes' 25 was his second-largest total of the 2015-16 campaign.
Hayes has scored in double digits in all but one of Wisconsin's Big Ten games. The junior forward is averaging 16.2 points per game in conference play.
8. Ohio State
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Record: 13-8, 5-3
Previous Ranking: 5
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The Ohio State Buckeyes caught our attention two weeks ago after reeling off three consecutive victories, but they have not fared well against the top teams in the league. Thad Matta's team lost by a combined 61 points to Indiana, Maryland and Purdue.
The defeats to Indiana and Maryland were both by 25 points, while the Buckeyes fell to Purdue by 11. Luckily for the Buckeyes, they have been able to beat up on the weaker teams in the conference, including Penn State, who they beat by 20 on Monday night. Ohio State should remain among the second tier of teams in the Big Ten because of its schedule, but a brutal three-game stretch to end the regular season could knock it back to reality.
By the numbers
In the pair of 25-point losses to Indiana and Maryland, the Buckeyes shot under 40 percent. In the 100-65 loss to Maryland on January 16, the Buckeyes were 3-of-12 from the three-point line and were outrebounded 35-30.
Keita Bates-Diop led the Buckeyes in scoring with 22 points in the victory over Penn State. The standout performance from the sophomore came four days after he failed to score against Purdue.
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7. Nebraska
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Record: 12-9. 4-4
Previous Ranking: 11
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Nebraska boosted its stock over the last two weeks as it moved to .500 in conference play by way of a three-game winning streak. In the final game of the three-game run, the Cornhuskers downed Michigan State at the Breslin Center. Very few teams below Nebraska in the standings will even come close to challenging the Spartans in East Lansing, Michigan, for the rest of the year.
Although the Cornhuskers didn't earn any more sexy wins, they also didn't tarnish their resume with bad losses. Nebraska beat the teams it was supposed to and fell in a toss-up game with the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday.
By the numbers
Senior forward Shavon Shields tied his season high of 28 points in the upset win over Michigan State. He previously scored 28 against the Miami Hurricanes on December 1.
Shields has found his way into double digits in his last seven games, and he has 18 games of 10 points or more this season.
6. Purdue
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Record: 17-4, 5-3
Previous Ranking: 6
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The highlight of the last 14 days for Purdue was its 50-point blowout of Rutgers on January 18. But the Boilermakers were unable to make a statement on Sunday, falling by 12 points to Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Entering the final week of January, the Boilermakers do not have a win against a team in the AP Top 25, and they are in need of a signature victory in conference play. Purdue will get two chances to beat a ranked opponent at the start of February when it visits Maryland and hosts Michigan State.
By the numbers
Freshman Caleb Swanigan's seven double-doubles are the most by a first-year player at Purdue, and he ranks fifth in program history for double-doubles in a season, per the team's official Twitter account.
Five different players, including Swanigan, recorded more than 10 points in the rout of Rutgers. Despite scoring 107 points as a team, no Purdue player had more than 12 in the victory.
5. Michigan
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Record: 15-5, 5-2
Previous Ranking: 8
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Michigan comes into the last week of January with three wins in its last four games. That run began when the Wolverines upset Maryland 70-67 on January 12 at Crisler Arena. Although Purdue beat them head-to-head, the Wolverines have one more Top 25 victory on their resume than the Boilermakers.
The Wolverines should experience an easy end to the first month of 2016 with Rutgers and Penn State on the slate. Things get tougher for Michigan at the start of February, as four of its first six games are against ranked opponents beginning on February 2 at home against Indiana.
By the numbers
Sophomore Duncan Robinson has scored in double digits in four of his last five games, including a 21-point performance his last time out on the floor against Nebraska.
While the Wolverines still miss the presence of Caris LeVert on the court, Robinson, Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr. are giving Michigan a big boost in the scoring column. All three players average over 10 points per game.
4. Michigan State
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Record: 17-4, 4-4
Previous Ranking: 2
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Michigan State learned a lot about itself over the last two weeks by struggling during a three-game losing streak and beating Maryland on Saturday night. Michigan State fans had plenty to be concerned about during the skid that featured losses at home to Iowa and Nebraska. But Tom Izzo's squad restored their faith with the big win over Maryland.
As a reward for beating the Terrapins at home, Michigan State has a two-game swing against Northwestern and Rutgers ahead in the next seven days. Back-to-back road trips to Michigan and Purdue to start February will hand the Spartans their next true conference tests.
By the numbers
Matt Costello and Denzel Valentine turned in tremendous performances against Maryland. Costello contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Valentine was two assists away from a triple-double.
In addition to that production, Bryn Forbes scored 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The other seven players who stepped on the court on Saturday combined for 15 points.
3. Maryland
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Record: 17-3, 6-2
Previous Ranking: 1
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Maryland may not be a better team than Michigan State when March rolls around, but right now, the Terrapins have the better Big Ten record—which is why we decided to keep them ahead of Michigan State for another week.
Mark Turgeon's team has held serve at home in conference play despite facing tests from Penn State and Northwestern. Maryland's two conference losses have come in the state of Michigan. If Maryland wins the remainder of its home games and at least three road contests, it will be at or near the top of the Big Ten at the end of the regular season.
By the numbers
In the loss to Michigan, the Maryland backcourt was shut down. Melo Trimble was held to two points, and the only key contributors for the Terrapins were frontcourt players. Against Michigan State, the paint players struggled as Diamond Stone, Damonte Dodd and Michal Cekovsky combined to score 13 points. Forward Robert Carter had that many points by himself on Saturday.
2. Indiana
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Record: 17-3, 7-0
Previous Ranking: 4
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Indiana is one of the hottest teams in the nation, and it looks like the Hoosiers won't be slowing down anytime soon. The Hoosiers' current 12-game winning streak has moved them up to 19th in the AP poll, and it has secured an NCAA tournament berth no matter how things go from here.
But there are some doubters out there because the Hoosiers haven't played anyone of significance during their red-hot run through December and January. Indiana plays three of its next four on the road before facing Iowa at home on February 11. Four or five wins during that stretch would solidify Indiana as one of the teams to watch entering the final third of the season.
By the numbers
Yogi Ferrell earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors for his 33 combined points against Illinois and Northwestern over the last seven days. Ferrell has failed to reach double digits just twice this season, and he is averaging 18.4 points per game in the last 12 contests.
Freshman Thomas Bryant has also come alive as of late with four double-digit point performances in his last six games. The young center is averaging 11.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
1. Iowa
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Record: 16-3, 7-0
Previous Ranking: 3
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Four wins over Michigan State and Purdue have helped Iowa solidify its status as the best team in the Big Ten. While Indiana has earned its perfect conference record with wins over the teams in the bottom half of the standings, the Hawkeyes have beaten the Spartans and Boilermakers twice and Michigan once. A win over Maryland on Thursday could send the Hawkeyes into February with an unblemished Big Ten mark.
If the Hawkeyes go into the Xfinity Center and beat Maryland, they will be on a collision course with Indiana ahead of their February 11 clash at Assembly Hall. If they beat their next two ranked opponents, the Hawkeyes have a chance of going unbeaten in league play.
By the numbers
Jarrod Uthoff may be getting all the national attention right now, but Peter Jok deserves credit for Iowa's hot run of form in the Big Ten as well. Jok scored a total of 66 points in the four wins over Michigan State and Purdue, and he racked up 27 in the 90-76 road win over Rutgers.
As for Uthoff, he has recorded over 20 points in five of his last six games, including a 22-point outing in Sunday's victory over Purdue. If he isn't already, Uthoff deserves to be in the National Player of the Year discussion.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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