Updated Big Ten Power Rankings for the 2015-16 NCAA Basketball Season
The last seven days of action in the Big Ten Conference were supposed to give us a bit of clarity in the race for the regular-season title and for NCAA men's basketball tournament berths.
However, once the week concluded with the Michigan State Spartans' blowout win over the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday, we were left with the same amount of chaos throughout the Big Ten standings.
Each of the four teams that were in the AP Top 25 went 1-1, while Indiana, who entered at No. 22 on Monday, also split its games in the last seven days.
But the team everyone is talking about in the Midwest and beyond is the Wisconsin Badgers, who added to their seven-game winning streak with victories over the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Maryland Terrapins.
Due to the terrific streak put together by the Badgers, and the average weeks put in by each of the ranked teams in the Big Ten, they soared up our weekly Big Ten power rankings once again.
Continue reading to see where the Badgers and the other 13 teams in the league landed in this week's power rankings.
Nos. 14-10: Rutgers-Northwestern
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14. Rutgers (Record: 6-19 Overall, 0-12 Big Ten; Previous Ranking: 14)
Before Monday, Corey Sanders was the lone bright spot in a terrible season for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Sanders was suspended on Monday for two weeks due to a violation of team rules, per the Big Ten Network (via the AP). The talented freshman leads the team in scoring with 16.2 points per game. Things didn't go too well on the court either for Rutgers, as it fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes 79-69 on Saturday.
13. Minnesota (6-19, 0-13; 13)
The Minnesota Golden Gophers gave the Michigan Wolverines and Iowa Hawkeyes a pair of tests this week, but they were unable to earn their first conference victory. Minnesota outscored Michigan in the second half on Wednesday, but it lost by eight at home. The Golden Gophers did the same on the road on Sunday against Iowa, but they came up four points short.
12. Illinois (11-14, 3-9; 12)
The Illinois Fighting Illini came close to earning a victory in their lone contest of the week, but they fell by two to the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Kendrick Nunn led the Illini with 13 points in a game where three Illinois players found themselves in double figures.
11. Penn State (12-13, 3-9; 10)
In their only game this week, the Penn State Nittany Lions fell to Nebraska in Lincoln on Saturday. Penn State went into the half down by a point, but it only scored 23 points in the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Penn State's only win in its last six games is an upset over Indiana on February 6.
10. Northwestern (17-9, 5-8; 11)
Scottie Lindsey scored 18 points off the bench in Northwestern's win over Illinois at home on Saturday. The total was three less than the team recorded in the first half. The victory came four days after the Wildcats fell to Ohio State on the road by eight points.
9. Nebraska
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Record: 14-12, 6-7
Previous Ranking: 9
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We didn't learn anything new about Nebraska last week. The Cornhuskers lost to red-hot Wisconsin on Wednesday before knocking off Penn State at home on Saturday. If Nebraska wants to move back to .500 this week, it will have to beat Indiana at Assembly Hall on Wednesday.
By the numbers
Andrew White recorded a new career high in points on Saturday against Penn State with 35. White shot 11-of-17 from the field, and he made all seven of his free throws.
White has scored under 10 points on just four occasions this season, two of which have come in Big Ten play. Since scoring seven against Michigan State on January 20, White is averaging 19.6 points per game.
8. Ohio State
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Record: 16-10, 8-5
Previous Ranking: 8
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Ohio State was one of the few teams in the Big Ten to avoid a loss last week, but that task wasn't as hard as it seems when you look at who the Buckeyes played.
The Buckeyes defeated Northwestern and Rutgers by a combined 18 points, a pair of results that doesn't exactly impress the outside observer given the quality of those teams in conference play this season.
By the numbers
Ohio State's two wins over Northwestern have come by a total of 17 points. The Buckeyes also had trouble putting away Illinois in their two matchups with the Fighting Illini, as they only won by a combined seven points.
On Wednesday against Northwestern, all five starters scored 10 or more points. The points were not as spread out against Rutgers, as Keita Bates-Diop (24) and Jae'Sean Tate (22) recorded 46 of the team's 79 points.
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7. Purdue
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Record: 20-6, 8-5
Previous Ranking: 6
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The Purdue Boilermakers had a chance to make a statement last week, and they did to an extent until they lost to Michigan on Saturday.
Purdue earned its first signature win on Tuesday at home in overtime against Michigan State, but even earning that victory was a struggle, as the Boilermakers blew a 16-point halftime lead.
By the numbers
Purdue scored just 26 points in the second half at Mackey Arena in its win over the Spartans. The Boilermakers followed that up with 25 in the final 20 minutes in their loss at Michigan on Saturday.
If that trend continues, it's hard to see Purdue earning another critical resume-building win against either Indiana, Maryland or Wisconsin.
6. Michigan
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Record: 19-7, 9-4
Previous Ranking: 7
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Michigan moves ahead of Purdue this week for two reasons. The Wolverines won both of their contests in the last week, and they downed the Boilermakers at home on Saturday. The pair of wins helped Michigan recover from a rough week that saw it lose to Indiana and Michigan State.
Caris LeVert returned to the Michigan lineup for the win over Purdue. If LeVert hands Michigan a boost in big games against Maryland, Wisconsin and Iowa over the next few weeks, the Wolverines could find themselves in the NCAA tournament discussion.
By the numbers
LeVert did not score in his 11 minutes on the court on Saturday, but just having him back on the floor helps Michigan.
As for the players who did score against Purdue, Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr. combined to score the final 11 points of the game. Irvin led all scorers with 22 points.
5. Indiana
6 of 10
Record: 20-6, 10-3
Previous Ranking: 5
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Just like its in-state rival, Indiana threw away all the good it did during the middle of the week with a disappointing performance in a weekend loss. Indiana made waves in the regular-season title race with a win over Iowa on Thursday at Assembly Hall, but the Hoosiers failed to challenge Michigan State at the Breslin Center on Sunday.
The Hoosiers still control their destiny in the title race with games against Iowa and Maryland ahead in March, but they must beat Nebraska and Purdue in order to keep hope alive of winning the title outright instead of sharing with either Iowa or Maryland.
By the numbers
The Hoosiers attempted 55 three-point field goals in their two games over the last seven days. Indiana made nine of its 25 shots from beyond the arc against Iowa and went 11-of-30 from downtown versus Michigan State.
In the loss to the Spartans, the hosts shut out Troy Williams in the points column. Two of the four zero-point performances in Williams' college career have come against Michigan State. The other occurrence came on January 5, 2015.
4. Michigan State
7 of 10
Record: 21-5, 8-5
Previous Ranking: 3
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Michigan State rebounded from its overtime loss to Purdue with an emphatic victory over Indiana at home on Sunday.
Expect Michigan State to put itself into the national championship discussion over the next few weeks as it begins to get hot thanks to a light schedule to close out the regular season. The Spartans have the potential to go 5-0 to end the Big Ten schedule if they beat Wisconsin at home on Thursday.
By the numbers
Not only did Denzel Valentine score 30 points in the win over Indiana, he handed out a career-high 13 assists at the Breslin Center.
Matt Costello also recorded a career best of his own in the 88-69 win, as he scored 22 points. Costello also earned his seventh double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. One of those performances came against Wisconsin, which visits East Lansing, Michigan, on Thursday.
3. Maryland
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Record: 22-4, 10-3
Previous Ranking: 1
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Maryland lost its first conference game at home since joining the Big Ten, when the Terrapins fell by 13 points to Wisconsin on Saturday.
The defeat dropped the Terrapins four spots in the AP Top 25, and it put them a full game behind Iowa in the regular-season title race. The path to the title won't be easy for Mark Turgeon and company with Michigan, Purdue and Indiana left on the schedule.
By the numbers
Four different Maryland starters scored 10 or more points in the 70-57 loss to Wisconsin, but the Terrapins only received four points from their bench players.
Although they boast a 14-1 record at home, the Terrapins are 4-3 on their travels (4-0 neutral). Wins at Purdue and Indiana over the next three weeks would boost that away record and give Maryland a shot at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
2. Iowa
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Record: 20-5, 11-2
Previous Ranking: 2
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What could've been a horrible week for Iowa's regular-season title hopes turned into a decent one after Indiana and Maryland lost over the weekend.
The developments on Saturday and Sunday helped the Hawkeyes grab sole possession of first place once again with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
By the numbers
The five players in the Iowa starting lineup scored all 78 of the team's points in the loss to Indiana on Thursday. On Sunday against Minnesota, the Iowa bench combined to score six points.
Jarrod Uthoff's stat lines from the two games he played in last week were nearly identical. He recorded 24 points and made eight field goals in each contest. Uthoff was 6-of-8 from the line and 2-of-7 from three-point range against Indiana and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe and 1-of-7 from downtown in the win over Minnesota.
1. Wisconsin
10 of 10
Record: 16-9, 8-4
Previous Ranking: 4
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It's time to remove the interim tag from Greg Gard's title.
Since taking over for the retired Bo Ryan on December 15, Gard's Badgers have gone 10-4, including a seven-game winning streak. During its run, Wisconsin has defeated Michigan State, Indiana and Maryland.
With a 4-3 record against the AP Top 25 and an improving overall mark of 16-9, the Badgers are right in the middle of the bubble conversation. The Badgers could erase the bubble talk with wins over Michigan State, Iowa and Purdue during the final stretch of the regular season.
By the numbers
In the victories over Nebraska and Maryland, Vitto Brown scored a combined 39 points. The junior forward recorded a career high of 21 points in the 70-57 upset win over Maryland at the Xfinity Center three days after putting up 18 against the Cornhuskers.
Bronson Koenig, Zak Showalter and Nigel Hayes also found their ways into double digits in both wins by the red-hot Badgers.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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