The Latest Big Ten Power Rankings for the 2015-16 NCAA Basketball Season
The latest twists and turns in the Big Ten regular-season title race were delivered over the last seven days, as two of the top contenders for the crown suffered upsets.
The big upsets across the Midwest also closed the gap at the bottom of the standings in the competition for seeding in the Big Ten tournament.
Due to last week's shocking results, we witnessed plenty of movement in our weekly Big Ten power rankings. Not only is there a new No. 1 team—11 squads shifted positions.
Continue reading to see who claimed the top spot and which teams moved where in our latest Big Ten power rankings.
Nos. 14-10: Rutgers-Nebraska
1 of 10
No. 14 Rutgers (6-21 Overall, 0-14 Big Ten; Previous Ranking: 14)
Plenty of things changed in our rankings this week, but one constant remained. That's right, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights are once again at the bottom of the list because of their winless conference record. The Scarlet Knights lost their two games this week by a combined 28 points to the Illinois Fighting Illini and Penn State Nittany Lions.
No. 13 Illinois (12-15, 4-10; 12)
We really can't reward Illinois for beating Rutgers, especially since other teams above it on this list recorded better victories over the last seven days. The Illini have lost three of their last four games after falling to the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday.
No. 12 Minnesota (7-19, 1-13; 13)
Not only did the Minnesota Golden Gophers earn their first conference victory on Thursday, but they did it against a ranked opponent. Richard Pitino's squad beat the Maryland Terrapins, who were without Diamond Stone, despite having two starters record zero points. Joey King contributed 15 key points off the pine in the upset.
No. 11 Northwestern (17-10, 5-9; 10)
After all of the developments over the last week, the Northwestern Wildcats are one of two Big Ten teams without a win over a team in the AP Top 25. In their final game against a ranked opponent this season, the Wildcats fell to the Purdue Boilermakers 71-61 on Tuesday.
No. 10 Nebraska (14-14, 6-9; 9)
The Nebraska Cornhuskers dropped a pair of games during the week to the Indiana Hoosiers and Ohio State Buckeyes. Tim Miles and company have lost three of their last four games and are in danger of finishing at .500 with three contests remaining.
9. Penn State
2 of 10
Record: 14-13, 5-9
Previous Ranking: 11
Big picture
If you told us two weeks ago that Penn State would beat Indiana and the Iowa Hawkeyes in consecutive home games, we would have laughed in your face for a good 10 minutes and then called you crazy.
But because the 2015-16 season has been one of the most unexpected in recent memory, Penn State has three wins in its last four games, including a pair over Indiana and Iowa at the Bryce Jordan Center.
By the numbers
Three Penn State players recorded at least 18 points in the victory over Iowa on Wednesday. Donovon Jack scored 19 points off the bench, while Shep Garner and Brandon Taylor tallied 18 apiece.
Jack carried his terrific shooting form into Saturday's win over Rutgers, as he contributed 12 points in the 70-58 road victory. The two-game stretch was the most successful of Jack's season to date.
8. Michigan
3 of 10
Record: 19-9, 9-6
Previous Ranking: 6
Big picture
The resume of the Michigan Wolverines took a big hit over the last seven days, as they fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes and Maryland.
Not only did Michigan's loss to rival Ohio State move the Wolverines back near the bubble, but it boosted the stock of the Buckeyes, who have a legitimate chance to make the field of 68 now.
By the numbers
The loss to Maryland moved Michigan's record against the AP Top 25 to 2-7. The two wins have come against Maryland and Purdue in conference play.
Mark Donnal led the Wolverines in points on Sunday against Maryland with 25. The forward was one of five starters to reach double digits. Donnal, who averages 8.1 points per game, averaged 21 points per contest last week.
.png?w=256 "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship")
7. Purdue
4 of 10
Record: 21-7, 9-6
Previous Ranking: 7
Big picture
Purdue looked to be on the right track after winning five of its last six games in January, but that momentum has stalled in February.
The Boilermakers are 2-3 in February and only have one more chance to impress against Maryland at Mackey Arena on Saturday.
By the numbers
Senior Rapheal Davis is in the middle of a shooting slump. Davis, who averages 8.8 points per game, has totaled six points in the last three games, including zero in the loss to Indiana on Saturday.
A.J. Hammons was on the opposite end of the spectrum last week, as he contributed 31 total points against Northwestern and Indiana. Hammons has scored over 10 points in his last nine games.
6. Ohio State
5 of 10
Record: 18-10, 10-5
Previous Ranking: 8
Big picture
Ohio State is getting hot at the right time. The Buckeyes have won their last four games and are into double digits in the conference win column.
Capturing at least one more win would help the Buckeyes' case to make the NCAA tournament. No team with 11 Big Ten wins or more has ever missed the Big Dance, per CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein. That task may be hard for the Buckeyes since they face Michigan State twice and host Iowa to close out the regular season.
By the numbers
The one part of Ohio State's resume that stands out against it is its 1-4 record against teams in the AP Top 25. Luckily the Buckeyes have three chances to earn signature wins over the next two weeks.
In their 65-62 win over Nebraska in overtime on Saturday, the Buckeyes received zero points from their bench. However, Ohio State saw four of its starters score at least 15 points in the road victory.
5. Wisconsin
6 of 10
Record: 17-10, 9-5
Previous Ranking: 1
Big picture
Wisconsin dropped back to reality on Thursday, as it fell to the Michigan State Spartans 69-57 at the Breslin Center.
The Badgers recovered from the loss in East Lansing, Michigan, with a nine-point victory over Illinois at home on Sunday. If Wisconsin wants to solidify its status in the top half of the Big Ten standings, it has to win at least one of its remaining contests against a ranked opponent.
By the numbers
Nigel Hayes and Vitto Brown combined for 10 points in 59 minutes in the defeat to Michigan State. The five points scored by Hayes marked his lowest point total of the season and just his third game under 10 points.
Brown, who entered last week with a streak of three straight double-digit performances, combined for 14 points in the two games against Michigan State and Illinois.
4. Iowa
7 of 10
Record: 20-6, 11-3
Previous Ranking: 2
Big picture
Iowa's quest for a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance took a big hit on Wednesday when the Hawkeyes fell to Penn State by four points.
In addition to losing ground in the race for a top seed, Iowa fell a whole game behind Indiana in the Big Ten regular-season title race.
By the numbers
Adam Woodbury, Anthony Clemmons and Mike Gesell scored six points each in the loss to Penn State. The Hawkeyes were unable to make up for the lack of production from the three starters, as they had only 10 bench points.
Iowa was also 8-of-24 from the three-point line and 25-of-35 from the free-throw line. If the Hawkeyes made a few more shots at the line, they would've been able to pull out the win over Penn State.
3. Maryland
8 of 10
Record: 23-5, 11-4
Previous Ranking: 3
Big picture
Maryland suffered its second consecutive defeat on Thursday against Minnesota, but it recovered with a victory over Michigan on Sunday, which is something Iowa was unable to do because of its schedule.
The Terrapins sit one game behind Indiana and Iowa in the loss column. Maryland is only one win behind Indiana. It is tied with Iowa at 11 conference wins.
By the numbers
Rasheed Sulaimon was Maryland's top scorer in the loss to Minnesota with 28 points, but he only recorded eight in the victory over Michigan.
Sulaimon was the only starter not in double digits against the Wolverines. Robert Carter, Jake Layman, Diamond Stone and Melo Trimble all totaled 13 points or more in the win.
2. Michigan State
9 of 10
Record: 22-5, 9-5
Previous Ranking: 4
Big picture
Six wins in seven games, including one in the last week over Wisconsin, have brought a sense of normalcy back to Michigan State.
The Spartans are the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the AP Top 25 at No. 6, and they look like a team that could make a deep run into the NCAA tournament without any hiccups.
By the numbers
The last time the Spartans had a winning margin of less than 10 points was January 23 against Maryland.
Since righting their season with a win over the Terrapins at the Breslin Center, the Spartans have won five games by a combined 112 points. Their only loss came in overtime by one point to Purdue on February 9.
1. Indiana
10 of 10
Record: 22-6, 12-3
Previous Ranking: 5
Big picture
Indiana vaulted itself back into first place in the Big Ten standings last week thanks to a pair of wins over Nebraska and Purdue and a few upsets across the conference.
If the Hoosiers want to win the Big Ten regular-season championship outright, they must beat both Iowa and Maryland during the final week of the season. As long as it doesn't slip up against Illinois on Thursday, Indiana will be in the driver's seat of the title race to start March.
By the numbers
Troy Williams was the star of the week for Indiana. He contributed a combined 37 points against Nebraska and Purdue.
The duo of standout performances were a welcome sight to the eyes of Indiana fans after Williams went scoreless in the 19-point loss to Michigan State on February 14.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
.png?w=480 "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship")
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
