Big Ten men's basketball power rankings: Purdue dominant as Minnesota, Penn State rise
The first half of Big Ten play has been a two-team race atop the standings between Purdue and Wisconsin. The Badgers, somewhat surprisingly, raced out to a multi-game lead in the standings while preseason favorite Purdue took unexpected losses at Nebraska and Northwestern.
The gap has been surmounted, and now the Boilermakers and Badgers look like teams headed in different directions. Purdue took down Wisconsin inside the Kohl Center to seize sole possession of first place in the league, and Wisconsin has sandwiched that with a second-half collapse at Nebraska and a shocking defeat at lowly Michigan. It’s a bad time of year for a three-game losing streak, but that’s not the only surprising development in the Big Ten.
Seemingly dead in the water as recently as two weeks ago, Minnesota is making a charge up the standings. Penn State, too. Northwestern and Nebraska continue to flirt with the upper echelon of the league, which for now seems to only include Purdue and Illinois.
And at the bottom, Ohio State continues to crater in spectacular fashion.
Here’s how the Big Ten shakes out to this point of the season. Rankings reflect games played through Feb. 1.
1. Purdue (Last week: 1)
No surprise: The Boilermakers won the battle for the top of the Big Ten standings to capture a seventh straight league win. Purdue has the nation’s No. 1 adjusted offensive efficiency rating, and that’s not just because of Zach Edey.
2. Illinois (Last week: 4)
The reassimilation of Terrence Shannon Jr. after his suspension due to an arrest on a charge of rape appears complete. Illinois is the 12th-oldest team in the nation and its playing like that, riding a three-game winning streak with a top-35 offense and defense nationally.
3. Northwestern (Last week: 3)
Home is where the wins are for the Wildcats, who easily took down Nebraska inside Welsh-Ryan Arena after overtime losses at Purdue and Minnesota. The NCAA’s NET rankings don’t love that loss to Chicago State, but the NCAA’s fans love a team led by Boo Buie.
4. Wisconsin (Last week: 2)
Ahead 47-29 at Nebraska on Feb. 1, the Badgers lost 80-72 in overtime and might have been broken in the process. There’s no shame in losing to Purdue, but to then drop a road game at Michigan? Nobody saw that one coming.
5. Minnesota (Last week: 13)
Ben Johnson’s group is turning the corner. A three-game winning streak with consecutive home wins against Northwestern and Michigan State have the Golden Gophers fighting for position on the bubble.
6. Michigan State (Last week: 5)
The computers love the Spartans, and so do their opponents: Michigan State was No. 17 nationally at KenPom.com as of Feb. 8, but at 14-9 it had at least two more losses than all but one other team in the top 35.
7. Nebraska (Last week: 6)
It’s hard for opponents to walk into Pinnacle Bank Arena and win, but the Cornhuskers are going to need to earn wins away from their home court in order to reach the NCAA Tournament. Losses at Illinois and Northwestern dropped Nebraska to 0-7 in Big Ten road games this year.
8. Penn State (Last week: 10)
When Penn State’s offense gets cooking, look out. The Nittany Lions hit more than half of their field goals and 3-point attempts in wins against Indiana and Iowa and are rivaling Minnesota for the league’s biggest midseason surprise.
9. Maryland (Last week: 7)
The Terrapins have been consistently inconsistent: Maryland has alternated between two-game winning and losing streaks for its last 10 games, starting with losses to Purdue and at Minnesota.
10. Iowa (Last week: 9)
Up 61-54 midway through the second half at Penn State with a chance for a third win in four games, the Hawkeyes were outscored 35-18 the rest of the way and lost by 10. So it goes for an Iowa team that feels as middle-of-the-pack as anyone else in the league.
11. Indiana (Last week: 8)
It’s hard to say if Indiana’s 18-point comeback against Ohio State says more about the Buckeyes or the Hoosiers, but Trey Galloway looks the part of a senior who is determined to make something of this season.
12. Rutgers (Last week: 11)
In possibly the most surprising turnaround of the season, a Rutgers team last in scoring in the Big Ten trailed 47-32 with 17:03 left at Michigan on Feb. 3 but rallied and won, 69-59. Sometimes Big Ten basketball defies explanation.
13. Michigan (Last week: 14)
Credit where credit’s due: the Wolverines snap five-game losing streaks with style. Their first one ended with a win against Ohio State, and their second one was a stunner against No. 11 Wisconsin.
14. Ohio State (Last week: 12)
The Buckeyes are the best team at losing in the Big Ten so far: Ohio State led by 18 at Penn State on Dec. 6 and against Indiana on Feb. 6 only to lose each game by three points. Ohio State has lost five straight and eight of nine.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Purdue alone at the top: Big Ten men's basketball power rankings
