It was another eventful weekend in Big Ten basketball, as the slate led to many changes in the power dynamic around the conference. Of course, Michigan State suffered a frustrating loss to USC on the road, but there were plenty of other interesting results, affecting our weekly power rankings.
Below, you can see this week’s update of the Big Ten Power Rankings, checking in on how the conference is shaping up as we head into February and beyond.
No. 18 Washington
A win over Minnesota on the road over the weekend was a nice development for the Huskies, but after a six-game losing streak, it will take a win over Nebraska this week for Washington to even have a shot to climb up the power rankings.
No. 17 Northwestern
Northwestern is in the position largely due to fate and bad luck. The Wildcats were poised to make a postseason push this year behind star Brooks Barnhizer. Unfortunately, Barnhizer struggled with injuries all year, until coach Chris Collins’ tearfully announced that he would be out for the season. A huge blow for Northwestern that I don’t expect them to recover from.
No. 16 Minnesota
If anyone can figure out Minnesota, please let me know. Tom Izzo praises Ben Johnson all the time. He is known to be a good coach. They have some good players and play strong defense. They have wins over Oregon and Michigan. But they also lost at home to lowly Washington over the weekend. I think they are just as likely to lose to Penn State this week as they are to beat Illinois. I can’t make sense of it, so they stay at No. 16 and their record justifies it.
No. 15 Penn State
I have been a little sad and surprised to see Penn State struggle lately. They have lost seven of their last eight games. If anyone has been keeping up with my power rankings, you probably know that I think highly of coach Mike Rhoades, and MSU fans know first-hand that this team plays hard. But the recent losses have taken their toll, and that’s why they are here now.
No. 14 Rutgers
Dylan Harper’s persistent ankle issues probably mean that we will never see this Rutgers team live up to their potential, and I think that’s really sad for basketball fans. Without Harper there to orchestrate the offense, it’s hard for the Scarlet Knights to tap into the near-limitless potential of Ace Bailey, robbing us all of being able to see those two players at full strength. They still nearly shocked Michigan thanks to their stingy defense, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, as the saying goes.
No. 13 Iowa
This is not the Iowa basketball program we have grown accustomed to over the past decade. Losing to Minnesota was a shock, and they got completely handled by Ohio State. They do have an opportunity to play Purdue and Wisconsin at home this week for a chance to salvage their conference season.
No. 12 Nebraska
After suffering six straight losses, it looked like Nebraska’s season was over. Then, they shocked Illinois and Oregon. They don’t play a currently-ranked opponent for the rest of the season, so they have a chance to surge back up the rankings if they can handle business.
No. 11 Indiana
After starting the season looking like a powerhouse, Indiana has lost five of their last six games as things have gotten ugly in Bloomington. A lost to Wisconsin on Tuesday night might be the final death knell on what was shaping up to be a promising season.
No. 10 Oregon
What the heck happened to Oregon? Their third-straight loss, this time to Nebraska at home, led to a player’s only meeting. Oregon was once thought of as arguably the best team in the Big Ten this year. After losing four out of five games, they will need to right the ship quickly to keep their lofty goals this year alive.
No. 9 Ohio State
Ohio State was near the bottom of these rankings a few weeks ago. They haven’t been perfect, but as other teams keep losing, Ohio State keeps stacking some wins, moving up by default.
No. 8 USC
USC had one of the biggest wins of the year in the Big Ten when they stifled MSU with their lengthy, aggressive defense on Saturday, frustrating Spartan fans and helping them move up the rankings.
No. 7 Illinois
Whenever Illinois seems to get some steam, they suffer a loss like they did to Nebraska to knock them back down. A lot will be riding on their Feb. 15 match-up with MSU.
No. 6 UCLA
A few weeks ago, I was convinced that UCLA’s season was over after head coach Mick Cronin publicly reprimanded his team and implied that they were entitled and thought they were better than they actually were. Then, they won five straight games, with two of those coming over ranked teams. All eyes will be on the Bruins on Tuesday night when they host Michigan State.
No. 5 Wisconsin
Wisconsin hasn’t lost a game at home since the start of December, but they have yet to beat a ranked team on the road so far this year. A lot of my questions about Wisconsin will be answered when they travel to Indiana to face Purdue next week.
No. 4 Maryland
Again, if you have followed my power rankings this year, you will know that I have been high on this Maryland team all year. Despite an ugly loss to Washington at the start of the new year, I had a feeling Maryland would end up near the top of the conference, and here they are now. Recent wins against Illinois and Wisconsin impressed, and they don’t play a ranked team until they host Michigan State at the end of the month.
No. 3 Michigan
After getting blown out by Purdue, Michigan State has managed to survive some anxiety-inducing games against Penn State and Rutgers to stay near the top of the rankings, but the real test will be Wednesday when they host Oregon.
No. 2 Purdue
If it wasn’t for Ohio State, Purdue would have a serious claim to the number one spot on this list. I will say, MSU fans should be thankful for the new Big Ten schedule and the fact that their only match-up against Purdue this year will be at home in the Breslin Center.
No. 1 Michigan State
The Spartans finally suffered their first conference loss, but that’s not going to be enough to knock them out of their spot at the top. MSU will have a very tough road game on Tuesday against UCLA after spending all weekend in Los Angeles stewing over their loss to USC.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Big Ten Power Rankings as February action begins
