Big Ten Conference Power Rankings: Start of Conference Play

New this year, the Big Ten basketball Power Rankings will come out once a month during the preseason (once in November and once in December) and every week during the Big Ten season. 

1. Michigan (12-0)
The Wolverines are the only unbeaten team remaining in the Big Ten and, while they may not have played the most grueling schedule in the conference, they have had enough impressive wins to make this spot a given.  Big Blue has looked downright dominant at times and I will have to eat some crow as they are more than deserving of their preseason ranking.  In this season of college basketball where there doesn't look to be one or two completely dominant teams (a la Kentucky last season) Michigan has an opportunity to make a run to the Final Four and, just maybe, the National Title.

2. Indiana (11-1)
IU had a tough loss against Butler in overtime but this is a team that can really start to rebuild momentum with the start of conference play.  The Hoosiers open the Big Ten season with road trips to Iowa City and State College before hosting Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Indiana won't play a team that is currently ranked until late January when they host Michigan State.  If IU can win through that schedule and move into their brutal February road schedule (Michigan, at Illinois, at Ohio State in consecutive games) with some momentum the Hoosiers have a chance to build themselves back up to contention for a #1 seed in the tournament.

3. Minnesota (12-1)I have to admit that I am not 100 percent comfortable with this placement.  It isn't just that I really dislike Minnesota either, I am not sure they are this good.  The Gophers only loss came to Duke on a neutral floor and they have out everyone they have played thus far except Memphis and Stanford (both on a neutral floor).  My problem is that their schedule hasn't exactly been a murderers row either.  Minnesota's numbers are due to the fact that they have beaten several high mid majors (Richmond, North Dakota State, South Dakota State) and a crappy Florida State team in the Big Ten/ACC challenge.  I still think they had a better non-conference season than the teams below them but with Michigan State, Northwestern, at Illinois, at Indiana, Michigan to start conference play I think the Gophers will probably end up lower than this when I do rankings again in two weeks.

4. Michigan State (11-2)This may seem a little odd, particularly considering the way this team has struggled against inferior opponents like Louisiana Lafayette and Bowling Green, but this has the potential to be a Big Ten title contending team.  Michigan State has shown flashes of brilliance; beating a hot Texas team recently and beating Kansas early in the year.  If the Spartans can get some consistency and start gelling as a team then this team will be right in the thick of the Big Ten title race again.  Tom Izzo's teams don't always get it perfect, and while I am not completely on the bandwagon, this team has all the ingredients of past Izzo squads that have had growing pains in non-conference only to turn it on in conference play.

5. Illinois (12-1)
The Illini got a wake up call Saturday in St. Louis against Mizzou.  Even if they are hitting an abnormally high percentage of their shots and are playing at warp speed, they will need to play defense to win.  I have a feeling Coach Groce will have this team ready to compete in the Big Ten but this team probably doesn't have the defensive presence to be a conference title contender.  The Illini have had moments of brilliance this year and two big wins over Butler (in Maui) and Gonzaga (in Spokane) but I think the grind of conference play is going to wear on this team late.

6. Ohio State (9-2)
Sure the Buckeyes have talent, but who have they beaten?  Losing to Duke by five in Cameron Indoor is excusable but getting blown out by Kansas at home raises a lot of questions about how good this team really is.  Sure, the Jayhawks and Blue Devils have looked liked National Title contenders, but when the rest of your schedule is made up of the sisters of the poor then you better win the two big games you play.  The Buckeyes don't play another ranked team until January 5th when they travel to Illinois. 

7. Iowa (11-2)
Iowa played a cupcake-filled schedule in the non-conference but they managed to split the four games against opponents with a pulse on their schedule and they have improved as the year has progressed.  This team is young so there will still be ups and downs but I think the Hawkeyes have a legitimate shot to be in the Big Dance for the first time in over half a decade.  The month of January is brutal for Iowa (eight games with half against ranked opponents and the others at NW, at Purdue, and at home against Wisconsin and Penn State) but if the Hawkeyes can manage 3-4 wins in that stretch they will be sitting pretty with only four more games against teams currently ranked after the first month of the year.


8. Wisconsin (8-4)
The Badgers look discombobulated without point guard Josh Gasser and they have struggled thus far in the season to find a groove against the top teams in the conference.  Losses to Florida, Creighton, Virginia, and Marquette are not terrible but the sum of those performances speaks volumes about the Badgers' ability to compete against the big boys right now.  Sure the wins against Cal and Arkansas were nice, but this team is going to struggle on the road in the Big Ten without better point guard play.

9. Northwestern (9-4)
While the narrative of the Wildcats finally earning their first NCAA tournament berth will probably stick around in the media, this probably won't be the Wildcats team to break the glass ceiling.  Losing Drew Crawford to a season ending injury only compacted the issues inherent with this team.  Northwestern is still looking for someone capable of duplicating John Shurna's presence in the post they just haven't found it yet.

10. Nebraska (8-4)
There is a significant drop off between this and the ninth spot on this list.  While teams like Northwestern, Iowa, and Wisconsin all look more than capable of at least threatening a few of the top teams in the rankings, the bottom three look like they would be outmatched by anyone ranked ninth or higher.  The bottom three are practically interchangeable but for the sake of making rankings that don't end in a three way tie I will put Nebraska here.  The Huskers have losses to Oregon, Creighton, Kent State, and UTEP.  While none of those are truly horrible, there is no indication that they are capable of winning games against teams with a pulse.  The Huskers will probably get an upset at home over someone like Wisconsin or Northwestern but I don't see them posing a real threat to anyone.

11. Purdue (5-6)
Yes the Boilers have the worst record in the Big Ten and are completely reliant on the three-point shot but I still think there is enough young talent on this team to scare some people late in the year.  Purdue has had some bad losses this year but they have the potential to upset some of the higher ranked teams on this list.  In the end though, while I think their ceiling is higher than Nebraska's, their floor is much lower (see Purdue's record).  With no semblance of consistency appearing on the horizon I can't justify putting them any higher.

12. Penn State (7-4)
Tim Frazier's injury which will cost him the season changed the complexion of this year for Penn State.  The Nittany Lions are struggling against the likes of Delaware State and Army (though they beat both teams) and there is no reason to believe they will be able to avoid the Big Ten cellar.  This is going to be a tough year for Pat Chambers' club, but they should be able to eek out a win or two at home in conference play.