The top-heavy Big Ten has finished another week of play. Here is an updated look at where each team sits in the Big Ten Power Rankings.

1. WISCONSIN BADGERS

The Badgers lone conference loss this season was at Ohio State. Behind a fast start, Wisconsin was able to avenge their prior loss to the Buckeyes. While Jonny Davis has been the most talked-about Badger this season, others stepped up for Wisconsin against Ohio State. Brad Davidson (25 points) and Tyler Wahl (20 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists) were each crucial in Saturday’s win. Wisconsin has been on a tear lately, and if their balanced play continues, the Badgers will be tough to beat.

2. ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI

After a slow start to the season, the Fighting Illini have built up some good momentum. Some of this is due to the back-heavy Big Ten schedule the Fighting Illini has. That schedule will stiffen up in the coming weeks though. Illinois will welcome Purdue to the State Farm Center on Monday. This should be a true test of how good this team is. The matchup of the bigs should be a fun one to watch in this game. Kofi Cockburn will have to work Monday night against 7-4 big man Zach Edey.

3. MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

Michigan State came into this weekend not only perfect in conference play, but they also hadn’t been upset all year. That all changed as Northwestern was able to outlast Michigan State. The Spartans struggled to protect the ball against Northwestern, turning it over 17 times. Michigan State’s wins will be harder to come by this week as the Spartans have a two-game road stretch against Wisconsin and Illinois.

4. PURDUE BOILERMAKERS

Over the years Purdue head coach Matt Painter has utilized having big, dominant post players. For a while it was Matt Haarms, now it is Zach Edey. Edey has been big-time, literally, for the Boilermakers averaging 15.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Due to postponements the Boilermakers will hit the road and play Illinois Monday at 11 am local time. With Illinois out to a perfect conference start, this could be a statement game for Purdue.

5. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

The Buckeyes were able to avoid a scare Sunday against Penn State and get a much-needed win. After Ohio State got served with some revenge from Wisconsin earlier in the week, Ohio State came out rather flat against the Nittany Lions. Points were tough to come by, and in the end, the better team won. Currently, the Buckeyes are on the fringe of being a top-tier Big Ten team. With IUPUI and Nebraska on the slate this week, Ohio State should be able to blow past the inferior competition.

6. IOWA HAWKEYES

Iowa has been able to flex its muscle on lesser competition. Sophomore forward Keegan Murray is a big reason why. Despite playing less than 30 minutes per game, Murray is averaging 23.9 points per game. The Hawkeyes had Sunday’s game against lowly Minnesota put away, up 20 in the second half. Minnesota wasn’t willing to just give them the win though. The Golden Gophers would end up going on a 31-11 run to cut the deficit to just 3 points. Iowa was able to hold off this comeback attempt, but against stiffer competition, the Hawkeyes will need a complete performance.

7. INDIANA HOOSIERS

Indiana is a good basketball team. They have a great player in Trayce Jackson-Davis. So why are they seventh on this list? The answer to this is they can’t get out of their own way sometimes. Earlier this year they were outlasted in 2OT by a mediocre-at-best Syracuse team. They also lost to Penn State 61-58 early on in Big Ten play. But yet, Indiana is a dangerous team. Come March, they will be a tough out for any team.

8. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS

Penn State was giving fans much to be excited about to begin the year. But this is a solid Nittany Lion team. Close losses to Purdue and Ohio State are Penn State’s only two losses in their last five games. A game against Iowa Saturday should be a fun matchup for fans to watch.

9. RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS

Rutgers should be higher on this list, but after getting blown out by Penn State that can’t happen. Beating Purdue but the nation on notice that Rutgers is no slouch. But since then the Scarlet Knights haven’t looked the same. Minus Iowa, Rutgers has a bottom-heavy schedule. What this means for Rutgers is they need to beat bad teams in the conference to be taken more seriously going forward.

10. NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS

Northwestern had come close to beating all four of its prior opponents. Saturday Northwestern finally got that statement win. The Wildcats were able to finally get this statement win, defeating Michigan State. Things won’t get any easier for Northwestern this week. The Wildcats are set to face Wisconsin Tuesday, and then a trip to Purdue awaits them next Sunday.

11. MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS

Not much was expected out of the Golden Gophers coming into this season. After a solid start to the season, Minnesota is coming back down to earth. Despite some close games, Minnesota has now dropped their last 4 games. A win at Penn State Wednesday would go a long way to rejuvenating this struggling team.

12. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. A lot was expected out of Michigan this season. After being a 1 seed and finishing the season one win shy of the Final Four, Michigan is 7-7 to begin the year. Michigan’s only win in conference play is over lowly Nebraska.

13. MARYLAND TERRAPINS

Despite their dysfunction amid the stepping down of Mark Turgeon, Maryland has competed well. While there isn’t a lot of hope for this season, former college basketball great Danny Manning could get things turned around for the Terrapins sooner rather than later.

14. NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS

While a lot of spots on this power rankings list can be argued, last place can’t. This spot belongs to the 6-12 (0-7) Cornhuskers. Allowing 79.2 points a game won’t win you very many games after all.

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