Welcome back for another installment of Big Ten Power Rankings. Let's take a look around the league and see how things shook out over the last week.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes (#2 Nationally, 8-0) Wins over a scrappy IUPUI team that hung around until the last 10:00 of the second half and a blowout of Western Carolina cement the Buckeyes atop the Big Ten.2. Illinois Fighting Illini (#14 Nationally, 10-1) Beat a tough Gonzaga team on the road in Seattle, Oakland and Northern Colorado. They have hopped the Spartans, but expect Michigan State to bounce back.
3. Michigan State Spartans (#15 Nationally, 7-3) A loss to Syracuse and a squeaker against Oakland don't have Spartans fans panicked, but there's reason for concern. They barely held on to the #3 slot this week, so another close call may drop the Spartans next week.
4. Purdue Boilermakers (#17 Nationally, 9-1) Big wins over three opponents (Alabama, Valparaiso, North Florida) almost saw the Boilermakers jump the Spartans this week. But in the long run, the Spartans will be the superior team, so I'll take a macro view in this case instead of a micro view.
5. Minnesota Golden Gophers (#20 Nationally, 9-1) Keeping the status quo with wins over Cornell, St. Joe's and Eastern Kentucky keep the Gophers in the top 25 for another week, as well as hold their spot in the highly-regarded Btown Banners Big Ten Power Rankings.
6. Wisconsin Badgers (Unranked, 9-2) The Badgers pummeled three in-state opponents last week (Milwaukee, Marquette, Green Bay) and should drub Coppin State before opening Big Ten play.
7. Northwestern Wildcats (Unranked, 6-0) Northwestern has played just 6 games so far this season, and the latest was a cake walk over Long Island (not the drink, all you Kilroys fans) University. They have a few more cupcakes before opening Big Ten play on New Years Eve against Purdue.
8. Indiana Hoosiers (Unranked, 7-2) My homer-ism shines through a little here. But in my defense, the Hoosiers hung strong against a tough Kentucky team, until the last 10:00, when we all know what happened. Two more should-be W's, then a tough Northern Iowa game and then either New Mexico or Colorado looms before opening the Big Ten season against Penn State.
9. Michigan Wolverines (Unranked, 8-2) Beating Utah and North Carolina Central was enough to propel the Wolverines past a struggling Penn State squad. Michigan has games against Oakland (who seems to be getting passed around by the Big Ten) and Bryant University in the coming week.
10. Penn State Nittany Lions (Unranked, 7-3) A loss at Virginia Tech isn't awful, but that is a mid-level team that Penn State should expect to be competitive with. Maine is up next for the Nittany Lions to feast on before they open the Big Ten season against the Hoosiers.
11. Iowa Hawkeyes (Unranked, 5-5) The Big Ten cellar dwellers had a split week over in-state rivals with a win over Northern Iowa and a loss to Iowa State. They play Drake and Lousiana Tech before opening the Big Ten against Illinois.
That's all for this week, make sure to check back next week for another edition and leave YOUR Power Rankings in the Comments section below!
Brian
