Welcome to the 2014-15 Big Ten hoops season, where a loss to Penn State or Rutgers won't be nearly as embarrassing as a non-conference loss to NJIT or Incarnate Word.
Should I go on? Eastern Washington, Gardner-Webb, North Florida, St. Peter's, St. Francis (Pa.) and Texas Southern – just a sampling of the B1G's misery through the first two months of the season. Yet, the conference won the ACC-Big Ten Challenge thanks to Michigan's win over Syracuse and an Iowa road win in North Carolina.
With so much player turnover, most coaches are still trying to figure out what they have. It's not just Ohio State – Michigan State and Michigan had a particularly disastrous out of conference slate. Realistically, though, does anyone expect Thad Matta, Tom Izzo and John Bielein to not steer their teams in the right direction?
1. Wisconsin (14-1, 2-0)
Last Week: 89-72 win vs Penn State, 81-58 win at Northwestern
This Week: vs Purdue, at Rutgers
Unlike some of his esteemed counterparts, Bo Ryan does not have to deal with the growing pains of an entirely new squad.
The only non-returning member from last year's Final Four starting lineup is guard Ben Brust. No worries, they just replaced Brust with Nigel Hayes, the reigning Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year. Hayes is currently averaging 12.6 points per game with a true shooting percentage of 64 percent. He's quietly added some range to his arsenal after not attempting a three-pointer a season ago.
Since a loss to Duke exposed some of the same perimeter defense issues from last year, the Badgers are rolling. They've won games in a variety of ways, dropping 93 on Milwaukee and grinding out a 49-38 win at Marquette. Frank Kaminsky continues to scorch the nets and Sam Dekker is just starting to find his stroke. Look out, B1G.
2. Maryland (14-1, 2-0)
Last Week: 68-66 2OT win at Michigan State, 70-58 win vs Minnesota
This Week: at Illinois, at Purdue
The conference's most surprising team, thus far, is actually a positive development.
Five transfers – Seth Allen, Shaquille Cleare, Nick Faust, Charles Mitchell and Roddy Peters – seemingly decimated Maryland's depth. On top of that, both Dez Wells and Evan Smotrycz have missed time due to injuries. Damonte Dodd "fouled out" of a game with only four fouls.
Naturally, in response, the Terps are 14-1 and off to a strong start in their inaugural Big Ten campaign. Their only loss came to No.3 Virginia, without the aforementioned Wells and Smotrycz. Melo Trimble could be named the conference's freshman of the year if he continues his current 16.2 points per game pace while shooting 88 percent from the line.
3. Iowa (10-4, 1-0)
Last Week: 71-65 win at Ohio State
This Week: vs Nebraska, vs Michigan State
The conference's two most impressive wins both belong to the Hawkeyes.
In the only truly noteworthy B1G win during the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, Iowa went to Chapel Hill and took down North Carolina. It was a brick fest both ways, but Fran McCaffery's squad held the Heels under thirty percent shooting for the game.
Iowa eventually lost to Iowa State and Northern Iowa – that after losses to Syracuse and Texas. They started off conference play with another solid road win, though. As you may know, it came in Columbus.
The Hawkeyes miss Roy Devyn Marble but still have plenty of veteran presence on their team. In their road win at Ohio State, vets Jarrod Uthoff and Mike Gesell hit clutch shots down the stretch to fend off a furious Buckeye rally.
4. Ohio State (12-3, 1-1)
Last Week: 71-65 loss vs Iowa, 77-61 win vs Illinois
This Week: at Minnesota, at Indiana
It hasn't been an ideal start to the season, but Ohio State didn't lose to, say, Sacred Heart. It's better than some of their fellow Big Ten squads have fared.
Perhaps exclusively playing a zone defense will prove to be a minor misstep in a successful season. To the fans' delight, Matta blew it up and went back to a man defense in their win against Illinois. The Buckeyes forced 20 turnovers and looked particularly potent with Anthony Lee at the "five," aggressively hedging screens while chasing guards around the perimeter.
Depending on the matchup, we might see a return to the zone. They put too much effort into the 2-3 and, to be fair, shut down Iowa and Louisville for long stretches while playing zone.
Behind a new old defensive philosophy and expected growth from D'Angelo Russell – no more 4 for 17 games with poor shot selection – Ohio State's No. 4 slot in these rankings is more reflective of its potential, rather than the past. Understandable, though, if a 12-3 record against the nation's No. 300 ranked strength of schedule doesn't inspire much confidence.
5. Indiana (11-3, 1-0)
Last Week: 70-65 win at Nebraska
This Week: at Michigan State, vs Ohio State
In biding their time before playing for Brad Stevens next year, the Hoosiers are off to a decent start.
Coming off a disappointing season, Tom Crean might be fighting for his job. At a place such as Indiana, the high expectations should not be considered extreme. A loss to Eastern Washington should not be acceptable. Keep in mind, this is still a young team beyond junior Yogi Ferrell.
The only freshman playing better than Maryland's Trimble is Indiana's James Blackmon Jr. He's averaging 17.2 points per game and hitting 44 percent of his three-point shots (Averaging six three-point attempts a game!).
Freshman Robert Johnson is also a marksman from beyond the arc, meaning Ferrell has wide-open driving lanes with shooters lining the perimeter. As a result, the Hoosiers have the ninth-most efficient offense in the country. Defensively, they have a lot to work on as has been a trend with a few of Crean's IU squads.
6. Purdue (10-5, 2-0)
Last Week: 72-68 win vs Minnesota, 64-51 win vs Michigan
This Week: at Wisconsin, vs Maryland
Matt Painter's Purdue squads were shut out of the tournament in consecutive seasons. A 2-0 record to start Big Ten play might help them prevent a third straight disappointing season.
If you're looking for an excuse to complain about Thad Matta's recruiting, Middletown, Ohio native Vince Edwards is having a strong freshman season. He had 16 points and 6 rebounds in Saturday's win against Michigan. Classmate Isaac Hass has entered the starting lineup and is averaging 10.3 points per game.
They can make a significant jump in these rankings if they play well Wednesday, in Madison, and Saturday versus Maryland.
7. Michigan State (9-5, 0-1)
Last Week: 68-66 2OT loss at Maryland
This Week: vs Indiana, at Iowa, vs Northwestern
You can explain losing to Duke, Kansas, Notre Dame and Maryland. Tom Izzo always plays a tough schedule and his young team hasn't shown the ability to win close games.
Losing to Texas Southern – not to be confused with Texas Western – is not easy to explain. Tom Izzo is the worst person to play for when you do something silly like that, so he's bound to make his players regret their decision to attend Michigan State.
"As you get older, you start worrying about people liking you, and I did not work my team. I felt sorry for them. I did not work them like I normally do," Izzo said, following the game. "We didn't practice as hard – too worried about my little guys getting tired ... That was a coaching loss, and I take full responsibility for it, and I plan on rectifying it starting at 8:30 tomorrow morning."
The Spartans are still No. 22 in KemPom's pythagorean ratings, so there's still hope in East Lansing.
8. Minnesota (11-4, 0-2)
Last Week: 72-68 loss at Purdue, 70-58 loss at Maryland
This Week: vs Ohio State, at Michigan
Statistically speaking, it's a surprise Minnesota is not better than their record indicates.
They're ranked in the top 50 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. They're moving closer to Richard Pitino's ideal philosophy with a hectic pace forcing turnovers and scoring in transition.
As expected, it's all slowing down while they begin the Big Ten portion of their schedule. They're 0-2 with two of their toughest road games out of the way. Ohio State has turned the ball over early in their losses, so Minnesota could see their fortunes change when OSU visits "The Barn," Tuesday.
9. Northwestern (10-5, 1-1)
Last Week: 51-47 win at Rutgers, 81-58 loss vs Wisconsin
This Week: at Michigan State
A team which loses three-straight games in non-conference action should not be one of the Big Ten's pleasant surprises, but here we are.
They lost to Northern Iowa, Georgia Tech and Butler but the Wildcats came into B1G play with nine wins. They're still playing an irritatingly slow-paced brand of basketball and have one of the conference's few, pure seven-foot starting centers in Alex Olah. They'll temporarily ruin some team's season (See: Wisconsin's, last year).
10. NeBraska (8-5, 0-1)
Last Week: 70-65 loss vs Indiana
This Week: at Iowa, vs Rutgers, vs Illinois
Last year's conference darlings are off to a disappointing start to their season.
The Huskers, understandably anticipating another trip to the tournament, are simply known as the team which lost to Incarnate Word. Nebraska is an offensive mess, ranking No. 263 in offensive efficiency. This, despite Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields' return.
Tim Miles is still a living legend, though:
Tim Miles getting into with Tom Crean. #iubb pic.twitter.com/KzF7sibZnB
— Jeff Rabjohns (@JeffRabjohns) January 1, 2015
11. Michigan (8-6, 1-1)
Last Week: 73-65 OT win vs Illinois, 64-51 loss at Purdue
This Week: at Penn State, vs Minnesota
I might just link this video in the Michigan section of the power rankings all season:
With that out of the way, it was unreasonable to expect a smooth transition from the Nik Stauskas-Glenn Robinson III era to Caris LeVert and Zak Irvin. They'd prefer Derrick Walton Jr. to elevate his game and develop into a third option, rather than massively regress.
Ricky Doyle might be that guy, particularly with his performance at the end of the Illinois game. If he can sustain that, Michigan might not have to announce Jim Harbaugh's hiring before every home game to have any hope at winning – and making the N(J)IT.
12. Illinois (10-5, 0-2)
Last Week: 73-65 OT loss at Michigan, 77-61 loss vs Ohio State
This Week: vs Maryland, at Nebraska
The Illini appeared to be a sneaky threat heading into Big Ten play.
A win over Baylor and "good" losses to Miami and Villanova might've given Illinois confidence. If the non-confrence portion of their schedule did that, their resolve might be shattered now. They blew a 13-point lead in Michigan and gave up a 15-0 second-half run in Columbus.
It doesn't get any easier for them, this week. Illinois will take on on a ranked Maryland squad and head back on the road to play in Nebraska, this week.
13. Rutgers (9-6, 1-1)
Last Week: 51-47 loss vs Northwestern, 50-46 win vs Penn State
This Week: at Nebraska, vs Wisconsin
The bottom of the conference will be a dogfight between Rutgers and Penn State.
Usually, "dogfight" is a term of endearment and a tribute to the competitiveness of a particular battle. In actuality, dog fights are unpleasant. So, the term is more apropos of the Rutgers-Penn State struggle.
The Scarlet Knights have the advantage so far, winning their first matchup with the Nittany Lions.
14. Penn State (12-3,0-2)
Last Week: 89-72 loss at Wisconsin, 50-46 loss at Rutgers
This Week: vs Michigan
In honor of Rutgers' first Big Ten season: if you happen to lose to them, you fall to last place in the rankings. No exceptions.
Penn State played the No. 319 ranked out of conference schedule, so winning ten straight games isn't overly impressive. D.J. Newbill, who dropped 29 points on Wisconsin, is an outstanding offensive talent, however. He can single-handedly will the Nittany Lions to victories – e.g. at Ohio State, last year.
