Wisconsin was the clear preseason conference favorite and they're proving why.
With so much roster turnover throughout the rest of the Big Ten, it's been difficult for the other 13 teams to play up to the Badgers' level. The B1G finished last season ranked as the No. 1 conference in the Sagarin rankings and, so far this year, it's ranked No. 4. The three Big Ten teams ranked in KenPom.com's top 25 – Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State – are fewer than the ACC, Big East and Big 12.
According to BigTenGeeks.com, it's the upper half of the conference dragging it down. At this point, teams such as Ohio State, Michigan State, Maryland and Iowa aren't as good as last year's Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa teams as a whole.
Although the Buckeyes' level of play is rising, the only team we can be reasonably confident in making it past the Sweet Sixteen come March is Wisconsin.
1. Wisconsin (19-2, 7-1)
Last Week: 74-63 win at Iowa
This Week: vs Indiana, vs Northwestern
It's always difficult to play on the road in college basketball, but this Badgers team has a high probability of rolling through the next month without a loss.
Their February schedule is as follows: vs Indiana, vs Northwestern, at Nebraska, vs Illinois, at Penn State, vs Minnesota and at Maryland. Until that last game, none of Wisconsin's opponents are likely to be ranked in the top 25 when they play. In that span, they might get starting point guard Traevon Jackson back from his foot injury.
2. Ohio State (17-5, 6-3)
Last Week: 80-56 win vs Maryland
This Week: at Purdue, at Rutgers
D'Angelo Russell ruined a recruit's commitment announcement – a practice we don't personally agree with at Eleven Warriors – but those politics don't matter with such awe-inspiring basketball play.
Obviously, he's not doing it on his own. A lineup change has sparked Ohio State, particularly on defense and Marc Loving comes off the bench now, but is as integral to this team as he was when he was in the starting lineup.
Loving is No. 2 in the Big Ten in true shooting percentage and ranked No. 35 nationally. He had a slow start in conference but really turned it on of late. The last two games – both wins over ranked opponents at the time – Loving dropped 12 and 19 against Indiana and Maryland, respectively. He tied career-high with five three-pointers against the Terps and has hit multiple threes in 15 games this season.
Head coach Thad Matta credits a change in Loving's mentality for his improved shooting stroke.
"I had a few choice words for him one day in practice in terms of telling him to shoot the ball," Matta said, via our Tim Shoemaker. "'Shoot the ball. Shoot the ball.' I just kept saying it."
3. Maryland (18-4, 6-3)
Last Week: 80-56 loss at Ohio State
This Week: vs Penn State, at Iowa
The Terps are trending downward after two losses in their last three games and struggling for about 30 minutes against Northwestern.
Maryland shot only 30.5 percent from the field against Ohio State and struggled to get into the paint, with only 16 points in that area. Melo Trimble – shut down by a combination of D'Angelo Russell and Shannon Scott scored a season-low three points and didn't make a field goal. OSU's pick and roll coverage was tremendous, thanks in part to Anthony Lee and Amir "The Eraser" Williams, who stifled Trimble by sagging back and using their length to prevent Trimble from reaching the bucket.
4. Purdue (14-8, 6-3)
Last Week: 83-67 win vs Indiana, 68-60 win at Northwestern
This Week: vs Ohio State, at Minnesota
It's been a surprising turnaround for a team which lost to North Florida and Gardner Webb. The Boilermakers may have hit their stride, winning three straight games including an impressive home victory over Indiana.
They held the Hawkeyes, Hoosiers and Wildcats under 70 points, a significant achievement for a team ranked No. 103 in defensive efficiency. Guard Raphael Davis scored 15 and 19 points in both wins this week, earning many of those at the free-throw line.
5. Michigan State (15-7, 6-3)
Last Week: 71-51 win at Rutgers, 76-66 OT win vs Michigan
This Week: vs Illinois
Clearly motivated by my poignant criticism in last week's power rankings, Branden Dawson responded with a huge week.
In a rescheduled game against Rutgers, Dawson dropped 17 points and 11 rebounds, missing only one field goal attempt. He followed that up with a 19 point and 10 rebound performance against Michigan.
In that OT win over the Wolverines, MSU shut them out in the overtime period and held Michigan to two baskets over the final 10 minutes of the game.
6. Indiana (16-6, 6-3)
Last Week: 83-67 loss at Purdue, 72-64 win vs Rutgers
This Week: at Wisconsin, vs Michigan
The Hoosiers' hot perimeter shooting cooled off in West Lafayette, proving they occasionally need a competent defense to win.
Indiana hit only four of their 19 three-point attempts and let the Boilermakers live in the paint, allowing them to shoot 72 percent from two.
Former IU forward Will Sheehey described the rivalry to BTN.com, with only a hint of elitism.
“My favorite part of the rivalry had to be the fact that Purdue cares way more than IU,” Sheehey said. “You could tell that it was their Super Bowl and meant a lot to their fan base. The way they chant ‘IU Sucks!’ at every game regardless of who they play, it’s kinda awesome. I respect it.”
7. Iowa (13-8, 4-4)
Last Week: 74-63 loss vs Wisconsin
This Week: at Michigan, vs Maryland
Reason for optimism: no more games against the Badgers. Reasons for pessimism: mostly everything else.
Dan Dakich is not safe in Iowa, meaning Hawkeye fans have the potential get violent about hot takes. So I'll keep mine brief.
The Hawkeyes are on a three-game losing streak and Aaron White is currently playing through a shoulder injury. While he scored 15 points and grabbed 7 rebounds versus Wisconsin, Bo Ryan expected more out of him, for some reason:
Bo Ryan said that Aaron White "didn't quite look right".
— Bucky's 5th Quarter (@B5Q) January 31, 2015
8. Illinois (14-8, 4-5)
Last Week: 60-58 win vs Penn State
This Week: vs Rutgers, at Michigan State
With a depleted depth chart, the Illini need top remaining scorer Malcolm Hill to carry them for a while.
He did just that against Penn State, hitting four three-pointers and shooting 10-15 from the field. The game-winning shot you see above capped off a 27-point performance, also his third consecutive game scoring 18 or more points.
9. Michigan (13-9, 6-4)
Last Week: 58-44 win vs Nebraska, 76-66 OT loss at Michigan State
This Week: vs Iowa, at Indiana
Other than an early loss to NJIT, this season is not shaping up to be a memorable one for Michigan fans.
First, Caris LeVert goes down with a season-ending foot injury and, now, they're without starting point guard Derrick Walton Jr. due to a foot injury of his own. In spite of the health issues, they forced overtime with Wisconsin and Michigan State.
With the backcourt in flux, freshman Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman is taking on a larger role within the offense. He played over 30 minutes in each of the past two games and scored 18 points on 14 shots in the loss in East Lansing.
10. Minnesota (14-9, 3-7)
Last Week: 63-58 loss at Penn State, 60-42 win vs Nebraska
This Week: vs Purdue
The Gophers continue to lose close games in conference. Via BTN.com, six of Minnesota’s seven Big Ten losses have been by five points or fewer.
Andre Hollins received little help in their loss to Penn State, as he was the only one on his team in double figures. Maurice Walker had a bounce-back performance against Nebraska, scoring 19 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
This past week was a microcosm of Minnesota's season because of so many inconsistent performances.
11. Nebraska (12-9, 4-5)
Last Week: 58-44 loss at Michigan, 60-42 loss at Minnesota
This Week: vs Northwestern, at Penn State
Up against a depleted Michigan squad and an inconsistent Minnesota, Nebraska needed to win big. They're only two games out of second place in the conference but inspired no confidence with their performance this week.
Shavon Shields and Terran Petteway combined to shoot 13-46 in their two losses and the Huskers couldn't even crack the 50-point mark. A long season continues in Lincoln with a small glimmer of hope, this week, as Nebrasketball plays two teams below them in the standings.
12. Penn State (14-8, 2-7)
Last Week: 63-58 win vs Minnesota, 60-58 loss at Illinois
This Week: at Maryland, vs Nebraska
Penn State went on a two-game winning streak before the loss to Illinois.
The rest of the season will get rough, however. Beginning this week, four of PSU's next five games are against the top three in the conference – Maryland (twice), Ohio State and Wisconsin.
13. Northwestern (10-11, 1-7)
Last Week: 68-60 loss vs Purdue
This Week: at Nebraska, at Wisconsin
The Wildcats have lost seven straight games and their only conference win is over Rutgers.
Bryant McIntosh is a bright spot during this long losing streak, as he's averaging 14.6 points over those seven games. According to BigTenGeeks.com, McIntosh's offensive rating this season is 102.9, placing him among the top freshmen in the conference and ahead of Indiana's James Blackmon Jr. in that category.
14. Rutgers (10-13, 2-8)
Last Week: 71-51 loss vs Michigan State, 72-64 loss at Indiana
This Week: at Illinois, vs Ohio State
The past two games were not particularly pretty for Rutgers and they've now lost six straight games. At least it was an eventful week.
Due to the snow storm, the Michigan State game was pushed back two days. Then, this happened – and it only counts as an interesting kerfuffle because this was among the highlights of the Scarlet Knights' week:
