Big Ten Power Rankings Week 2

Intro: I've decided to do a regular update on Big Ten men's basketball power rankings. Feel free to discuss. It's listed as week two, because it's week two of the conference season. Anyways...

This conference is really looking a lot like it did in the fall, just a new sport and new names on top. Like their pigskin counterparts, the quality of talent is lower than years past, and the bad teams are really bad. Or maybe just incredibly below average. If you notice current bottom feeder teams such as Illinois, Michigan and Northwestern - they don't have bad losses. They beat the teams they're supposed to beat (Ohio State over Presbyterian early in the year!) and lose to the teams they have a chance of beating. If a good team rolls around (as in Indiana vs. Michigan), they get blown out. The only exception is Iowa's freak victory over Michigan State (the Sparty's must have caught St. Louis-itis).

On to the rankings.
The Contenders
1. Indiana (3-0, 14-1) By default only. Sure, they've got talent. But they've beaten nobody. The one time they played a good team (Xavier), freshman phenom Eric Gordon looked frustrated and the team lost. Cupcake schedule doesn't get any tougher until a January 31 date in Madison. While they might have struggled against the likes of Iowa and Illinois, they didn't lose. As long as they keep winning, there's no one that can overtake them at the top spot.

2. Wisconsin (3-0, 13-2)
What? No Michigan State? If this is who is playing better at the moment, it's definitely the Badgers. They won at No. 9 Texas and started the Big 10 play with 16, 13 and 10 point wins over teams they should beat. Both early season losses came on the road against teams that were ranked in the top 15 at the time of the game. Wisconsin could be the highest seeded Big Ten team come tourney time.

Dark Horse
3. Minnesota (2-1, 12-3)
Yup, the Gophers are playing better than the Spartans as well. So, the Spartans beat them Jan. 5, but Minnesota rebounded with two conference wins. While they haven's beaten anyone of note (best win: Iowa State), they haven't lost to a bad team, something that can't be said of the next team on the list. Next two at home against IU and Michigan St. Split the games, and you might see the Gophers be the fourth Big Ten team in the Big Dance.

Falling
4. Michigan St. (2-1, 14-2)
Like Wisconsin, the Spartans best win is against Texas. Unlike Wisconsin, they haven't handled middle-of-the-road Big Ten teams like they should, capitalized by the ugly 43-36 loss to Iowa. They barely got by Purdue and Minnesota on their home court and, beyond Texas, don't have much else in the non-conference play to prove that they are an elite team. Neither does anyone else in the Big Ten, but for now MSU is struggling.

Dancing?
5. Ohio St. (3-1, 12-4)
Especially when you're not an elite team, it's tough to get a Big 10 road win. OSU proved that Saturday against a slowly maturing Purdue squad. They are battle tested, with four non-conference games against ranked opponents. While an elite team has to prove their mettle by winning those games, OSU can just use those games as experience. Kosta Koufas and the rest of the Buckeyes need to win against MSU or Tennessee this week to catch the pollsters' eyes.

6. Purdue (2-1, 11-5)
The Wofford loss notwithstanding, this team is improving. While it might be NIT bound this year, the youngest squad in the nation has the potential to be the top team in the Big Ten and a top 10 team in the nation in the next couple years. If Purdue wins seven of their next eight games (very possible, with only the Wisconsin game standing out), upsets one of the better Big Ten teams and makes a run in the conference tourney, they have a chance at dancing.

Pretenders
7. Illinois (0-4, 8-9)
If only Eric Gordon played for the Fighting Ilini. Let's see? They probably wouldn't have opened the Big Ten season 0-4. They probably would be ranked, much less over .500. However, Gordon changed his mind and the Illini are struggling. Despite a winless conference record, the losses include the Badgers and the Hoosiers. They can easily even up their conference record with strong performances in their next four games (Michigan, Purdue, OSU, Northwestern).

8. Penn State (2-1, 10-5)
The Nittany Lions, a dark horse candidate at the beginning of the year with leadership and talent from Geary Claxton, they have slipped a little. Non-conference losses to UCF, Rider and a bad South Carolina team don't look good. Indiana and Wisconsin are next up for the Nittany Lions. If they turn things around, they could easily be the No. 3 team in the Big Ten. So could everyone else not named Northwestern or Michigan.

9. Iowa (1-3, 8-9)
I'm sure Todd Lickliter doesn't care too much for the six home losses his team has put up. Despite a tough late November stretch of four straight home losses, the team also had its best victory to date at home. That was Saturday when Michigan State came to town and laid an egg. 43-36 can't get much uglier, but it's a start for the Hawkeyes, who, with some improvement, could make the NIT.

Mid-Majors
10. Michigan (1-3, 5-11)
In an era when every big conference school prefers to schedule the local high school over tough non-conference competition, it's kind of embarrassing to enter Big Ten play with a record under .500. Granted, four losses were to top 25 teams, three to top 5 teams, Michigan hasn't proved to anyone they learned from those games. The only Big Ten game it has won is against the only Big Ten team ranked lower than the Wolverines. Oh yeah, and they loss to Harvard.

11. Northwestern (0-4, 5-8)
The smallest school in the Big Ten with the smallest gym in the Big Ten also has the weakest schedule and the lousiest wins. The Wildcats have dropped four straight against four unranked Big Ten teams. With victories coming against powerhouses such as Benedictine, Savannah State, Arkansas State, and Howard it is no guessing how well they might play against IU's and Wisconsin's. Well, they might compete against IU. The Hoosiers' schedule has been just as tough.