Big Ten Power Rankings, Week 5

On to another set of rankings. Does not include Tuesday's games.

Power Rankings

1. (2) Wisconsin (8-1, 18-3) – Bo Ryan’s Badgers rarely make Sports Center’s Top Ten highlights or even the Big Ten Network’s highlights of the week. But if going under the radar is the result of playing fundamental basketball, I’m sure Ryan doesn’t mind. The team seems just dangerous enough to win the Big Ten and just bad enough to lose to a 15-seed in the first round of the tourney.

2. (4) Purdue (8-1, 17-5) – These rankings reflect how well a team is playing right now and Purdue is one of the hottest teams in the country. Youth isn’t the only word to describe these Boilers – they are also very balanced. In 22 games, the team’s had eight players lead a game in scoring. When the leading scorer (Keaton Grant) averages only 11 points per game, it gives testament to teamwork at its best.

3. (1) Michigan State (7-2, 19-3) – The Spartans’ second conference road loss this week, this time at the hands of Penn State, has coach Tom Izzo a little bit worried. "We are not as tough as we need to be," Izzo said. "I've been saying that all year. I was saying that when we won. We had a few games where we had it, but consistently we're not as good as we need to be [to compete] on this level. ... You've got to bring it every day."

4. (3) Indiana (7-1, 18-3) – IU’s best win to date is against Illinois State. The team lost all three games (Xavier, UConn and Wisconsin) in which it had a chance to prove itself as an upper echelon type of team. Eric Gordon finally had a good game with a 29 point outburst, but it came in a home win against lowly Northwestern that was altogether too close. The season is shaping up to the Hoosiers’ 2001 season when they earned a #4-seed, but were eliminated in the first round.

5. (5) Ohio State (5-2, 14-6) – The Big Ten, like any other major conference, proves home court advantage plays a huge role in games. Last month, the Buckeyes dominated the Hawkeyes in Columbus, winning by 31. This past week, the Hawkeyes won by five and put a damper on a strong Big Ten start. Coupled with a close win against struggling Penn State, the Buckeyes are struggling to find someone not named Butler to step up and help out.

6. (6) Minnesota (2-4, 12-6) – Arch-rival Wisconsin brought out the worst in Minnesota when the Badgers walked out with a 63-47 victory at Williams Arena. The team continues to lack consistency and focus – it had 18 turnovers and shot 36 percent from the field in the loss. Nineteen of the missed field goals were inside the paint. The senior trio of Dan Coleman, Lawrence McKenzie and Spencer Tollackson went from a combined 49 points against Michigan to a mere 20 points against Wisconsin.

7. (8)Iowa (4-6, 11-12) – Heading into a game with the Badgers, Todd Lickliter almost wishes his team lost to Ohio State. Reason: his team hasn’t strung together two Big Ten victories in a row. He figures if he treats the big win against Ohio State like a loss, the team might have a greater urge to win against Wisconsin. "I appreciate the way guys have responded to losses; now we're going to have to play our best game of the year if we're going to be able to compete," said Lickliter.

8. (7) Illinois (2-8, 10-13) – It might be time for Illinois to give up on this season and start preparing for the next. While Bruce Weber would never say he’s given up on this season, he has a decent freshman class that is, for the most part, watching from the sidelines. Playing freshmen Demetri McCamey, Mike Tisdale, Bill Cole and Mike Davis might help salvage some good from this train-wreck season.

9. (10) Penn State (3-6, 11-10) – Saturday night’s home win against Michigan State proved to the Nittany Lions that they can win without Geary Claxton. However, coach Ed DeChellis underscored that mental hurdle, crediting the win simply to talent. "It's a team sport played by individuals and when individuals play well, the whole team looks a heckuva lot better,” he said. To salvage anything from the season, the team must build on this new confidence.

It’s not fun to review the bottom two teams. I stole these recaps from Skip Myslenski of the Chicago Tribune.

10. (9) Michigan (1-8, 5-16) – The Wolverines have a promising talent in freshman guard Manny Harris, averaging 17.1 points per game in conference play, third best in the league, and 34.4 minutes, sixth most. "He's been a great asset to us from Day One," coach John Beilein said. "He's learning college basketball and is eager to do that."

11. (11) Northwestern (0-8, 7-12) – Like Minnesota's Smith, coach Bill Carmody is another who must worry about his players' heads. "Each day in practice you try to concentrate on one thing we can get better at," Carmody said. "You show on tape what you do well. They know what they do wrong. We emphasize what we do well to keep confidence up."

Big Ten Power Rankings, Week 4

If you're reading my blog for something besides basketball, I do apologize. I am not giving up on other endeavors for this blog, but I'm busy doing other things in life and these rankings are really easy since I follow this stuff anyways. If you're interested in reading some other stuff I've written - nothing terribly exciting - search "Nathan Hart" at idsnews.com where you'll find some of my recent articles.

Anyways, on to the weekly rankings.

Power Rankings (last week's ranking in parenthesis)

1. (3) Michigan State (6-1, 18-2) – The Spartans are back on top after losses from the Hoosiers and the Badgers. They got the job done this week against Big Ten bottom-feeders Michigan and Northwestern. People might point to the February 16 date at Bloomington as crucial, but the Spartans better watch out four days earlier when they visit the up-and-coming Boilermakers.

2. (2) Wisconsin (6-1, 18-2) – The Badgers’ loss to Purdue might not look as bad as the season progresses. Maybe it’s the local corn syrup factory smell that irritates the Badgers and makes them play so poorly at West Lafayette. They’ve lost 31 of the last 32 games at Purdue. Coupled with a too-close home win against Michigan, the Badgers must regain focus for this week’s showdown with IU.

3. (1) Indiana (6-0, 17-2) – The IU student section that dropped f-bombs and “cow turds” on referee Jim Burr missed the point. The refs didn’t lose that game for IU against UConn. IU lost the game for IU. Eric Gordon continues to under impress – he’s yet to put on a dominating performance since sitting out the Kentucky game. The Hoosiers do not look prepared for the NCAA Tournament since they’ve been forced to rely heavily on the three-point shot.

4. (4) Purdue (6-1, 15-5) – Here’s the emerging dark horse in the Big Ten. After Minnesota’s rise and fall, and Geary Claxton’s injury, the Boilers have become the diaper dandy of the conference. The centenarian on this team is only a sophomore – Chris Kramer might be the most underrated player in the Big Ten. He’s sixth on his team in scoring, but first in hustle and leadership.

5. (6) Ohio State (5-2, 14-6) – There’s a clear separation from the fifth to the sixth team in the Big Ten. At season’s end, this split might help the conference’s upper echelon all make the NCAA tournament. Each of the top five teams should have at least eight victories against the other six teams in the conference. For OSU, wins against Illinois and Minnesota have gotten them back on track after a three-game slide.

6. (5) Minnesota (2-4, 12-6) – Tubby Smith’s welcome to the Big Ten wasn’t all that pleasant. His team has already lost to the Hoosiers, Buckeyes and Spartans. He has his turn with the Badgers Sunday. Dan Coleman, Lawrence McKenzie and Spencer Tollackson have second and third team all-Big Ten written all over them, but the lack of a standout player has dropped them to the lower level in the conference after a promising non-conference performance.

7. (7) Illinois (2-6, 10-11) – The Fighting Illini’s record is deceptively bad. They’ve lost on the road to Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio State and Purdue. The only bad conference loss might be at home to Penn State, although the Nittany Lions had Geary Claxton on hand for that game. The schedule doesn’t get any easier for Bruce Weber’s squad this week – they’re traveling to East Lansing for a Wednesday game with the Spartans.

8. (8)Iowa (3-5, 10-11) – Picked to finish very low in the Big Ten, some critics are saying the Hawkeyes are already exceeding expectations with three conference wins and an overall record nearing .500. Coach Todd Lickliter isn’t quite buying it. “We have not exceeded our expectations,” the coach said at a press conference. “I’d never limit this team by telling them they’ve met someone else’s expectations.”

9. (10) Michigan (1-7, 5-15) – Despite the record, the Wolverines are improving. Just three weeks ago, the Badgers crushed Michigan 70-54 at the Crisler Arena. This past week, the Badgers needed a three by Marcus Landry late in the game to seal a 64-61 home victory. If the Wolverines are going to win a couple game in the Big Ten, they must see improvement from young guns Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims.

10. (9) Penn State (2-5, 10-9) – Overall record with Geary Claxton this season: 10-5. Without: 0-4. It’s obvious the Nittany Lions are a different team without their senior leader. Jamelle Cornley and Talor Battle haven’t really stepped up since Claxton went down and the team is struggling to score. A grand total 91 points in two games won’t get you very far in any conference.

11. (11) Northwestern (0-7, 6-11) – Not only are the Wildcats losing every Big Ten outing, they are losing badly. They’ve yet to come within ten points of the other team in a conference game and are averaging to lose by 16 points per game. Having already suffered home losses to Michigan and Penn State, the Wildcats might become the Miami Dolphins of the Big Ten. Will they win a single game?

Big Ten Power Rankings, Week 3

Beyond Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan State, the Big Ten will probably qualify one or two more teams to the tournament. It'll be the team that beats all the average and worse teams in the conference and wins a couple home games against the trio at the top. Minnesota had its chance this week and lost home games to Indiana and Michigan State. Ohio State and Purdue look like the only other viable candidates right now. On to the rankings.

Power Rankings (Last week's rank in parenthesis)

Contenders
1. (1) Indiana (5-0, 16-1)
The Hoosiers continue to dominate the Big Ten bottom feeders, with five wins against teams who have a combined 6-17 conference record. Eric Gordon might be scoring all the points, but he’s hasn’t dominated a game in the past month or so. The January 31 date in Madison is crucial.

2. (2) Wisconsin (5-0, 15-2)
The Badgers are giving the business to the terrible teams as well. Their 5-0 mark is - believe it or not – more pathetic than the Hoosiers, with the opponents’ conference record at 6-22. Without a star like Alando Tucker, Bo Ryan’s balanced team has seven players averaging between five and 13 points per game.

3. (4) Michigan St (4-1, 16-2)
Michigan State hasn’t played well on the road in recent history. Prior to a win in Minnesota, the team had lost six conference road games in a row and 11 of their last 12. “We don't have a lot of confidence away from the Breslin Center,” senior Drew Naymick said. “That's something that we need to change." Yeah, probably.

Maybe?
4. (6) Purdue (4-1, 13-5)
The Boilermakers feature the youngest starting lineup in Division I basketball. Everyone expects them to do well in a couple years. Are they good enough this year? If contributions continue to come from the least expecting players, like Marcus Green’s 22 against Ohio State, the freshman class should ease right into tougher Big Ten play.

5. (3) Minnesota (2-3, 12-5)
Between Minnesota and Penn State, these two teams were the dark horses to make a run in the Big Ten. Both teams lost that opportunity this week. Indiana and Michigan State came to town and left with victories. The loss against the Hoosiers was harsh, seeing as IU turned the ball over every 2.5 possessions.

6. (5) Ohio St (3-2, 12-6)
Two road losses to two teams (Michigan State and Tennessee) in the top 15 of the AP poll doesn’t necessarily hurt the Buckeyes’ season resume. It doesn’t help it either. When the selection committee looks at the middle-of-the pack Big Ten teams to see if any merit entrance, they’ll look for standout wins. Close losses don’t count.

Mid-majors
7. (7) Illinois (1-5, 9-10)
The Fighting Illini aren’t that great this year. In years the Big Ten qualifies seven teams for the tourney, Illinois might be the worst team in the conference. Too bad this year’s competition is very weak. Shaun Pruitt and Bruce Weber and the rest of the team won’t be able to replicate their gridiron counterparts at the university with a surprise season.

8. (9) Iowa (2-4, 9-10)
I wonder if Todd Lickliter wonders if he made the right decision to move to the Big Ten. Sure he’s making more money, but the team is “turrible,” as Charles Barkley might say (or at least Frank Caliendo as Charles Barkley might say). Home losses say a lot about a team’s ability – Iowa’s seven losses at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena are a big, black eye.

9. (8) Penn St (2-3, 10-7)
The other dark horse candidate in the Big Ten had a really bad week. Shoo-in first team Big Ten player Geary Claxton tore a knee ligament against Wisconsin and is out for the season. The team also had double-digit losses to the Badgers and Hoosiers. PSU needs someone besides Jamelle Cornley and Talor Battle to step up and fill the big, empty shoes.

10. (10) Michigan (1-5, 5-13)
The best Big Ten freshman not named Gordon is Manny Harris. Unlike Gordon, his teammates don’t provide much help. John Beilein questioned his team’s intensity. “The ball's up in the air, and we're waiting for somebody else to get it…Can I get the ball? Everybody should go after the ball. It's something we have to continue to address."

11. (11) Northwestern (0-5, 6-9)
The only way the Wildcats have found to win during the Big Ten season is to play local non-conference college teams, like it did against a 7-14 unaffiliated Chicago State team this week. It was back to reality Saturday with a loss to Wisconsin. The good news for the Wildcats? Another independent, Texas Pan-American, will be visiting next Wednesday.

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.

Taking an instant out of time

Sean Salyards, who attends the Bloomington RPC, is an M.F.A. student at IU and was recently an award winner at the American PHOTO’s Images of the Year Awards Event in New York. His website, www.seansalyards.com, features the award-winning album "Pauline" as well as some other work. I don't know Sean all that well, but at least I thought I'd publicize in my own little way some of the cool work he's been doing recently.

You can find an article about his recent award here.

It is he who made us, and we are his

Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for his role in a dogfighting operation on his property.

This maximum punishment has created some debate as to whether Vick's sentence is fair or unfair.

My thoughts:
As long as humans are allowed to kill babies without punishment, any sentence for killing dogs is too harsh. It's rather senseless to go after dog-killers when we let human-killers dwell peacefully amongst us.

Bear one another's burdens

In my Navigator's guys' Bible Study this semester, we worked through Loving God, a short booklet by Susan Nikaido. At the end of the book, the author listed several suggestions to reinvigorate one's spiritual life. Too often, she wrote, spiritual disciplines evolve into mere routine and empty ritual, eventually leading to plain boredom.

Her advice ranged from practical (study a book of the Bible that you've never really looked at in depth before) to peculiar ("go on an ego fast" - for a day, don't use the words "I", "me", or "mine" to help set your focus on God and others). However, one bit of advice stood out to me as interesting and worthwhile: "Pray through the newspaper."

As you read the newspaper, pray about people and events. Remember
that politics, the law,economics, crime, and social issues all have
implications for us as Christians. Paul urged Timothy "that requests,
prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for
kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet
lives in all godliness andholiness" (I Timothy 2:1-2).
We should pray not only for political leaders, but also for cultural
leaders. You can also find issues that need prayer in the sports,
comic, entertainment, real estate, and travel sections. Instead of
frustration and despair, the newspaper should provoke prayer
(Nikaido, 81-2).

I read at least one print newspaper every day. In fact, sometimes I read several. I read the Indianapolis Star, the USA Today, the Indiana Daily Student and, on occasion, the New York Times. I read ESPN.com frequently, BBC.co.uk occasionally. The point is not to say that I read the newspaper a lot! (I do...) It's to show how much I've missed in opportunities for prayer. As I read, I could be praying for all sorts of things.

In politics, I could be praying for the Presidential election and that the right candidates would get elected. In headline news, I could be praying for comfort for the families of the Omaha shopping mall tragedy and that this event would draw people close to God. Similary, in sports, I could be praying concerning the murder of Sean Taylor, that the family be comforted and that God be glorified in this situation. Think of a news story and I guarantee there's a prayer request to be found somewhere within.

I'm sure all of you read some news every day. Might we all be missing this opportunity?

I find it easy to pray for myself. "God, please help me on this test" or "Thank you for what you did for me." And sometimes I even pray for friends and family and such. That's not a bad thing at all! But I was further reminded this morning that I should be praying for all kinds of people when I read Galatians 6 in my quiet time. "Bear one another's burdens," Paul writes, "and thus fulfill the law of Christ."

Will this concept reinvigorate someone's spiritual life? Maybe. Maybe not. It might reinvigorate someone's prayer life. For me, it has at least shown a whole new perspective on prayer that I'd never seriously considered before.

Your thoughts?