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- Michigan State (Last Week: 2) - Sparty took care of business on the road last week at Penn State and Nebraska, remaining undefeated in conference play. With Michigan’s upset loss to Wisconsin, it feels right to bump them into the top slot for now.
- Michigan (1) - Undefeated no more, the Wolverines will look to bounce back on the winning track this week with games against shaky Minnesota and Indiana squads.
- Maryland (3) - The Terps continue their January surge, having now won seven straight, including a close win at home over Wisconsin and a fairly comfortable win on the road at Ohio State last week. Anthony Cowan Jr. and Bruno Fernando continue to be a very lethal outside-inside combo.
- Purdue (6) - Another B1G team that’s been surging in the month of January, the Boilermakers have been led by Carsen Edwards, who helped light up Rutgers and more importantly for Purdue fans, Indiana this past week.
- Iowa (8) - The Hawkeyes have won five straight, albeit three of those wins have come against the bottom four teams in the conference (Penn State, Illinois, and Northwestern). They will get a chance to prove themselves this week against one of the alpha dogs when they host Michigan State on Thursday.
- Wisconsin (7) - Ethan Happ’s double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds paved the way for Wisconsin’s impressive 64-54 upset over a previously undefeated Michigan squad. Let’s see if the Badgers can turn that win into some positive momentum going forward...
- Minnesota (5) - The Gophers faced a pair of basement dwellers last week and rode the strugglebus, getting waxed 95-68 at Illinois, and barely scraping by Penn State in a one-point win. That’s going to knock them down a couple of pegs, for now.
- Nebraska (10) - A 15-point win on the road at Indiana and a competitive loss at home to Michigan State kept the Huskers within the NCAA Tournament discussion for another week.
- Indiana (4) - Losers of four straight, including an embarassing thrashing at home against Nebraska, the Hoosiers are a team in freefall at the moment. They will try and right the ship on the road at Northwestern before hosting Michigan in a rematch from a few weeks ago.
- Ohio State (9) - Another team in freefall, the Buckeyes have also lost four straight. Things don’t get any easier for them this week with Purdue coming to Columbus, followed by a road trip to Nebraska.
- Northwestern (11) - The Wildcats got their first road win in B1G play last week against Rutgers. They will try and make it two conference wins in a row when they host a struggling Indiana team this week.
- Rutgers (12) - Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights, they couldn’t parlay their upset of Ohio State, having lost three straight since then, including a loss at home to fellow basement-dweller Northwestern.
- Illinois (14) - Congrats to the Illini on getting their first win in conference play in an absolute blowout fashion! As your reward, you’re no longer in dead last in these power rankings.
- Penn State (13) - Good job, good effort, guys. Unfortunately, as the only team in the Big Ten sporting a winless record in conference play, you’re holding up the rear.