Big Ten Power Poll: March 1
Each week from throughout the conference regular season, Jon McNamara, John Veldhuis and I will rank the Big Ten from best to worst. Each ballot is filled out separately with 14 points being awarded to the first place team, 13 points to second place, 12 points to third, and so on. Without further adieu, here is this week's BadgerBlitz.com Big Ten Power Poll.
1. Michigan State (24-5, 11-5) - 41 points (2 1st place vote)
Weekly Change: +2
Last Week: W 81-62 @ Ohio State, W 88-57 vs. Penn State
Highest Vote: 1
Lowest Vote: 2
Izzo's Spartans are back at full strength and have won 8 of their last 9 games as a result. With Rutgers and Ohio State remaining on the schedule, those in East Lansing have to feel good about finishing at least in second place in the conference.
2. Indiana (23-6, 13-3) - 40 points (1 1st place vote)
Weekly Change: +3
Last Week: W 74-47 @ Illinois
Highest Vote: 1
Lowest Vote: 2
Indiana clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title over the weekend. Keeping the title for itself will prove to be difficult for Indiana as the Hoosiers will face their toughest two-game stretch of the season with a road game at Iowa and a date with Maryland to close out the conference season.
3. Maryland (23-6, 11-5) - 35 points
Weekly Change: -1
Last Week: L 83-79 @ Purdue
Highest Vote: 3
Lowest Vote: 4
The Terrapins - and Melo Trimble in particular - appear to be running out of steam as they head down the stretch, having dropped 3 of their last 4 games, including a loss to then-winless Minnesota.
4. Wisconsin (19-10, 11-5) - 34 points
Weekly Change: +2
Last Week: W 67-59 @ Iowa, W 68-57 vs. Michigan
Highest Vote: 3
Lowest Vote: 4
Two weeks ago, and perhaps even a week ago, the Badgers were on the NCAA Tournament bubble. But now, after defeating Maryland and Iowa as part of their 10 wins in 11 games, the Badgers find themselves tied for second place in the conference and are looking like they'll be a favorite in their opening round NCAA Tournament game.
5. Iowa (20-8, 11-5) - 29 points
Weekly Change: -4
Last Week: L 67-59 vs. Iowa, L 68-64 @ Ohio state
Highest Vote: 5
Lowest Vote: 6
The biggest drop in the poll this week is Iowa, a team that has dropped 4 of its last 5 games, with 3 of those losses coming against teams below them in the conference standings. Life doesn't get any easier for Fran & Co. as they will host an Indiana team that just clinched at least a share of the conference title.
6. Purdue (22-7, 10-6) - 28 points
Weekly Change: -2
Last Week: W 83-79 vs. Maryland
Highest Vote: 5
Lowest Vote: 6
Purdue is now 7-1 at home during conference play this season, with the lone loss coming in its conference home opener against Iowa. The Boilermakers have really bolstered their NCAA Tournament resumé with victories over Michigan State and Maryland in recent outings. Purdue will travel to Nebraska before hosting Wisconsin to close out the season.
7. Ohio State (19-11, 11-6) - 23 points
Weekly Change: +1
Last Week: L 81-62 vs. Michigan State, W 68-64 vs. Iowa
Highest Vote: 7
Lowest Vote: 8
Since losing by 11 points to Wisconsin on February 4, Ohio State has rattled off 5 wins in its last 6 contests, including a victory over Iowa on Sunday. Ohio State's lone loss during that 6-game stretch was to Michigan State, a team the Buckeyes will have a chance to get revenge against in the regular-season finale on Saturday.
8. Michigan (20-10, 10-7) - 22 points
Weekly Change: -1
Last Week: W 72-63 vs. Northwestern, L 68-57 @ Wisconsin
Highest Vote: 7
Lowest Vote: 8
As they fight their way off of the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament, the Wolverines have picked a bad time to drop 3 of 4 games. What Michigan does have going for itself is that it has yet to have a bad conference loss this season. As currently constituted, the Wolverines' worst Big Ten loss is a 10-point defeat on the road against Ohio State. Conference victories against Maryland and Purdue, however, would appear to balance that out.
9. Northwestern (18-11, 6-10) - 18 points
Weekly Change: +1
Last Week: L 72-63 @ Michigan, W 98-59 vs. Rutgers
Highest Vote: 9
Lowest Vote: 9
Perhaps the Wildcats were getting tired of all of the outside voices labeling them as the most disappointing team in the Big Ten, as they took out all of their frustrations on Rutgers, scoring nearly 100 points, to make sure everyone knew who the real lame ducks of the conference were.
10. Nebraska (14-15, 6-10) - 15 points
Weekly Change: -2
Last Week: L 56-55 @ Penn State
Highest Vote: 10
Lowest Vote: 10
Since defeating Michigan State in East Lansing on January 20, Nebraska has picked up a total of just two victories - one against Rutgers and one against Penn State.
11. Penn State (15-14, 6-10) - 12 points
Weekly Change: N/A
Last Week: W 56-55 vs. Nebraska, L 88-57 @ Michigan State
Highest Vote: 11
Lowest Vote: 11
Penn State was responsible for the beginning of the Iowa slide, and the Nittany Lions built off of that to build a three-game winning streak, which was tied for their longest streak since winning 10-straight games during the non-conference stretch of the 2014-15 season.
12. Illinois (13-16, 5-11) - 9 points
Weekly Change: N/A
Last Week: L 74-47 vs. Indiana, W 84-71 vs. Minnesota
Highest Vote: 12
Lowest Vote: 12
Hopefully someone told newly-appointed Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman that this isn't usually how things go in Champaign. Whitman showed up and was honored at halftime of senior night and the Fighting Illini imploded for 52 points in the second half en route to a 13-point victory over Minnesota.
13. Minnesota (8-20, 2-14) - 6 points
Weekly Change: N/A
Last Week: W 83-61 vs. Rutgers, L 81-74 @ Illinois
Highest Vote: 13
Lowest Vote: 13
Minnesota ruined the fun of a potential winless-matchup with Rutgers by defeating Maryland the week prior, but the Gophers have now at least made our job a little bit easier in terms of knowing who to put at No. 13 and who to put at No. 14 in this poll.
14. Rutgers (6-23, 0-16) - 3 points
Weekly Change: N/A
Last Week: L 83-61 @ Minnesota, L 98-59 @ Northwestern
Highest Vote: 14
Lowest Vote: 14
A combined 181 points scored by Minnesota and Northwestern? Hey, at least neither of them scored 100.
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