Big Ten Power Rankings: February 1

Welcome to the home stretch of the season. As we enter February the Big Ten has separated itself into some pretty clear tiers. There is a favorite to win the race with two strong contenders. There is a sleeper that can still win the race if there is enough chaos. You have a couple of bubble teams fighting in the middle, then the rest trying to stay above .500 overall to at least make the NIT.

After many years of getting 8-9 teams into the NCAA Tournament the Big Ten may only get six teams in this year (if not less). Will it be quality over quantity in March, then? The conference's failings recently are very well known, but this year the top does, indeed, seem a lot better than in previous years.

Get ready for a great month of basketball, especially if there is anything in store like last night's Purdue-Northwestern game. Last season Purdue won the league by three full games. This year that margin is unlikely. Any repeat title from Purdue will be well earned, as it must play the other two main contenders three times in the final nine games, two of them away from home.

The League Favorite

1. Purdue Boilermakers (20-2, 9-2) – Purdue survived last night. Barely. The 105-96 overtime win over Northwestern is the type of game that the Boilers have lost many times in recent seasons, but it ended up being the game of the year so far in the conference. With 2:30 left in regulation the Boilers trailed 78-73 after a Brooks Barnhizer basket. It was eerily similar to the FDU and St. Peter's games, as Purdue not only needed an immediate basket, but a stop and another one to prevent things from getting really tight. This time, it got the big shot, as Lance Jones hit a huge three, Ty Berry missed a three, and Zach Edey got a dunk. The rest was far from easy, but Purdue held on to set up a huge game in Madison on Sunday. A loss by Purdue would have put the Boilers in danger of falling three games back with eight to play by Monday morning. Now Purdue could be all alone in first place with a huge road win at Wisconsin (and some help from Nebraska tonight).

Challengers

2. Wisconsin Badgers (16-4, 8-1) – Tonight's game in Lincoln is huge. Nebraska has been a different team at home this year where they have already knocked off Purdue and Northwestern. If the Badgers survive, and win on Sunday against Purdue, they will swap places with the Boilermakers as the league favorite. Nebraska is their toughest road game left outside of the season finale at Purdue and they get to play Rutgers twice, Michigan, Iowa, and Indiana down the stretch. A Cornhusker win tonight would at least buy Purdue some cushion.

3. Illinois Fighting Illini (16-5, 7-3) – The Illini are slightly behind Purdue and Wisconsin right now, but with some help they are right back in the race. Their schedule is somewhere in the middle between Purdue and Wisconsin, and they get both the Badgers and Boilermakers in consecutive games in early March. Sunday night they host Nebraska and they desperately need to hold serve, especially since they have already lost once at home.

Lurking

4. Northwestern Wildcats (15-6, 6-4) – Northwestern is an NCAA Tournament team. They might even get their best seed ever. With 10 games left they are not totally out of the conference race, either. They are done playing the top three, and they went 2-3 against them with two very narrow losses in Madison and West Lafayette. Michigan State is the only team left they have to play that is ahead of them in the NET, and they already beat them in Evanston. They'll need a lot of help, but if Northwestern handles its business and keeps racking up wins it could sneak a piece of the title.

Bubbly

5. Nebraska Cornhuskers (15-6, 5-5) – Like Northwestern, Nebraska is going to get a lot of mileage out of beating Purdue. They are also 13-1 at home and as long as they get to play in Lincoln they are going to be a very tough team to beat. Their profile could use a road win or two. The only win they have away from home is at Kansas State. They get Wisconsin tonight, then go to Illinois and Northwestern. The last seven games are about as soft as you can ask for though.

6. Maryland Terrapins (13-8, 5-5) - I have a big jump for the Terps this week, as a road win at Iowa and a home win over Nebraska have pulled them out of the muck behind them. A road win Saturday at Michigan State would do wonders. They would have a chance to stack some wins then with a Rutgers-at Ohio State-Iowa stretch before a big home game against Illinois.

7. Michigan State Spartans (13-8, 5-5) – Because of their computer numbers Michigan State is probably an NCAA team (for now), but they have hung by a thread all season long. They trailed at halftime at home against Michigan before a big second half. They have fallen flat against the league's best, going 0-5 against the top five teams. Sunday's home game against Maryland looms large for both teams.

NIT bound

8. Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-7, 4-5) - The Gophers have already exceeded expectations and Saturday's win at Penn State broke a four game losing streak. They have six home games in the last 11, so they can make life difficult for some other teams like Michigan State and Northwestern. With three more wins they can get an NIT spot, which is tremendous improvement for them.

9. Indiana Hoosiers (13-8, 5-5) - Indiana got it done Tuesday night at home against Iowa, but may have lost a pair of starters in the process. Malik Reneau and Xavier Johnson may both miss extended time, which does not bode well for the long term. Like Minnesota, three more wins is probably enough for an NIT game, but the Hoosiers likely need a miracle to make the NCAAs.

10. Iowa Hawkeyes (12-9, 4-6) – Iowa was rising with a three-game winning streak, but it has since lost three of four, only beating Michigan in Ann Arbor. That included a 69-67 home loss to Maryland where they had absolutely no interest whatsoever in playing defense on the game-winning Jahmir Young drive. If you're a Purdue fan you just want them to play well enough to stay in the top 75 and keep the road win on Tier 1.

In Freefall

11. Ohio State Buckeyes (13-8, 3-7) – The Buckeyes are burning up on re-entry. Like last year, the wheels have come off by losing six of seven. There are no easy wins in sight, either. They go to Iowa tomorrow night in what might be a "Loser Leaves Town" NIT match.

Maybe They Do Something On The Right Night

12. Penn State Nittany Lions (10-1, 4-6) – Is there some Bryce Jordan Mausoleum magic still around for their February 21 game against Illinois? Penn State's most notable accomplishment this season by far was the upset of Wisconsin, a result that looks more stunning each week. They did win 61-46 at Rutgers last night in the "We are contractually obligated to not only broadcast, but promote this game" game. Given that final score, I would bet that Big Ten Network execs were glad that Purdue-Northwestern ran over the start of the broadcast. The Boilermakers and Wildcats did them a service.

13. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-10, 2-7) – How do you play one of the best teams in the country tough for forty minutes, then get blown out while failing to score 50 points at home against Penn State? I cannot figure Rutgers out. They have beaten Nebraska, but that was one of the few games where they had a functional offense. Still, weird things happen in their trapezoid of doom. Wisconsin needs to be wary on February 10.

Really, Really, REALLY Bad

14. Michigan Wolverines (7-14, 2-8) – On November 10 Michigan was receiving votes in the AP Poll. After beating St. John's at Madison Square Garden that night there was buzz they might be a sleeper in the Big Ten race. That nap has become a coma. They are just 4-14 since that point. They are a mere 1-9 in the last 10 with only a home win over Ohio State to their credit. This is a team getting worse by the week, it seems.

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