As recently as Dec. 8, Purdue's men's basketball team was ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll. A couple weeks later, the Boilermakers have fallen far from that designation.

Purdue (8-4, 1-1 Big Ten) is now No. 21, falling five spots after a blowout loss to Auburn in a quasi-road game played over the weekend. It was the team's second-straight loss after a defeat to No. 13 Texas A&M a week prior.

The Boilermakers are in unfamiliar territory now, positioned well behind new Big Ten favorite No. 9 Oregon and in a cluster of conference contenders from Nos. 18 (Michigan State) to 24 (Illinois).

The Boilermakers knew they had a difficult non-conference slate ahead of them, and their opposition has come out as the sixth-toughest so far, according to Kenpom. Perhaps it's good news then, that Purdue has nearly made it out of non-conference play. The Boilermakers play Toledo Sunday before opening the Big Ten season in earnest with a visit to Minnesota Jan. 2.