Busting Brackets
Fansided

Big Ten Basketball: Week 9 power rankings

By Blaine Lewallen

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 4: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans looks on during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Breslin Center on January 4, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 4: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans looks on during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Breslin Center on January 4, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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ROSEMONT, IL- NOVEMBER 15: Bryant McIntosh
ROSEMONT, IL- NOVEMBER 15: Bryant McIntosh /

What is up with the Wildcats? After expecting to be right up there at the top of the conference, Northwestern has really struggled this year. They have lost their last two games, and just can’t seem to get anything going offensively.

In their lone game without Bryant McIntosh, they managed to score just 55 points against Nebraska. Even though McIntosh (13.6 ppg, 5.5 apg) returned Saturday against Penn State and scored 18 points, the Wildcats still only managed 63 points as opposed to Penn State’s 78 in the loss. He was the only Wildcat in double figures, as the team shot just 37.1% from the field for the game.

Not only was their offensive performance subpar, defensively they allowed the Nittany Lions to shoot 70.83% from the field in the first half. The Wildcats just can’t seem to find it on either end of the floor.

Guys like Scottie Lindsey (14.2 ppg), Dererk Pardon (12.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Vic Law (12.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg) all had very poor outings Saturday, as they combined for 23 points in the game. This is very surprising, as all of these guys are upperclassmen. More should be expected from a veteran-heavy squad like the Wildcats. Coach Collins has a lot of work to do if he wants to bring back that same toughness that they had last season.

Schedule for this week:

Minnesota (13-4, 2-2) at Northwestern on Jan. 10

Northwestern at Indiana (9-7, 2-2) on Jan. 13

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