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Big Ten Basketball power rankings: Michigan makes big statement to start the season

By Austin Walther

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - FEBRUARY 25: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers reaches for the ball to keep it in bounds during the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Mackey Arena on February 25, 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - FEBRUARY 25: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers reaches for the ball to keep it in bounds during the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Mackey Arena on February 25, 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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VILLANOVA, PA – NOVEMBER 14: Eli Brooks #55, David DeJulius #0, Zavier Simpson #3, and Ignas Brazdeikis #13 of the Michigan Wolverines walk off the court after defeating the Villanova Wildcats at Finneran Pavilion on November 14, 2018 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Michigan defeated Villanova 73-46. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
VILLANOVA, PA – NOVEMBER 14: Eli Brooks #55, David DeJulius #0, Zavier Simpson #3, and Ignas Brazdeikis #13 of the Michigan Wolverines walk off the court after defeating the Villanova Wildcats at Finneran Pavilion on November 14, 2018 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Michigan defeated Villanova 73-46. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

We enter week number three of the college basketball season and Big Ten Basketball is looking better than ever. So how do all 14 teams rank in the first power rankings of the season?

Big Ten Basketball is back. The conference looks nothing like it did last season. The difference is that there aren’t going to be four dominating teams and the rest. It’s going to be very deep. Early bracketologists are putting nine teams in the Tournament from the Big Ten. That’s a raw number with an extremely small sample size, but honestly, it’s doable.

The Big Ten won the Gavitt Tip-off games 5-3. The biggest victory came in a rematch of the National Championship. I don’t know if there was a single soul that was willing to put in writing that Michigan was going to beat Villanova. But they did. Handily. John Beilein deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

A team from the conference has already won an early season Tournament. Syracuse vs. UConn was the highlight in the 2K Classic. Iowa stole the show on opening night by beating Oregon. Everyone wanted to see Oregon play Syracuse. They got their wish, but in the consolation game. The Hawkeyes then defeated the Huskies in the Championship. They did so with defense and balanced scoring. Iowa has found themselves in the top-25 and rightfully so.

Six teams are in the AP top-25 as the rankings dropped Monday. The next two highest teams receiving votes are Big Ten teams. The crazy thing is that there is only one team in the top-10. That solidifies the fact that this conference is going to be super deep. Just because a team finishes eighth or ninth, doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.

Related Story. Preseason Big Ten Rankings for 2018-19. light

Carsen Edwards may run away with the Big Ten Player of the Year honors because he’s all Purdue has for consistent scoring. He’s leading the league in points per game by 2.6. Ethan Happ would have an argument to make as well. He recorded his first triple double opening night and has gone on to putting up consecutive double-doubles since.

I should also mention Lamar Stevens who is second in the Big Ten in scoring while averaging 10.3 rebounds. Cassius Winston is doing Cassius Winston things 17.2 points per game and 7.7 assists.

The freshmen aren’t disappointing either. The top youngster in scoring for the Big Ten is Ayo Dosunmu for Illinois at 21.5 points per game. Romeo Langford is doing what we all expected with almost 19 points per game. Ignas Brazdeikis or what guys like to call him, Iggy, has made it seem that Mo Wagner never left. Jalen Smith for Maryland is averaging 13 points per game and eight boards.

The Big Ten is off to a start better than what they probably thought it was going to be. They honestly couldn’t ask for anything better. We didn’t even talk about Michigan State being outmanned by Kansas in the opener because everything else has made up for it. So let’s pound out the first Big Ten power rankings this season.

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