Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings: Purdue, Maryland make huge leaps

By Austin Walther

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 03: Head coach John Beilein of the Michigan Wolverines reacts from the bench while playing the Penn State Nittany Lions at Crisler Arena on January 03, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 68-55. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 03: Head coach John Beilein of the Michigan Wolverines reacts from the bench while playing the Penn State Nittany Lions at Crisler Arena on January 03, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 68-55. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 03: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against Joe Wieskamp #10 of the Iowa Hawkeyes at Mackey Arena on January 3, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 03: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against Joe Wieskamp #10 of the Iowa Hawkeyes at Mackey Arena on January 3, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

3. Purdue Boilermakers (10-6)

Previous Rank: 9

This one is going to seem a little crazy. Trust me. But I have a reason for it. Purdue is fueled by one of the best scorers in the country. This isn’t the 24th ranked defense from last season that had a ton of experience and depth. It’s the Carsen Edwards show. There isn’t a true point guard on the team, but the Boilermakers have talent.

The two losses on their resume that are hurting right now is Texas and Notre Dame. It’s not terrible, but the Longhorns are so inconsistent at times and Notre Dame is banged up. The two losses were on the road and neutral court so it’s not as bad.

This is not a resume piece. We’re talking about how each team has done in the Big Ten so far. Purdue had to travel to Ann Arbor while Michigan was just picking up steam. Not ideal for anyone. They came back home and beat Maryland. Purdue resumed conference play, avoided going 1-2 in the Big Ten and handed Iowa its third loss. Then it was off to play the other Michigan team who is also on some kind of roll right now. Purdue made up for it by knocking off the Badgers at the Kohl Center.

Through the first five games of conference play, Purdue’s schedule has been the toughest. Every team they played so far has been ranked at some point in the season. If you want to say Edwards is their whole team, go right ahead, then you might want to add him in the discussion for player of the year as well. The stat is line is ridiculous, averaging over 25 points per game, three boards, three assists and 61 three-pointers. That equals to almost four per game.

Ryan Cline has 50 three-pointers of his own. No other Boilermaker is averaging double-figures, but two guys are accounting for almost 50 percent of the scoring. Matt Haarms is slowly but surely moving up the scoring ladder. He does have 24 block this season, but the rebounds are a little low.

Only one Boilermaker is averaging over five boards and that’s Grady Eifert who has the ability to hit the three. What it comes down to is, if Purdue is a little more active on the Edwards and Cline misses, the Boilermakers will be shooting up the polls as well.

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