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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EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 02: Pete Nance #22 of the Northwestern Wildcats during a game against the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on January 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 02: Pete Nance #22 of the Northwestern Wildcats during a game against the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on January 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

12. Northwestern Wildcats (10-6)

Previous Rank: 11

Northwestern has not sustained much success, nor have they really gone on a huge skid. Their largest win streak came at the beginning of the season with three-straight home wins against cupcakes. The Wildcats did lose its first two Big Ten games earlier this season, but bounced back for two consecutive wins. Including one against DePaul which some teams have lost to. Oklahoma was a battle that went into overtime.

They reopened conference play with Michigan State on the road. The Wildcats did get Illinois at home, but then fell to Iowa at home. Northwestern had the pleasure of playing Michigan again and this time it was a 20-point defeat in Ann Arbor. It certainly has been tough for Northwestern, but if one of those games would’ve equaled a win, it’d be a different story.

A team in the same position as the Wildcats in the Big Ten did pick up a signature win which is why the rankings are like this. Northwestern still sits inside the KenPom top-70, making it hard to kill them off the bubble. Fresno State is their worst non-conference loss and the Bulldogs are trying to make the Mountain West a two-bid league. And their worst Big Ten loss has come to Indiana, who is sliding, but should still make the Tournament.

Just like Lamar Stevens, Vic Law would be a strong candidate for first team All-Big Ten if Northwestern had more than one league win right now. He’s averaging over 17 points per game, 6.5 boards and almost three assists to go along with 32 made three-pointers. By no surprise, Dererk Pardon is the second leading scorer at almost 14 per game. He’s still blocking shots and grabbing a lot of rebounds.

The two experienced Wildcats do have help around them. Two transfers, Ryan Taylor and A.J. Turner. Taylor is the senior transfer who lit up the Missouri Valley last year. He is averaging over 12 points per game and 43 made three-pointers.

Turner sat out last year after transferring from Boston College and is at 9.2 points per game and is trying his best to be the point guard. Both transfers are shooting under 40 percent from the field and the drop off is quite a bit. Chris Collins is hoping that the Wildcats can steal a game from one of the top-10 teams this year for a confidence booster.

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