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Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings: Michigan, Michigan State both lose

By Austin Walther

MADISON, WISCONSIN - JANUARY 19: Kobe King #23 and Tai Strickland #13 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrate after beating the Michigan Wolverines 64-54 at the Kohl Center on January 19, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WISCONSIN - JANUARY 19: Kobe King #23 and Tai Strickland #13 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrate after beating the Michigan Wolverines 64-54 at the Kohl Center on January 19, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 27: Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrates after the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Mackey Arena on January 27, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 27: Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrates after the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Mackey Arena on January 27, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

One full month is about to end of Big Ten Basketball play and while there are two clear top-teams, the league is very deep and there are no easy games especially on the road. So after a few upsets and with both of the top-teams losing, how do the rankings look this week?

The Big Ten was being dominated all season by the top-two teams. Michigan and Michigan State were the final two undefeated teams. Two weeks ago, the Wolverines fell to Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. This past week, the Spartans lost to Purdue at Mackey. Both teams are still considered top-10 teams, but neither are going perfect in the Big Ten.

There are four teams with winning streaks in the Big Ten going into Tuesday night. Purdue is the hottest team. The Boilermakers have notable victories at Wisconsin, at Ohio State and recently against Michigan State. Wisconsin has found its stride after the win over Michigan while the Wolverines rebounded just fine. And believe it or not, Rutgers has won two in a row against Nebraska and Penn State.

The Cornhuskers are one of a few teams who are experiencing how brutal the Big Ten is this year. Their resume was decent in the middle of December, but Clemson, Seton Hall and Creighton are struggling. Their only quality Big Ten win was to Indiana. Ohio State lost five in a row before knocking off Nebraska and Indiana is sliding on a six-game losing streak.

Related Story. Why the Big Ten is better than the ACC. light

Maryland was easily a top-five team, but after two straight losses, the Terrapins have to be reevaluated. Minnesota and Iowa are holding their own in the conference and it was very fitting that they just played each other in a barn-burner. Northwestern is avoiding the basement and Illinois just picked up two wins in the Big Ten. But Penn State is in some serious trouble as the Nittany Lions haven’t won a game yet.

The Big Ten has a ceiling of ten teams in the NCAA Tournament. The floor is probably seven though. Ohio State and Indiana have both lost quite a few Big Ten games already and Nebraska lost one of its stars in Isaac Copeland. Minnesota is seeding kind of low right now and they’re metrics aren’t the best, but they do have four top-50 wins. There are going to be no easy games as we have seen already. Let’s take a look how the Big Ten stacks after a few surprising games.

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