Busting Brackets
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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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BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – JANUARY 25: Brandon Johns Jr #23 and Ignas Brazdeikis #13 of the Michigan Wolverines defend the shot of Justin Smith #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 25, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – JANUARY 25: Brandon Johns Jr #23 and Ignas Brazdeikis #13 of the Michigan Wolverines defend the shot of Justin Smith #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 25, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

12. Indiana Hoosiers (12-8)

Previous rank: 9

Does anyone remember the last time Indiana won a game? It was way back on January 3 against Illinois. They did win their first two Big Ten games, home against Northwestern and at Penn State. The non-conference slate is saving them which is why they’re still in Tournament discussion. The wins over Marquette, Louisville and Butler are keeping them alive.

Indiana is falling on a six-game losing streak right now. They have failed to beat any top-tier teams. The Hoosiers couldn’t even knock off a now middle of the road team in Nebraska at home. It was a 15-point defeat. Then they lost in the rematch against Northwestern and were swept by Michigan.

The reason for the low ranking is because Indiana hasn’t proven anything against Big Ten teams this year. I understand their resume is fine, still on the cusp of being a top-40 team among the metrics. That’s largely due to both non-conference losses were on the road and one was to Duke. The Golden Eagles and Cardinals are actually doing really well this season while Butler is struggling on the bubble.

It comes down to not having a third scorer. That seems to be a cop-out answer, but it’s the real truth. Romeo Langford and Juwan Morgan are terrific basketball players. Langford should be a lottery pick. The Hoosiers put up 63 on Michigan almost a month ago. In their last game against he Wolverines, Indiana failed to score 50. Morgan was the only one in double-figures.

Langford has failed to score in double-figures two out of his last three games. He’s been shooting under 40 percent in his last four games and he hasn’t made a three-pointer in any of those games either. The great debate right now is whether Archie Miller is on the hot seat. I would say yes. It may not be really hot, but it’s definitely warm. He has serious talent in Langford along with a great program player like Morgan. Miller should be able to put some pieces together.

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