Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings: Iowa, Wisconsin joining top-tier

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 09: Head coach John Beilein of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with Charles Matthews as he leaves the game while playing the Wisconsin Badgers at Crisler Arena on February 09, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 61-52. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

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EAST LANSING, MI – FEBRUARY 09: Amir Coffey #5 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers dunks the ball in the second half against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on February 9, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

8. Minnesota Golden Gophers (16-8)

Previous rank: 5

Minnesota saw themselves in the top-five last time around because the Gophers held head-to-head advantages over Wisconsin and Iowa. They then ran into three-straight ranked opponents and fell in all of them. Minnesota lost by 10 at Purdue, couldn’t sweep Wisconsin and then lost at the Breslin to Michigan State. They needed to win at least one of them to be a little higher.

The Gophers had won three out of four when the previous rankings were released. The loss was to fifth-ranked Michigan, but they picked up a top-25 win over Iowa. Three more quad-1 wins were waiting for Minnesota and they couldn’t capitalize.

Minnesota has scorers. Four guys are averaging 10 or more per game. The fifth guy is averaging 9.5. I feel like a healthy, consistent starter Eric Curry would give the Gophers five. But in his last three games, he has played less than 20 minutes. And he didn’t even play against Michigan State. He and freshman Daniel Oturu have been switching back and forth in the starting lineup. Richard Pitino knows he owes it to Curry, but Oturu is emerging as a great piece in the front court.

The offense runs through Amir Coffey. He did great against Purdue, but none of the starters contributed much. Then the last two games Coffey failed to scored double-figures. That’s a great place to start when trying to find why Minnesota has had struggles lately. Jordan Murphy gets into foul trouble almost every night and Gabe Kalscheur has gone from a good outside shooter, to a very streaky one. Minnesota seems to be fine, but it’s definitely panic time soon.

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