Big Ten Basketball: Michigan’s rout puts them on top of Power Rankings

11. Northwestern Wildcats (6-5, 3-4 Big Ten)

Remember when Northwestern was 6-1 with a dominant win over Michigan State and an upset over Ohio State? The Wildcats have crashed back to Earth over their past four games, which dropped them below .500 in Big Ten play.

They lost road games to Iowa and Michigan and a home game against Illinois. On the surface, none of those losses are particularly bad; those are some of the best teams in the conference and the country, the kind of games Northwestern isn’t expected to win.

The problem is that Northwestern wasn’t competitive in any of them. The 15-point loss at Iowa was the closest of the three defeats. They lost to Michigan and Illinois by a combined 44 points. The loss to the Fighting Illini was particularly galling, as Northwestern led by 15 at the half before being outscored 53-13 after the break.

After Wednesday’s loss at Ohio State, the schedule doesn’t get easier. Northwestern has Iowa at home and Wisconsin on the road before finally getting (what could be) a reprieve when they take on Penn State. The Wildcats have gone from ranked to firmly on the bubble within two weeks – a win over Iowa or Wisconsin would go a long way for the team’s NCAA Tournament hopes.