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Big Ten Basketball: Rivals Michigan, Ohio State leads latest power rankings

By Adam Childs

Jan 12, 2021; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward Isaiah Livers (2) drives against the Wisconsin Badgers in the first half at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 12, 2021; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward Isaiah Livers (2) drives against the Wisconsin Badgers in the first half at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Big Ten Basketball Myreon Jones Penn State Nittany Lions Rocket Watts Michigan State Spartans (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
Big Ten Basketball Myreon Jones Penn State Nittany Lions Rocket Watts Michigan State Spartans (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

. Nittany Lions . 12. team. 491. . 7-9 (4-8)

Penn State is the epitome of a team that no one wants to play but still beats. The Nittany Lions once again come up just a little bit short on Tuesday night when they lost by two at Michigan State.

They had a great look at three with about 10 seconds to go but it rimmed out and they could not pull off the road win.

They play tough and I think they are a lot better than their record, but we drop them down here because eventually, you need to win those games. If you can’t win the games you can’t move up.

The Nittany Lions along with the next three teams on this list are all grouped pretty tightly and you could make an argument for any of them to be higher than the other, but then again we are just arguing about sports nine through 12.

team. 486. . 10-7 (4-7). . Spartans . 11

Remember when the Spartans were coming off their first win at Duke and ranked as high as four in the country? Yeah neither do we. The only team that has fallen off worse than the Spartans are the Wildcats we just talked about.

Michigan State did just pick up a win against Nebraska but that isn’t exactly something to write home about. Before that, they had lost four straight including the embarrassing 30 point loss to Rutgers in which they only scored 37 points.

We knew the Spartans would miss Cassius Winston but not this much. They struggle to score without a great point guard and a true number one.

This team is in serious jeopardy of not making the NCAA tournament unless they have a huge turnaround quick. The problem is they play five of their last eight games against teams ranked. One of the games against a team not ranked is at Indiana and they have lost three straight to them.

The Spartans could be staring straight down the barrel of an NIT appearance if they don’t pull off some upsets quickly.

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