Big Ten Basketball: Illinois, Purdue, and Indiana on top of latest power rankings

1. Purdue Boilermakers - 10-1 (1-1)

At the start of the season, the question was whether or not Michigan State could compete with the Boilermakers for the Big Ten Basketball title. Seeing how the Spartans look right now, we know that's not happening. At this point, we have to ask if there's a team in all of NCAA Basketball better than this team.

Purdue easily has the best resume to this point. They swept the Maui Invitational, beating Gonzaga, Tennessee, and Marquette in the process. They also have wins over Alabama, Iowa, and are coming off a win over No. 1 Arizona. The Boilermakers could have 6-7 losses in league play and still get a 1 seed in the Big Dance.

Reigning National Player of the Year Zach Edey is off to a great start in his efforts at repeating. He leads the Big Ten with 24.5 ppg and 10.6 rpg, as well as how many frontcourt players he's managed to foul out. Guards Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith have taken leaps as sophomore scorers, with Smith putting up 14.4 ppg and 6.7 apg in his own all-league campaign. The impact of Southern Illinois transfer Lance Jones (10.5 ppg) has been felt on both ends as well.

As great as Purdue has looked this season, they technically aren't even in first place of the Big Ten standings, thanks to a loss to Northwestern. That has more to do with how difficult true road games are in the sport than any real weakness with this Boilermaker roster. They'll be back at home for the next week, taking on Jacksonville and Eastern Kentucky to end the non-con slate.