Big Ten Basketball: Wisconsin, Ohio State falls, Rutgers rises in latest power rankings

11. Penn State Nittany Lions - 12-12 (6-7)

After a stretch of 4 losses in 5 games, Penn State looked to be dead in the water as a bottom-tier team in the Big Ten. But as they’ve done all season, the Nittany Lions had another streak, this time, winning three straight games. 

Penn State defeated Rutgers and Indiana on the road, followed by an 89-79 win over Iowa. Ace Baldwin had 22 points, six assists, and four steals in the game and averaged around 20 ppg in the three-game winning streak. With Kayne Clary out, he has risen to the occasion to keep them more than competitive.

The Nittany Lions tried to get another road win this past weekend, giving Northwestern all it could handle for 40 minutes, They fell short this time, losing 68-63. Nicholas Kern had 18 points and seven rebounds, while Baldwin had 17 points and eight assists.

With leading scorer Clary (17.1 ppg) having returned from injury in a limited fashion, Penn State has a chance to finish over .500 in league play. They have a couple of bubble teams this week to cause some trouble to, taking on Michigan State at home, before going on the road to battle Nebraska.