(Photo Credit: IndianaHQ)
With just a handful of games this week, the team got a chance to reset the rankings and truly take a look at all of the teams’ resumes now that the NET has settled in. We learned quickly that some teams like Maryland and Northwestern currently have no wins in Quadrants 1 and 2 and may have been a little overrated. Wisconsin, on the other hand, is alone with Michigan State who only have Quadrant 1 losses. Here is the final Big Ten ranking for 2018.
Big Ten Power Rankings: December 28th, 2018
1 |  | Michigan 12-0 (2-0) Last: 1 | After Kansas’s loss at Arizona State last week, many thought that Michigan could be the number team in the nation. But of course, you can’t trust AP voters to get anything right. The undefeated Wolverines continue to be the team to beat in the Big Ten and they have coach John Beilein in the conversation for Coach of the Year.
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2 |  | Michigan State 10-2 (2-0) Last: 2 | Tom Izzo continues to have his team running at a high pace, despite what he may say in his interviews. Expect the Spartans to continue building their offense around their impressive junior class of Winston, Ward, and Langford.
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3 |  | Wisconsin 10-2 (2-0) Last: 3 | Ethan Happ is currently leading the nation with 9 double-doubles in just 12 games of play so far. Even without a stable backcourt, the Badgers continue to find ways to win. If Brad Davison can get back into last year’s form and a few other guard step up, Wisconsin can seriously make a run for the Big Ten title.
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4 |  | Indiana 11-2 (2-0) Last: 4 | With Arkansas dropping to a Quadrant 2 loss, Indiana’s resume has not improved over the last week. Indiana looks to make a statement in the upcoming game against Illinois at home. Following that game, Indiana goes through one of the toughest stretches for any team in college basketball this season. They play the next 6 of 8 on the road, including games at Michigan, at Purdue, at Michigan State, and at Maryland. Their two home games are against Nebraska and Michigan.
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5 |  | Ohio State 11-1 (2-0) Last: 5 | Coach Chris Holtmann continues to surpass all preason expectations with an 11-1 record going into 2019. The Buckeyes have made the most out of a team that lost the Big Ten player of the year. Kaleb Wesson is the real deal and he has been efficiently scoring over 16 points per game, while averaging just the fifth highest minutes per game on the roster.
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6 |  | Iowa 10-2 (0-2) Last: 9 | Iowa’s 110 win over Savannah State marked a season high for the high-powered Hawkeye offense. With Oregon taking a bit of a tumble, Iowa’s win against the Ducks does not look quite as great as it did when it took place, but nevertheless the Hawkeyes are still in the AP Top 25 and have full intention on making it to the dance.
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7 |  | Nebraska 10-2 (1-1) Last: 6 | Nebraska dropped out of the rankings this week mostly due to the leap frogging of NC State. (Indiana suffered a similiar dip) The computer rankings currently favor Nebraska more than humans, largely due to their offensive efficiency. The Huskers have one of the highest field goal percentages in the country and have the third lowest turnover percentage in the conference behind Wisconsin and Michigan.
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8 |  | Minnesota 10-2 (1-1) Last: 7 | Richard Pitino has not been the topic of a lot of conversation so far this season; however, the Golden Gophers are sneakily putting together an impressive resume. Their centerpiece Jordan Murphy leads all players in defensive rebounding percentage.
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9 |  | Purdue 7-5 (1-1) Last: 10 | Although Purdue has racked up 5 losses already, all of them come from mostly from Quadrant 1, with the expection of Notre Dame who fell into Quadrant 2. With that being said, Purdue is also 0-4 against Quadrant 1 and seems to have created a ceiling for themselves. Carsen Edwards’ conference player of the year ballot may be threatened simply because of Purdue not winning.
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10 |  | Maryland 9-3 (1-1) Last: 8 | Maryland’s home loss against Seton Hall, paired up with Penn State’s falling out of the top 75 in the NET rankings means that Maryland only has wins against Quadrants 3 and 4. In fact, they are 0-2 in Quadrant 1 and 0-1 in Quadrant 2.
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11 |  | Northwestern 8-4 (0-2) Last: 11 | Unlike Indiana, Northwestern has been on the wrong side of the close game scenarios. Besides a strange loss against Fresno State out in California earlier this year, the Wildcats have had single possession losses against the Wolverines and Hoosiers and an overtime defeat against the Sooners most recently.
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12 |  | Penn State 6-6 (0-2) Last: 12 | Since the victory against Virginia Tech, the Nittay Lions have lost all of their tough games since. Conference losses to Maryland and Indiana led to additional losses against NC State and at Alabama. Penn State has officially fallen out of the top 75 in the NET ranking, which has implications for the rest of the Big Ten.
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13 |  | Illinois 4-8 (0-2) Last: 14 | Illinois lost a very tough battle against Missouri in the Braggin’ Rights game. Brad Underwood has the team playing hard, but unfortunately that has not translated in to W’s. Illinois will upset some teams in conference play where anything is possible.
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14 |  | Rutgers 6-5 (0-2) Last: 13 | Rutgers has steadily decreased from it’s original NET ranking of 74. Currently sitting at 120, the Scarlet Knights have not been able to play with any particular consistency. That being said, besides the Fordham loss and Miami victory, they have really met expectations – winning games they are supposed to win and losing games they are supposed to lose.
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