(Photo Credit: IndianaHQ)
In our inaugural edition of IndianaHQ’s Big Ten Power rankings, we explore the first two weeks of the college basketball season and dive into the Big Ten at length.
Power rankings will be released weekly on Friday mornings and will include all games up until Thursday evening.
Big Ten Power Rankings: November 16th, 2018
1 | Michigan (3-0) Last: NR | This is not the Michigan team that made the 2018 National Championship game. Yet, the Wolverines already avenged last year’s defeat against Villanova Wednesday in impressive fashion. Out of all teams, they currently have the best win on the season that will likely end up as a Quadrant 1 win when it is all said and done.
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2 | Michigan State (2-1) Last: NR | For 35 minutes, the Spartans were clearly outmatched in its’ 92-87 loss Tuesday against the Kansas Jayhawks on November 6. Yet, Michigan State found a way to make the game interesting despite 18 turnovers, and a sloppy shooting performance from Cassius Winston. After a successful week against both Florida Gulf Coast and UL Monroe, the Spartans could earn an early signature win against UCLA on November 22.
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3 | Indiana (3-0) Last: NR | Hoosier Nation has to be happy with what they have seen through the first three games, whether it is the ferocious defense or the unselfish, effective offense. IU’s first true road test awaits on Sunday. Will the Hoosiers be undefeated at the end of the weekend?
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4 | Purdue (3-0) Last: NR | This team seems weaker offensively with the losses of Dakota Mathias, Vince Edwards, Isaac Haas, and PJ Thompson. I mention Thompson because he shot 44% from 3 last year. There’s no question Carsen Edwards is a solid player and leader and will surely be critical to Purdue’s success. However, I currently don’t think Ryan Cline, Grady Eifert, and Dartmouth transfer Evan Boudreaux will be able to fill the void and help their star leader. We’ll see if that changes later during the season.
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5 | Wisconsin (2-0) Last: NR | Never count out the Badgers. Wisconsin is one of the most fundamental teams in college basketball, and displayed that by only committing five turnovers in their 85-63 win over Coppin State. They followed that performance with a victory in a tough Xavier environment against first year head coach Travis Steele. Indiana’s nightmare Ethan Happ finished that game with 30 points, 13 rebound, and 5 assists.
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T6 | Iowa (2-0) Last: NR | 24 hours ago, Iowa would have been ranked 10th or 11th here. After a statement win over #13 Oregon at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, Iowa maintained their undefeated record and recorded a big resume builder. Sophomore forward Luka Garza looks like he will be a handful for opposing frontcourts all season.
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T6 | Ohio State (3-0) Last: NR | Wins against Cincinnati and Creighton should not be overlooked. Florida State transfer CJ Jackson, who could potentially inject major leadership and game managing skills after the departures of JaeSean Tate and Keita Bates-Diop, has gotten off to a hot start this season and seems to be taking over as the first option unlike last year. Additionally, brothers Kaleb and Andre Wesson replace Tate and Bates-Diop from a positional standpoint. The depth on this team is solid, and there’s a decent chance they make a surprise run this year.
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8 | Nebraska (3-0) Last: NR | Recently, head coach Tim Miles made the remark that the Cornhuskers have top-four Big Ten talent. If Nebraska continues to romp opponents the way it did in its first three games (outscored opponents 273-129), Miles’ words could become factual.
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9 | Maryland (3-0) Last: NR | Frankly, it feels like Maryland will hover between 7th and 9th in these rankings all season. Heralded freshman Jalen Smith has impressed, and the athletic Bruno Fernando can land on Sportscenter’s Top Ten on any possession. I wish we could fast forward to their Big Ten-ACC matchup vs. Virginia in two weeks.
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10 | Minnesota (2-0) Last: NR | After a disappointing 2017-2018 campaign that was plagued by injuries, Minnesota is back at full-force with junior guard Amir Coffey and potential first round NBA draft pick in senior forward Jordan Murphy. Expect freshman center Daniel Oturu to make immediate impact as well as after already scoring in double figures in the Gophers’ victories against Omaha and Utah.
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11 | Penn State (2-1) Last: NR | Penn State starts the year coming off a great NIT championship. Although Tony Carr has gone pro, Penn State still has two key leaders and scoring options on their team in junior Lamar Stevens and senior Josh Reaves. Stevens and Reaves are both off to a hot start and led them to two victories to start the season. Unfortunately, they suffered a non-conference loss to DePaul, which seems like a major setback to a team that has the potential to make a sneaky NCAA tournament appearance. We’ll see if they can bounce back versus Wright State and ,ACC contender, Virginia Tech.
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12 | Northwestern (2-0) Last: NR | The expectations last year were not met even with Bryant McIntosh, and now, he’s gone. Vic Law is a great player and has a great chance at making to an NBA roster, but I think this team is limited in scoring options. The team doesn’t have a difficult non-conference schedule, but the Big Ten looks difficult, and I don’t envision Northwestern making the NCAA tournament.
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13 | Illinois (1-1) Last: NR | While things are trending upwards for Illinois, all of us agreed that they are close to the bottom of the deep Big Ten. Freshmen Ayo Dosunmu and Giorgi Bezhanishvili provided excitement during Illinois’ 88-80 loss to Georgetown, but ultimately, the Illini lost a home game in which they were favored by 9 points at tip-off.
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14 | Rutgers (2-0) Last: NR | Through two games, Rutgers has shown potential from its experienced players. Known quantities Eugene Omoruyi and Geo Baker have averaged 19.0 and 15.0 points in the first two games respectively. Omoruyi is averaging a double-double with a total of 20 rebounds across two games. Their wins against Fairleigh Dickinson and Drexel represent wins over Kenpom rank 280 and rank 295.
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