Big Ten Week 10 Power Rankings (Jan 13)
Another week in the books and we have a lot of movement in the rankings. Michigan State took care of business in their Top 5 matchup of the week. Ohio State seemed to have a hangover as they dropped both of their games for the week. Iowa had their first statement win of the year, and have seemed to recover quite well from their heartbreaker in Wisconsin last week. Illinois took quite a tumble after a little national attention. And against all odds Northwestern got a conference win before Penn St and Nebraska.
Power rankings:
1. Wisconsin (16-0) – Beat Illinois 95-70
The Badgers came to play Wednesday night and showed they belong at the top of the conference. Newly ranked Illinois were quickly shown to the door at the Kohl Center thanks to 95 points on 56% shooting for the Badgers. The continued trend of balanced scoring was at its best as six players were in double figures led by Senior Ben Brust with 18. The only concern with the performance was the 25 offensive rebounds they gave up. This had something to do with the 54 shots that were missed by the Illini, but the Badgers have to get stronger on the glass to hang with the nation’s elite teams. Moving up to #3 in the rankings puts a lot of pressure on this team to continue their unbeaten streak. We’ll see if this team has the mojo to keep up with the hype.
2. Michigan State (15-1) – Beat Ohio St 72-68 in OT, Beat Minnesota 87-75 in OT
One thing about good teams is that they find ways to win no matter what. This Spartan team seems to be like that. A pair of overtime wins this week keep Sparty in the Top 5 as well as leaving them undefeated in conference play. They squandered a big lead against Ohio State, but were able to stop the incredible momentum the Buckeyes had going into the extra period. Keith Appling once again led his team to victory, but he is going to have to take care of the ball better. Keep an eye on freshman shooting sensation Kenny Kaminski who is shooting 62% from long distance. He has attempted only 24 3-pointers on the season but has made a remarkable 15 of those attempts. He will help space the floor for Adreian Payne down low as well as give Appling and Gary Harris room to work the lane.
3. Iowa (14-3) – Beat Northwestern 93-67, Beat Ohio St 84-74
A great rebound week for the Hawkeyes after losing to Wisconsin last week. Beating Northwestern is nothing special, but traveling to Ohio St to play a Buckeyes team, who have only lost back-to-back games twice since 2008 is impressive. They forced Ohio State into 17 turnovers and continued to dominate the glass. Like I have mentioned before this team is long and surprisingly athletic, and they have been able to use this to their advantage. You have to compliment this team for not sulking after a demoralizing loss at Wisconsin and getting a signature win.
4. Ohio State (15-2) – Lost to Michigan St 68-72 in OT, Lost to Iowa 74-84
A very tough week for the Buckeyes after starting the season off with 15 straight wins. Aaron Craft has had an incredible career at Ohio State, but he played a large part in these losses. His inability to shoot from the outside has made it difficult for other players to get open looks. He is also simply taking too many risks. In the two games this week he had 9 fouls to go along with 10 turnovers. He has to take care of the ball better because this team does not have the defensive presence that they have had the past few years. They are going to have be ready to play as they have to travel to an underrated Minnesota team on Thursday coming off a very good week.
5. Michigan (11-4) – Beat Nebraska 71-70
Little by little this Wolverines team keeps hanging around. If they want to stay near the top though they are going to have to play better defense than they did against Nebraska on Thursday night. They shot the ball at an impressive 62%, but only collected 20 rebounds and allowed Nebraska to shoot 53%. Teams are going to the paint against Michigan due to the lack of interior defense. The team defense as a whole needs to play better to overcome their lack of size. Big game on Saturday at the Kohl Center should be the 1st true test to see if this team can shoot their way to a huge win.
6. Minnesota (13-4) – Beat Penn St 68-65, Lost to Mich St 75-87 in OT
The Gophers may have lost to Michigan State, but they had an impressive week none the less. They outlasted Penn State in one of the ugliest games that you will ever see, and gave Michigan State everything they could handle in an overtime loss. They showed an incredible amount of poise in coming back from a five point deficit in the last 22 seconds to send the Michigan State game to overtime. This team plays extremely physical and this is getting them into a little trouble as the game gets close and other teams are shooting tons of free throws. They gave up 69 free throws in two games this week. That is a staggering number that is not going to cut it when you play the top teams in this conference. If they learn to play better defense without fouling though, this team will be very tough to beat.
7. Illinois (13-4) – Lost to Wisconsin 70-95, Lost to Northwestern 43-49
Welcome to the Top 25 Illinois, and don’t let the door hit you on the way out. The Fighting Illini failed to put up much fight this week as they were embarrassed by Wisconsin early in the week and lost to a very poor Northwestern team on Sunday. They missed 100 shots in two games! Yes, that is a correct number for a team that was ranked to start the week and didn’t even receive a vote in the ESPN poll after their dreadful week. The schedule doesn’t get any easier as they have to host a tough Purdue team and then welcome Michigan State on Saturday.
8. Purdue (11-5) – Beat Nebraska 70-64
The Boilermakers claimed their 1st conference win against Nebraska this week in a very close game. A.J. Hammons was dominant inside with 18 points in just 22 minutes, but it is so shocking how a man his size can only gather three rebounds throughout that time. He is doing a great job of controlling the paint on the defensive end, but has to continue to pick his spots so he can stay on the floor. His shot attempts have been very sporadic thus far, but for this team to be successful he has to get more and more touches.
9. Indiana (11-5) – Beat Penn St. 79-76
The Hoosiers dodged a bullet this week as they pulled out a victory over struggling Penn State. They can thank Penn State though because had it not been for Tim Frazier fouling out, this game would have ended differently. Frazier committed a very unnecessary foul that helped the Hoosiers take the lead and never relinquish it. This team has to shoot the ball better from the field, but their free throw shooting was impressive making 29 of 35 attempts. In a 3-point game you have credit them for making their free throws down the stretch to pull off a victory while only shooting 36% from the field. This effort isn’t going to cut it with Wisconsin coming to town on Tuesday.
10. Penn State (9-8) – Lost to Minnesota 65-68, Lost to Indiana 76-79
Good thing only 5,010 people showed up to watch the game against Minnesota, because it was ugly. Neither team shot well or played very structured basketball at all. This team is struggling to find a game plan that puts them over the hump. Newbill and Frazier have been too inconsistent and have to step up to lead this team. If they can’t find a way to win on the road this week, they are going to have to face starting the Big Ten season 0-6 with games in Michigan and Purdue this week.
11. Nebraska (8-8) – Lost to Michigan 70-71, Lost to Purdue 64-70
The Huskers had a couple tough losses this week as they dropped close games to Michigan and Purdue. They are playing better, but just haven’t been able to put it all together for 40 minutes. Only one game later this week against a struggling Ohio St team, but they will have to be sharp on offense. Deverell Biggs was very impressive off the bench, but the lack of outside shooting continues to hamper this team.
12. Northwestern (8-9) – Lost to Iowa 67-93, Beat Illinois 49-43
After getting destroyed by Iowa early in the week Northwestern pulled off an improbable win over the Fighting Illini. I think some of the credit should go to the Wildcats for playing great defense, but Illinois shooting only 28% sure can’t be totally on the defense. The interior defense was strong though and only allowed 6 free throws which helped to only allow 43 points. I beat this team up a lot so far in this young season, but they aren’t the last team with a win in conference which is pretty impressive considering their last few games.
Team of the week: The Iowa Hawkeyes had a very impressive week as they moved up in the rankings to #16 in the AP Poll. They lucked out with losing their coach against Northwestern, but welcomed him back with a signature win against Ohio State. Devin Marble was tremendous as they went back and forth most of the game with the Buckeyes. Together with Aaron White they had 41 points and hit several tough shots against a very tough defense. The bench players have been bringing a lot of energy to the floor and have helped build momentum for this deep team. Most good teams have a few role players that need to be counted on and this team is no different. They may not be the “normal” looking Top 20 team, but they have been using their talents together as a team with a lot of success so far this season. Teams win games and this team has embraced that mentality for coach McCaffery.
Player of the week: Keith Appling is finally playing like the player we all thought he would be at the start of the season. He scored 20 points against Ohio State to go along with 8 assists, and followed that up with 24 points against Minnesota. Although his shooting touch can be erratic at times, he has found ways to put the ball in the basket. He got to the free throw line 16 times against Minnesota and converted on 15 of those attempts. The gameplan was to go to the basket against Minnesota’s aggressive defense and that gameplan played right into Applings strengths. Player of the Year may be a little bit of a stretch, but he should definitely be in the running for 1st or 2nd team All-American. This guy wants the ball down the stretch and has proven that he deserves the ball.
-Other Top Performers: Roy Marble (Iowa), Andre Hollins (Minn), Terran Petteway (Neb)
Random stat of the week: 63 free throws were shot in Minnesota’s victory over Penn State on Wednesday night. Penn State led for most of the game, but were not able to close the victory with their free throw shooting. Both teams combined shot 40-63 for only 63%. In the last 2 minutes, both teams had the chance to win or lose the game from the stripe and Minnesota came through. Add in 53 fouls and 28 turnovers and this game was a good old fashioned slop fest.
Matchup of next week: Michigan @ Wisconsin
-Other Top Games: Minnesota @ Iowa
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