The Big Ten Conference’s men’s basketball standings have changed a bit since last week with new teams rising to the top as of Monday, February 16.
Plenty of blowouts occurred over the weekend and as a result the standings have shifted quite a bit, especially at the top. All 18 teams have been ranked by where they currently sit in the standings based off of their current conference record.
No. 18 Penn State, 2-13
The Nittany Lions lost by 11-points to Oregon after coming off of a 63-60 win against Washington. Realistically, Penn State is far behind the rest of the conference and their only chances of getting wins for the rest of the season is by either an upset or one of their two remaining games against Rutgers.
No. 17 Northwestern, 2-13
The Wildcats are on a five-game losing streak with their last win coming at the end of January against Penn State. Northwestern has shown that it will have a lot of work to do in the offseason if there is any hope of them competing in future seasons, but as for this season, they have a chance against teams like Oregon and Maryland.
No. 16 Oregon, 2-12
The Ducks managed to get a win over Penn State, which marked their second conference win of the season and broke a 10-game losing streak. Oregon has had a rough season with injuries, but they have performed well beneath their standards and there are many opportunities remaining for them to prove that they don’t belong with the rest of the bottom feeders in the conference.
No. 15 Maryland, 3-11
The Terrapins loss to Rutgers snapped their two-game win streak, but their season is headed nowhere. There is three ranked opponents remaining on their schedule, so unless they saved their best performances to end the season, then they will continue to remain near the bottom of the standings.
No. 14 Rutgers, 3-11
The Scarlet Knights have a chance to end the season strong after defeating Maryland over the weekend. Rutgers has two games against Penn State, a rematch with Maryland and games against Minnesota, Michigan State and Washington. If the Scarlet Knights offense can get them at least four more wins, then that should be considered a win.
No. 13 Minnesota, 4-10
The Golden Gophers showed a bit of life by upsetting Michigan State, but immediately plummeted back to Earth win two more losses. Minnesota needs more offense because they can’t just rely on holding opponents under70-points in the Big Ten. Until they can address that, they will continue to lose.
No. 12 Washington, 5-10
The Huskies have struggled to get themselves a signature win this season. They managed to defeat USC and Ohio State earlier in the season, but have lost to UCLA twice and all of their ranked opponents. Washington is exactly where they belong in the middle with constant inconsistency being the theme of their season.
No. 11 USC, 7-7
The Trojans find themselves in a similar situation as the Huskies with the inability to defeat the better conference teams. Following USC’s loss to Ohio State, there is only a handful of winnable games remaining for them with Oregon, Washington and possibly splitting one of the two UCLA games.
No. 10 Indiana, 8-7
The Hoosiers were blown out by Illinois over the weekend, but they have remained competitive against most of the competition they have faced as of late. Indiana’s offense has been able to carry the team to great lengths, but they will need for their defense to improve when they battle against the upper echelon of teams in the Big Ten to rise up the standings.
No. 9 Ohio State, 8-6
The Buckeyes had their opportunity to rise up the standings over the last couple of weeks, but the faltered. Ohio State’s best conference win this season would probably be against UCLA, which is a team that has been hit or miss throughout the season. Now Ohio State has three ranked opponents remaining on their schedule and their chances at a tournament run seem to be slipping.
No. 8 Iowa, 8-6
The Hawkeyes find themselves in a similar situation as the Buckeyes as their six-game win streak has come to an end and they have started a two-game losing streak. Iowa has a chance to move up, but they will have to go through four ranked matches and Ohio State to get themselves there.
No. 7 UCLA, 9-5
The Bruins have been winning games without senior guard Skyy Clark and they have plenty of talent and star power, but they haven’t been play their best ball when they have needed to. They were just blown out in the second half of their game against Michigan and they have two more ranked opponents coming up. They will need to show that they belong with the ranked teams.
No. 6 Michigan State, 10-4
The Spartans were just upset by Wisconsin and dropped out of the top-5 teams in the Big Ten Conference. Although Michigan State defeated Illinois before their game against the Badgers, to lose by 21-points is a bit shocking and they deserved to fall.
No. 5 Wisconsin, 10-4
The Badgers have made it to the top-5 Big Ten Conference teams after they surpassed the Spartans for their signature win of the season so far. Wisconsin’s strong defensive presence and ability to score efficiently has made them a strong opponent in the conference with their only blowout conference game coming against Nebraska.
No. 4 Nebraska, 11-3
The Cornhuskers might not be on top anymore, but they have proven that Nebraska can give just about every team a fight. That being said, Nebraska lost to all three teams above them, but their largest defeat was only 9-points by Illinois. There is no more ranked matches for them and the rest of their schedule should be easy one.
No. 3 Purdue, 11-3
The Boilermakers have bounced back and made it back into the top-3 Big Ten teams. Following Purdue’s three-game losing skid, they have won four straight, including a win against Nebraska. Purdue has a chance to show that they are back to full strength with their next game coming against Michigan.
No. 2 Illinois, 12-3
The Fighting Illini’s losses have come against some of the best in the conference and their only ranked opponent remaining is Michigan. Illinois will need some help, due to their two-game losing skid against Michigan State and Wisconsin, but if they have the ability to be ranked on top if they can take care of business.
No. 1 Michigan, 14-1
The Wolverines remain on top of the mountain as they blow out their competition week-in and week-out. Michigan has four ranked opponents remaining on their schedule and a target on their back, but the Wolverines have shown that they will claw up any team they go up against with an unstoppable offense and suffocating defense.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: February 16 Big Ten MBB Standings: Wisconsin and Purdue rise
Reporting by Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
