The Big Ten continues to be as balanced as any conference in the country as we get into the final weeks of the regular season. With Ohio State’s loss at Michigan on Saturday, only Michigan State has fewer than four losses in conference play.

There was much movement in our ninth edition of Big Ten power rankings, but there is still plenty to be decided with four games left to go in the conference season (except Penn State, which only has three games remaining).

12. Illinois (16-11, 5-9) (LAST WEEK: 10)…Bruce Weber has completely lost his team now. The Fighting Illini competed with Purdue, but an 80-57 loss at Nebraska on Saturday was about as bad as it gets.

11. Penn State (12-16, 4-11) (LAST WEEK: 11)…The Nittany Lions beat Iowa at home and played well at Wisconsin on Sunday. Tim Frazier and Co. figure to be a tough out in the conference tournament early next month.

10. Nebraska (12-13, 4-10) (LAST WEEK: 12)…It wasn’t that they beat a reeling Illinois club, it was that the Cornhuskers dominated the Illini to end a four-game skid. Nebraska only plays one more home game in its last four.

9. Minnesota (17-10, 5-9) (LAST WEEK: 9)…After two more losses, the Golden Gophers’ tournament hopes are slipping away. They are just 1-5 in the month of February.

8. Iowa (14-13, 6-8) (LAST WEEK: 8)…The Hawkeyes picked up an impressive win against Indiana on Sunday after back-to-back road losses at Northwestern and Penn State. If Matt Gatens continues to shoot like he did against the Hoosiers, Iowa might just make a run in the Big Ten tourney.

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Michigan State is heading in one direction and Illinois is going the opposite way. After the Spartans upset Ohio State in Columbus, we have a shake-up at the top of this week’s power rankings. The bottom also looks different as the Fighting Illini continue to fall out of the race.

Here is the eighth edition of Inside The Hall’s Big Ten power rankings.

12. Nebraska (11-13, 3-10) (LAST WEEK: 11)…It’s beginning to look like the Cornhuskers are running out of steam in their first season in the Big Ten. After beating Iowa on Jan. 26, Nebraska has lost four straight — three of which came against teams in the bottom half of the conference (Northwestern, Minnesota and Penn State).

11. Penn State (11-15, 3-10) (LAST WEEK: 12)…A home win against Nebraska gets the Nittany Lions out of the bottom spot for the first time in weeks.

10. Illinois (16-9, 5-7) (LAST WEEK: 6)…The free fall continues for the Illini after losses at Indiana and Michigan. Illinois has lost six of seven, including defeats to Penn State, Minnesota and Northwestern. Bruce Weber will likely be on his way out if the Illini don’t turn it around in a hurry.

9. Minnesota (17-8, 5-7) (LAST WEEK: 9)…An overtime loss to Wisconsin is usually nothing to be ashamed of, but the Golden Gophers really needed that one to improve their chances of making the NCAA tournament. Given the strength of their remaining schedule, the Gophers might not win again until the season finale against Nebraska.

8. Iowa (13-12, 5-7) (LAST WEEK: 8)…An 83-64 loss at Northwestern last week was the fifth time this season the Hawkeyes have given up at least 80 points on the road. They haven’t given up that many points on any occasion at home.

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After a week with little movement, six teams are in a new position in week seven of our Big Ten power rankings. The changes come in the bottom half of the rankings as the top four teams in the conference have begun to pull away from the pack.

12. Penn State (10-14, 2-9) (LAST WEEK: 12)…They played with a good Wisconsin team at home for awhile, but the Nittany Lions just don’t have enough late-game options to compete in the conference. Penn State has lost four straight and seven of eight.

11. Nebraska (11-11, 3-8) (LAST WEEK: 9)…The Cornhuskers dropped two winnable games this week, one at Northwestern and the other against Minnesota. Uncharacteristically, Nebraska has given up 69 or more points in five straight games.

10. Northwestern (14-8, 4-6) (LAST WEEK: 11)…They needed a good week, and the Wildcats got one. Back-to-back wins — including one at in-state rival Illinois on Sunday — has closer to the NCAA Tournament bubble.

9. Minnesota (17-7, 5-6) (LAST WEEK: 7)…The Golden Gophers could have continued their climb in the power rankings had they held onto a sizable lead at Iowa. Still, they’re a team to watch as we get closer to the Big Ten Tournament.

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There’s finally some consistency in the power rankings. The top eight teams stayed in the same order as last week, and only Nebraska, Iowa and Northwestern moved at all.

As the conference’s top teams start to play each other, there should be more and more separation. Or it could just remain a jumbled mess. Who knows.

Without further ado, the sixth edition of Inside the Hall’s Big Ten power rankings.

12. Penn State (10-12, 2-7) (LAST WEEK: 12)…The Nittany Lions are in the midst of the most difficult stretch on their schedule, and they haven’t fared well. After falling at Indiana and at Ohio State, Penn State now faces games against Wisconsin, at Iowa, and at Michigan State.

11. Northwestern (12-8, 2-6) (LAST WEEK: 10)…The slide continued with a home loss to Purdue on Saturday. The Wildcats have lost three consecutive games since upsetting Michigan State.

10. Iowa (11-11, 3-6) (LAST WEEK: 9)…The Hawkeyes surprised everybody with road wins against Wisconsin and Minnesota to begin the conference season, but they’ve lost five of six and are sinking fast.

9. Nebraska (11-9, 3-6) (LAST WEEK: 11)…They’re not flashy, but the Cornhuskers keep getting better. Their win at Iowa last week may have turned the Hawkeyes’ season in the wrong direction.

8. Illinois (15-6, 4-4) (LAST WEEK: 8)…The Fighting Illini were 4-1 after an upset of Ohio State, but they’ve dropped three straight with a game against Michigan State still to come on Tuesday.

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After another week full of upsets in the conference, we bring you our fifth edition of power rankings this season. Last week’s No. 1 (Illinois) lost to last week’s No. 12 (Penn State). Last week’s No. 11 (Nebraska) beat last week’s No. 4 (Indiana). And then both Penn State and Nebraska suffered blowout losses in their next games. If nothing else, this week of conference play proved once again just how difficult it is to win on the road in the Big Ten.

12. Penn State (10-11, 2-6) (LAST WEEK: 12)…Impressive home win against Illinois, but the Nittany Lions still have only one road victory this season. If they are going to get better, they need to find a second scorer after Tim Frazier.

11. Nebraska (10-9, 2-6) (LAST WEEK: 11)…Nice upset of Indiana, but the Hoosiers were as much responsible for giving that game away as the Cornhuskers were for taking it. They finished the week with a 34-point home loss to Ohio State.

10. Northwestern (12-7, 2-5) (LAST WEEK: 7)…The Wildcats have struggled since their upset of Michigan State on Jan. 14. It’s still hard to know what to make of this team. They’ve lost their last two games by a combined 43 points, including a 75-52 beatdown at Minnesota on Sunday.

9. Iowa (11-9, 3-4) (LAST WEEK: 8)…You never know what you’re going to get with the Hawkeyes. They won at Wisconsin and at Minnesota, and they beat Michigan at home. But they’ve also lost twice to Purdue and fell to the conference’s top two teams (Ohio State and Michigan State) by a combined 63 points.

8. Illinois (15-5, 4-3) (LAST WEEK: 1)…Well, the Fighting Illini didn’t last long in the top 25. They proved that their win against Ohio State was probably a fluke by falling at Penn State and at home against Wisconsin last week.

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The third week of Big Ten play was by far the craziest. Illinois beat Ohio State. Minnesota knocked off Indiana. Northwestern shocked Michigan State. It was wild. And with the craziness comes a bit of a shake up in this week’s power rankings. You might be surprised to see who took this week’s top spot.

12. Penn State (9-10, 1-5) (LAST WEEK: 10)…This may be the conference’s worst team, but the Nittany Lions are still plenty dangerous at home. Losses at Nebraska and at home against Minnesota have them back in the bottom spot this week.

11. Nebraska (9-8, 1-5) (LAST WEEK: 12)…As the season progresses, the  Cornhuskers are getting better and better. Case in point: Their two games against Wisconsin. They lost by 24 points at home in the conference opener, and then fell by only five points at Wisconsin on Sunday.

10. Minnesota (14-5, 2-4) (LAST WEEK: 11)…Two impressive wins for the Golden Gophers in a week, both on the road — at Indiana and at Penn State.

9. Wisconsin (14-5, 3-3) (LAST WEEK: 8)...Two wins at Purdue and against Nebraska, but the Badgers were passed because of some impressive wins by others teams in the conference. The Badgers lost at home to Michigan State. Northwestern beat the Spartans at home.

8. Iowa (11-8, 3-3) (LAST WEEK: 7)…A 16-point home win against Michigan was good, but it doesn’t erase the fact that the Hawkeyes lost their previous two games (Ohio State, at Michigan State) by a combined 60 points.

7. Northwestern (12-5, 2-3) (LAST WEEK: 9)…The Wildcats played well twice this week, and shocked the nation when they upset Michigan State at home. A 66-64 overtime loss at Michigan is nothing to hang their heads about, either.

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