Big Ten Power Rankings: January 1
Non-conference play has concluded and league games will resume on Thursday as Michigan State hosts Illinois and Minnesota travels to Purdue.
Here’s a look at how the league is shaping up as 2020 begins:
14. Northwestern (5-7 overall, 0-2 Big Ten, .879 PPP, 1.023 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Providence (home)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: Merrimack (home), Radford (home), Hartford (home)
Why Northwestern is ranked here: The Wildcats are the only Big Ten team without a league win and are coming off of a loss to Hartford, ranked 308th in KenPom, on Saturday. Freshman guard Boo Buie already has three games with 20 or more points this season, but there’s little else on the Northwestern roster to be excited about.
13. Nebraska (6-7 overall, 1-1 Big Ten, 1.052 PPP, .999 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Purdue (home)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: UC Riverside (home), Southern Utah (home), George Mason (neutral), North Dakota (home)
Why Nebraska is ranked here: The Huskers have four losses to teams ranked outside of the KenPom top 100, but a win over Purdue at home and a narrow overtime loss to Indiana in Bloomington suggests the Huskers will be dangerous in league play.
12. Rutgers (10-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten, .98 PPP, 1.016 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Wisconsin (home), Seton Hall (home)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: St. Bonaventure (neutral)
Why Rutgers is ranked here: The Scarlet Knights have a pair of solid wins and there’s a case for ranking them higher than this, but the majority of their wins have come against inferior competition. Rutgers still can’t shoot from the perimeter (28.6 percent on 3s) and that will likely be a major problem on the road in league play.
11. Illinois (9-4 overall, 1-1 Big Ten, .962 PPP, .902 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Michigan (home)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: None
Why Illinois is ranked here: Brad Underwood and company are just 1-4 in games against teams ranked in the top 100 of KenPom and their best win other than Michigan is over Hawaii in Champaign. If the Fighting Illini are going to return to the NCAA tournament, they’ll likely need to win at least 11 Big Ten games.
10. Wisconsin (8-5 overall, 1-1, 1.157 PPP, 1.056 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Marquette (home), Indiana (home), Tennessee (road)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: None
Why Wisconsin is ranked here: The Badgers have won four of five, including a 20-point drubbing of Tennessee in Knoxville on Dec. 28. If Wisconsin finishes around .500 in conference play, it will probably be squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble come Selection Sunday.
9. Purdue (8-5 overall, 1-1 Big Ten, .867 PPP, .867 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: VCU (neutral), Virginia (home)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: Nebraska (road)
Why Purdue is ranked here: The computer rankings still love the Boilermakers, but once the data from last season is removed from consideration, there will be a correction. A loss in Lincoln to Nebraska is unlikely to age well and Purdue has significant work to do in conference play after finishing with just a 2-4 record in non-conference play against top 100 KenPom teams.
8. Minnesota (7-5 overall, 1-1 Big Ten, .99 PPP, 1.04 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Clemson (home), Ohio State (home), Oklahoma State (neutral)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: Utah (road)
Why Minnesota is ranked here: After a 3-4 start, Minnesota is 4-1 over its last five with wins over Ohio State and Oklahoma State in that stretch. Daniel Oturu is one of the best young frontcourt players in America.
7. Indiana (11-2 overall, 1-1 Big Ten, 1.109 PPP, 1.206 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Louisiana Tech (home), Florida State (home), Connecticut (neutral), Notre Dame (neutral)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: None
Why Indiana is ranked here: Indiana didn’t play a tough non-conference schedule, but it took care of business outside of a loss at home to Arkansas on Dec. 29. Perimeter shooting is a major concern moving forward for the Hoosiers, who are just 17-for-76 from behind the 3-point arc over their last four games.
6. Iowa (10-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten, 1.173 PPP, 1.115, PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Texas Tech (neutral), Syracuse (road), Minnesota (home), Iowa State (road), Cincinnati (neutral)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: None
Why Iowa is ranked here: Iowa is 5-1 over its last six games and despite the fact that Jordan Bohannon is done for the season, the Hawkeyes appear to have the offensive firepower to beat any team in the country. A big reason for that is junior Luka Garza, who is playing at an All-Big Ten level.
5. Penn State (11-2 overall, 1-1 Big Ten, 1.049 PPP, 1.224 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Georgetown (away), Yale (home), Syracuse (neutral), Wake Forest (home), Maryland (home), Alabama (home)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: None
Why Penn State is ranked here: The Nittany Lions have five top 100 non-conference wins and in year nine of the Pat Chambers era, an NCAA tournament berth is firmly within reach. Senior Lamar Stevens is one of the best forwards in the country.
4. Maryland (11-2 overall, 1-1 Big Ten, .918 PPP, .961 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Rhode Island (home), Temple (neutral), Harvard (neutral), Marquette (neutral), Notre Dame (home), Illinois (home)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: None
Why Maryland is ranked here: The Terps are one of the most talented Big Ten teams, but their frontcourt depth is a concern as a pair of promising freshmen bigs recently transferred out of College Park. Mark Turgeon’s teams at Maryland have consistently underperformed and there’s legitimate pressure for him to advance beyond the Sweet Sixteen in the ninth season of his tenure.
3. Michigan (10-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten, 1.162 PPP, 1.141 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Creighton (home), Iowa State (neutral), North Carolina (neutral), Gonzaga (neutral), Iowa (home)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: None
Why Michigan is ranked here: The Wolverines have an excellent non-conference resume and one of the best duos in the league with Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske. However, with Isaiah Livers sidelined indefinitely with a groin injury, Michigan is going to need freshman Franz Wagner and sophomore Brandon Johns to produce in his absence.
2. Michigan State (10-3 overall, 2-0 Big Ten, 1.067 PPP, .949 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Seton Hall (away), Georgia (neutral), Rutgers (home)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: None
Why Michigan State is ranked here: Michigan State still has the best player (Cassius Winston) and coach (Tom Izzo) in the league and the Spartans should still be viewed as the favorite to win the league. Based on performance to date, however, Michigan State has been a notch below Ohio State.
1. Ohio State (11-2 overall, 1-1 Big Ten, 1.24 PPP, 1.107 PPP allowed in league play)
Top 100 KenPom wins: Cincinnati (home), Villanova (home), North Carolina (away), Penn State (home), Kentucky (neutral)
Sub-100 KenPom losses: None
Why Ohio State is ranked here: The Buckeyes are just 2-2 over their last four games, but own a top 10 offense and defense nationally, according to KenPom. In just his third season at the helm, Chris Holtmann has Ohio State fans believing that a trip to the Final Four in Atlanta is a realistic possibility.
Filed to: Big Ten Power Rankings