Big Ten Power Rankings as of March 8 2010

FIGHTING FOR THE FINAL FOUR
1. Ohio State (14-4)
Last week OSU defeated Illinois at home. No change.

EXPECTING THE ELITE EIGHT
2. Wisconsin (13-5)
UW defeated Iowa at home and won at Illinois. Plus one.
3. Michigan State (14-4)
Last week MSU narrowly defeated Penn State and Michigan at home. Minus one.

SANGUINE FOR THE SWEET SIXTEEN
4. Purdue (14-4)
PU defeated Indiana at home and narrowly won at Penn State. No change.

NCAA BUBBLE BURSTERS
5. Illinois (10-8)
Last week UI lost at Ohio State and were skunked by Wisconsin at home. Channeling our inner Dennis Green, "they are who we thought they are." No change.

NIT NONSTARTERS
6. Minnesota (9-9)
Last week UM lost at Michigan and defeated Iowa at home. No change.

NIT BUBBLE BURSTERS
7. Northwestern (7-11)
Last week NU lost at Indiana in OT. No change.

FRUSTRATED FLOPS
8. Michigan (7-11)
Last week UM defeated Minnesota at home and lost at Michigan State. No change.
9. Penn State (3-15)
Last week PSU lost to two close games at Michigan State and at home to Purdue. If we were to wipe the slate clean the Nit Wits would be ranked fifth. Too bad for them it don't work that way. No change
10. Iowa (4-14)
Last week Iowa imploded and were blown out in roadies at Minnesota and Wisconsin. No change.
11. Indiana (4-14)
Last week IU lost at Purdue and defeated Northwestern at home. These guys really are bad which says just how we feel about NU's play to end the season. No change.

Big Ten Power Rankings as of Feb 23 2010

The Big Ten is coming into focus with only three or four more conference games to play...

FIGHTING FOR THE FINAL FOUR
1. Purdue (11-3)
PU won at Ohio State and defeated Illinois at home. An impressive week and now a nine game winning streak. No change.
2. Ohio State (11-4)
Last week OSU lost to Purdue at home but won at Illinois. No change.

EXPECTING THE ELITE EIGHT
3. Michigan State (11-4)
MSU won at Indiana and lost at home to Ohio State. Plus one because...
4. Wisconsin (10-5)
UW lost at Minnesota and narrowly defeated Northwestern at home. That's some lost mojo. Minus one.

SANGUINE FOR SWEET SIXTEEN
5. Illinois (9-5)
Last week UI lost at Purdue. No change.

NIT NONSTARTERS
6. Minnesota (7-7)
Last week UM swept home games against Wisconsin and Indiana. Plus one.
7. Northwestern (6-9)
Last week NU lost a home game to Penn State and lost at Wisconsin. Minus one.
8. Michigan (6-8)
Last week UM won in OT at Iowa and lost to Penn State at home. No change.

FRUSTRATED FLOPS
9. Iowa (3-11)
Last week Iowa lost in OT to Michigan at home. Plus one because...
10. Indiana (3-11)
Last week IU lost to Michigan State at home and at Minnesota. Hoosiers are in a eight game free fall including five straight losses by 14+ points. Minus one.
11. Penn State (2-12)
Last week PSU broke through for two road victories at Northwestern and at Michigan to notch their first two victories of the year. Could they pass the Hoosiers by this time next week? No change.

Big Ten Power Ratings as of Jan 12 2010

Everyone else seems to do it so why not us?

1. Michigan State (3-0)
Izzo seems to have mastered using a slow start against superior non-conference competition and parlaying it into a Big Ten champion. They may not run away with the Big Ten title by 4 games this year (thanks to Robbie Hummel regaining his health) but expect Sparty to once again win the regular season title. Same old, same old.
2. Purdue (2-1)
We are very impressed with Purdue to date. The only blemish is a loss at Kohl which happens to nearly all teams. What's interesting is that Wisconsin won with their trademark hard nosed defense and deliberate offense which could be a template for NU's strategy later this week. Certainly NU doesn't have the athletes to employ the helter-skelter style that Alabama nearly rode to victory.
3. Wisconsin (3-1)
Never doubt Bo Ryan. Those preseason rankings were a joke. I'm guessing people will learn their lesson and give Bo the benefit of the doubt from here on out.
4. Ohio State (1-3)
They sit at 1-3 in conference, but Evan Turner is back. We haven't watched any games since his return, but we assume he will be back to 100% soon. That's good enough for fourth in the rugged Big Ten.
5. Northwestern (1-2)
A record of 1-2 with a road victory, a close OT loss on the road, and a spanking applied by Sparty playing at their highest level. Not exactly an impressive resume but still good enough for fifth since...
6. Minnesota (3-1)
Tubby has yet to get his Gophers firing on all cylinders though a soft schedule to date has them near the top of the standings. A depleted roster has something to do with this though the Gophers should be deep enough to be performing better.
7. Illinois (3-0)
The Illini beat NU at home in OT and are unbeaten in Big Ten play but they have been less than impressive in doing so. Expect the Illini to struggle for a berth in the NCAAs despite an impressive showing by underrated Mike Tisdale.
8. Michigan (2-2)
The Wolverines have the talent to be higher but Manny Harris has fallen in love with his press clippings. Harris oozes athleticism but his shooting accuracy is not terribly impressive and his attitude is even worse. We like Sims but he is not an immovable object as evidenced by Luka Mirkovic's solid performance on Sunday.
9. Penn State (0-3)
DeChellis is a fine coach working with limited talent (Battle not withstanding).
10. Indiana (1-2)
They would be higher with Creek but that is moot.
11. Iowa (0-4)
Someone has to be last and Iowa is clearly in the basement.