Luc’s Big Ten Power Rankings as We March Closer to Madness
It’s been three weeks since my last Big Ten power rankings, and while the top teams in the Big Ten standings remain steady, there has been a significant shake-up elsewhere. Penn State has seemingly collapsed mid-season, losing seven of their last eight games, including three at home. UCLA, meanwhile, has been on a tear lately. Since Mike Cronin’s infamous press conference in which he called his team delusional, the Bruins have won five games and lost just two. At 7-4 in conference, they are tied for fourth place in the Big Ten standings and now make a strong case for March Madness participation. Here are my rankings for the Big Ten as of February 2nd.
Michigan State
Purdue
Michigan
Illinois
UCLA
Wisconsin
Oregon
Maryland
USC
Ohio State
Rutgers
Indiana
Iowa
Penn State
Nebraska
Northwestern
Minnesota
Washington
Top Third Highlights
Michigan State
Michigan State overtakes Purdue at the top of my list, having lost just once since my January 12th rankings. The backcourt of the Spartans has been outstanding. Senior Jaden Akins and freshman Jase Richardson have been an unstoppable guard duo whose chemistry and scoring ability have been hard to match anywhere else in the conference. It’s really been the defense of this Michigan State team, however, that has been their bread and butter. The Spartans are holding opponents to just 67.3 points per game, third in the Big Ten, and allowing a 39.9% field goal percentage, second in the Big Ten. If there is one kryptonite of this team, it’s their three-point shooting. They rank dead last in the Big Ten, converting just 29% of their three-point shot attempts. If they run into a fast-paced, high-scoring team that gets hot from three in the tournament, Tom Izzo and company could be in trouble.
UCLA
How about those UCLA Bruins? Last month, the Bruins sat near the bottom of the Big Ten standings, and my power rankings, before ripping through their schedule. UCLA is riding the largest win streak in the Big Ten at five games, including their most recent statement victory over 17th-ranked Oregon at home. There’s no one player I can point to that’s been carrying this Mike Cronin-led program along really, they are getting contributions everywhere. Junior forward Tyler Bilodeau has led the team in scoring in more games than anyone, but when he’s not been scoring lately, other players on this team have stepped up in a big way. Aday Mara comes to mind first. This seven-foot, three-inch giant didn’t earn playing time early in the season. Since this win streak started, he’s been an integral part of the team, especially on offense. He’s averaging just over 13 points per game during this win streak and well over 20 minutes per game of playing time. This includes their upset win over Washington in Seattle, when the team’s leading scorer, Bilodeau, put up zero points, and instead, Mara put up a team-leading 12 off the bench. I’m excited to see how far this team can advance in the tournament as this turnaround story continues to unfold.
Middle Third Highlights
Oregon
It’s hard to tell exactly what’s gone wrong for Oregon, perhaps a tougher part of their schedule is to blame, but if the Ducks want a seat at the March Madness dinner table, they are going to need to turn things around quickly. The Ducks lost a tough battle at home to Purdue, a quad one game you’d want back if you were Dana Altman, but then went on to take bad losses to Minnesota and UCLA. Part of the problem, in my view, is poor three-point shooting as of late. The Ducks throw up 22.5 three-pointers per game, which ranks fifth in the conference despite only attempting 57.7 total field goals per game. Since their loss to Purdue, the Ducks are shooting 26.9% from three. In their game tonight against Nebraska, they shot just 25% from three-point land on their home court. The schedule only gets more treacherous for the Mighty Ducks going forward as they travel to Michigan for back-to-back road games against the state’s two powerhouse teams. The alarm bells for all Oregon basketball fans should be going off as we march closer to the national tournament.
Rutgers
In my last rankings, I argued that Rutgers would begin turning their season around after a brutal opening to their conference schedule. It’s been better since, but not by much. Since my previous article, the Scarlet Knights are 3-3, having most recently lost a heartbreaker at home to Michigan by just three points. Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey continue to amaze with their outstanding level of play as just freshmen, but it’s still not been quite enough to get over the hump of this extremely competitive conference. Rutgers plays their fifth-ranked opponent of the season this Wednesday in a must-win matchup in New Jersey against Illinois. If they are serious about getting a tournament bid, the bleeding must stop here.
Bottom Third Highlights
Penn State
What happened to Penn State? The Nittany Lions opened the season as one of the hottest and most feared teams in the conference before completely imploding. Penn State had wins against Virginia Tech, Purdue, and Buffalo and then collapsed. I believed in this team because of their defense, a part of your team should carry regardless of where the game is played. Ace Baldwin, last year’s Defensive Player of the Year, waived his opportunity to be drafted and came back to Penn State because he thought they were a championship contender. As we stand a month away from March Madness, Penn State stands as one of the worst defenses in the conference and will be lucky to have a bye in the Big Ten Tournament. While they generate steals and blocks, that’s not the issue. Penn State leads the conference in personal fouls, too often, their starters must lose valuable minutes in crucial parts of the game, and they don’t have the depth to account for it. Mike Rhoades must make necessary adjustments in game and practice if he wants his team to have a chance as we enter the last third of the season.
Washington
Washington replaces Minnesota in the cellar of my Big Ten rankings after a horrible January. The Huskies went 1-6 in the month before finally bouncing back yesterday to open up their February schedule against the Golden Gophers. Washington hasn’t been able to shoot the ball well, ranking last in the Big Ten at just 43.8%, while also committing among the most turnovers by any team in the conference, 12 per game. The ball certainly hasn’t bounced Washington’s way, especially in their last couple of games, but that’s what tends to happen when a team plays bad basketball. The Huskies only hope to reach March Madness relies on making a conference tournament run, a feat only made harder by the newly expanded Big Ten.
