BIG TEN POWER RANKINGS

Marcus Fuller’s rankings, with five teams to watch:

 

1. Purdue (22-2, 11-0)

2. Ohio State (19-5, 10-1): The Buckeyes trail Purdue in Big Ten standings after their first league loss, but they play each other Wednesday in West Lafayette.

3. Michigan State (21-3, 9-2)

4. Michigan (18-6, 7-4): John Beilein’s team has its longest schedule break since December with five days in between Saturday’s game vs. the Gophers.

5. Nebraska (17-8, 8-4): The Cornhuskers have won five of six, including three in a row, behind G James Palmer Jr., who has averaged 25 points over those six games.

6. Maryland (15-9, 4-7)

7. Indiana (12-11, 5-6)

8. Penn State (15-9, 5-6)

9. Northwestern (14-10, 5-6)

10. Iowa (14-9, 3-7): Not much to celebrate in Iowa City lately, but Fran McCaffery picked up his 400th career coaching victory Tuesday vs. the Gophers.

11. Minnesota (14-10, 3-8): G Amir Coffey is out again with a shoulder injury, and he’s still not cleared to play Saturday at Michigan. Uh oh.

12. Wisconsin (10-14, 3-8)

13. Illinois (12-11, 2-8)

14. Rutgers (12-12, 2-9)