Here’s how the B1G hoops standings look entering the final weekend in January

Another month of the college basketball season is almost in the books. With January coming to a close, we’re rapidly approaching the most important stretch of the year.

Teams are jockeying for position in the conference standings and trying to boost their resumés to make their case for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Right now, the B1G is proving to have a lot of contenders in the conference race.

Heading into the final weekend of the month, there’s a two-way tie atop the leaderboard with Wisconsin and Illinois both sitting at 7-2 in league play. Six other teams — Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan and Rutgers — are all within 2 games of the top spot.

With a lot of basketball left to play, things could get really interesting in the B1G.

Here’s a quick glance at what the standings look like entering the final weekend in January, setting up what should be an entertaining final month:

#1 Wisconsin: 7-2 (16-3)

#1 Illinois: 7-2 (14-5)

#3 Michigan State: 6-2 (15-4)

#3 Ohio State: 6-2 (13-4)

#5 Purdue: 6-3 (17-3)

#6 Indiana: 6-4 (15-5)

#7 Michigan: 4-3 (10-7)

#8 Rutgers: 5-4 (11-8)

#9 Iowa: 4-5 (14-6)

#10 Maryland: 3-6 (11-9)

#10 Penn State: 3-6 (8-9)

#12 Minnesota: 2-6 (11-6)

#13 Northwestern: 2-7 (9-9)

#14 Nebraska: 0-9 (6-14) 

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB