Week 4 B1G basketball power rankings

By almost all metrics, Purdue ranks No. 1 in the country.

It was at the top in the AP Poll and in the first release of the NCAA’s NET rankings. And so it stands to reason that the undefeated Boilermakers are the top team — again — in our power rankings.

But spots 2-14 are fluid, as teams jockey for position to challenge Purdue.

Let’s take a look at the Week 4, Dec. 7, rankings:

14. Rutgers

Record: 4-4 overall, 0-1 in the Big Ten | Last week: 14

Rutgers followed up its win over Clemson in the B1G/ACC Challenge with a listless performance against Illinois in the Big Ten opener. It’s not only bad when a team gets whipped by 35, but even worse when it looks disinterested. And the Scarlet Knights fit that category against the Fighting Illini. There’s simply not much pushback when things start to go south. It doesn’t help when Geo Baker continues to sit with yet another injury, as it takes 1 of Rutgers’ 2 proven scorers off the court. What else isn’t going to help? A visit from No. 1 Purdue, which comes calling on Thursday.

13. Nebraska

Record: 5-4, 0-1  | Last week: 13

The Cornhuskers might not yet be winning — they’ve lost 2 straight, including their Big Ten opener at Indiana — but there’s at least a bit of promise now in Lincoln. True freshman Bryce McGowens is the kind of player that Fred Hoiberg can build around, although he might only be in Nebraska for a couple seasons. But if the lanky forward is off, as he was in the loss to IU, then the Huskers are going to struggle offensively. Then, they had only one double-figure scorer, in Alonzo Verge Jr., and made only 5 of 22 3-pointers in scoring 55 points. After battling the Hoosiers for a half, they ran out of steam in the second.

12. Penn State

Record: 4-4, 0-1 | Last week: 12

Penn State might not win many games in the Big Ten this season, but it’s not going to be an easy out, either. Ohio State found that out on Sunday, when the Nittany Lions closed a double-digit deficit down to 6 late in the second half before the Buckeyes held on for the win. PSU did a lot well, like outscoring OSU in the paint — John Harrar recorded his 4th double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds, 11 of them in the second half — and forcing the Buckeyes into uncomfortable situations.

11. Maryland

Record: 5-4, 0-1 | Last week: 9

What a bizarre week in College Park. In a move that honestly felt like a mutual decision by both parties, Coach Mark Turgeon resigned because the environment around the Maryland program had become toxic. Even though 2 seasons ago UM won the Big Ten championship and last season the Terrapins made a surprise run to the NCAA Tournament — and won a game there — Turgeon was regularly booed on his home court. Fans were unhappy with the direction of the program and routinely let Turgeon know it, making for a untenable situation that seemed to be growing worse. Assistant Danny Manning, who has taken over as the interim head coach, is now in charge of a roster that seems to have quality parts but bad chemistry. It isn’t working, but perhaps he can mold the Terps into a functioning unit.

10. Northwestern

Record: 6-2, 1-0 | Last week: 10

Chase Audige was back on the court Sunday for the Wildcats after missing the first 7 games of the season with a hip injury, and he made his presence felt, scoring 10 second-half points, including several in critical moments, as Northwestern earned a Big Ten victory in its opener at Manning-led Maryland. Now with Audige back, Chris Collins has 3 players, along with Boo Buie and Pete Nance, who can match up with almost anyone on a Big Ten court. If there’s a potential surprise team lurking in the bottom 4th of the Big Ten, it’s likely the Wildcats.

9. Minnesota

Record: 7-0, 0-0 | Last week: 11

Speaking of surprises, the Golden Gophers keep winning in Ben Johnson’s debut season in Minneapolis. Minnesota is finding ways to win, including on the road against big-conference opponents Pitt (in the Challenge) and Mississippi State. Perhaps neither of those teams is destined for greatness this season (although the Bulldogs are 6-2), but winning on the road does represent another step forward for the Gophers. We’ll find out a lot more this week, as Minnesota jumps into its early Big Ten slate with a game vs. Michigan State in The Barn, then a road trip to Michigan.

8. Indiana

Record: 7-1, 1-0 | Last week: 8

It’s still hard to get a real feel on the Hoosiers, who have played only one game away from Bloomington, and it was a 2-point double-overtime loss at Syracuse, the only defeat this season. IU got back in the win column in Assembly Hall by beating Nebraska, but IU should beat Nebraska. A 2nd road game comes Wednesday at Wisconsin. One great development the first 8 games of this season has been freshman Tamar Bates, who is giving IU a ton of energy off the bench. He had 13 points vs. Nebraska, bringing his average up to 7.1 per game. IU needs an instant-offense type to help it stymie lulls in its offense, and Bates is giving the Hoosiers that.

7. Michigan

Record: 5-3, 0-0 | Last week: 4

Freshman forward Moussa Diabate had helped to stabilize Michigan’s offense as a starter the last couple games, but now he’s out with an illness and the timetable for his return isn’t yet known. Juwan Howard will pop veteran Brandon Johns Jr. back into the lineup, but he’s been a disappointment so far this season, averaging only 5 points while shooting less than 40 percent from the field. The lack of offensive weapons is limiting Howard’s team; only Hunter Dickinson and Eli Brooks have been consistent. Michigan is shooting only 33 percent from 3-point range this season and has the second-fewest makes (48 in 8 games) in the Big Ten.

6. Wisconsin

Record: 7-1, 0-0 | Last week: 6

Picked to finish 10th in the Big Ten in the preseason media poll, the Badgers are already exceeding expectations. Heck, if the NCAA Tournament was held tomorrow (Note: It isn’t), then the Badgers would probably be a 5 seed. The starting lineup has been solid, with Johnny Davis developing into the type of leading scorer that allows Brad Davison to flourish as an off-ball second option. And the bigs have been good enough, although it’ll be interesting to see how they fare against Kofi Cockburn, Zach Edey and Trevion Williams, Dickinson, and Trayce Jackson-Davis of Indiana, which they host on Wednesday. If Wisconsin can neutralize the paint vs. those opponents, then it can continue to surprise and stay in the top half of the Big Ten.

5. Iowa

Record: 7-2, 0-2 | Last week: 2

The Big Ten schedule-makers didn’t do Iowa many favors, as the Hawkeyes had to open conference play at Purdue, then home to Illinois. They lost both. Iowa keep digging itself big holes — 19 points at Purdue and 15 vs. Illinois — then having to rally to try to pull off upsets. It got the margin down to 2 vs. the Boilermakers, then 3 against the Fighting Illini. Avoiding the gigantic deficits all together might be the key. Although it’s 0-2 to start the Big Ten, Fran McCaffery’s group still looks the part of a team that can compete near the top of the Big Ten, because it can score — as his teams usually do — but is also buying in to playing a bit of defense, which his teams usually don’t.

4. Michigan State

Record: 7-2, 0-0 | Last week: 5

When the NET rankings were released this week — metrics that are used by the NCAA selection committee — the Spartans’ strength of schedule ranked No. 9, the toughest among major-conference teams. That’s a good sign for MSU, which has navigated through a schedule that includes No. 6 Baylor, No. 13 Connecticut, No. 14 Kansas and No. 25 Loyola Chicago to go 7-2 before Big Ten play. The Spartans start Big Ten play with a trip to Minnesota on Wednesday. Michigan State is embracing hard-nose, physical, tough defense, and is allowing opponents to shoot only 37.7 percent from the field, including less than 27 percent from 3-point range, both numbers ranking No. 2 in the Big Ten.

3. Illinois

Record: 7-2, 2-0 | Last week: 7

The Illini seem to have gotten their act together after a slow start to the season, probably because Brad Underwood has had most of his pieces back on the court. One of those is not point guard Andre Curbelo, who is still sitting because of lingering effects from a concussion. But otherwise, Illinois is rolling. It’s getting big performances by Cockburn (17 points and a career-high 18 rebounds vs. Iowa), and Jacob Grandison and Alfonso Plummer are benefitting from his presence inside by torching teams from the outside. If those 2 keep drilling open jumpers, then Illinois becomes an increasingly difficult team to defend. And then when Curbelo returns — sometime — that’ll add to the danger the Illini present.

2. Ohio State

Record: 6-2, 1-0 | Last week: 3

Ohio State knocked off then-top-ranked Duke last week, then went on the road to notch its first Big Ten victory, hanging on against feisty Penn State. Point guard Jamari Wheeler enjoyed his night back at Penn State, where he started his career, scoring a season-high 9 points with 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. OSU had to score in an atypical fashion against PSU, because EJ Liddell and Zed Key were largely held in check, combining for only 18 points. But Kyle Young hit 4 3-pointers. The Buckeyes still have an issue with perimeter scoring, and Justice Sueing isn’t expected back “for weeks,” according to Coach Chris Holtmann.

1. Purdue

Record: 8-0, 1-0 | Last week: 1

For the first time in its history, Purdue is the No. 1 team in the country in the AP Poll. It’s deserved, as the Boilermakers have rolled to an 8-0 start including wins over Villanova, North Carolina, Florida State and Iowa, the last 2 coming in the last week. Purdue has a lot going well, although the Hawkeyes might have exposed a couple flaws, particularly in the Boilermakers’ ability to handle backcourt pressure. But few do that as well as Iowa. Looking ahead, Purdue might stay No. 1 at least for a few weeks, as it’ll be a double-digit favorite in every game until perhaps it goes to Michigan on Jan. 11. The next potential trip-ups seem to be that game or the road trip a week later to Illinois.