Week 5 B1G basketball power rankings: Is Purdue still on top?
Purdue had been the last remaining undefeated Big Ten team.
That is, until a perfect night in Piscataway, when the Scarlet Knights played their best game of the season, knocking off the then-No. 1 team in dramatic fashion and seeing their fans rush the court.
Does that knock the Boilermakers from the top of the power rankings for the Big Ten ?
Let’s take a look at the Week 5, Dec. 14, rankings:
14. Nebraska
Record: 5-6 overall, 0-2 in the Big Ten | Last week: 13
Is it panic time yet in Lincoln? Perhaps. The Cornhuskers’ losing streak has hit 4 games, the latest being a blowout loss to No. 18 Auburn on a neutral court in Atlanta. Games can not be won the way Nebraska is playing, having given up 99 or more points in 3 of the games during the losing streak (granted 1 was in 4 overtimes). The Cornhuskers do OK in limiting the opponents’ FG percentage (less than 42 percent) but they are giving up offensive rebounds, and second-chance points, by the boatload. It could be another long season in Lincoln for Fred Hoiberg and company.
13. Penn State
Record: 5-5, 0-2 | Last week: 12
Micah Shrewsberry is likely to be able to keep his team focused this season, but that might be about it. The Nittany Lions don’t have the talent to keep up with many teams in the Big Ten, as was evidenced against Michigan State on Saturday. A scoring drought in the first half — PSU doesn’t have much depth beyond its starting 5 — turned the game toward the Spartans, who never looked back. Penn State’s only path to Big Ten victories is to lock down the opponent and keep the score in the 60s, which presents a narrow margin for error.
12. Rutgers
Record: 5-5 overall, 1-1 | Last week: 14
Rutgers captured some magic against Purdue early in the week, shocking the then-No. 1 Boilermakers on Ron Harper Jr.’s half-court heave. It capped a great game by the Scarlet Knights, who were locked in defensively and on the glass and let Harper carry them on the offensive end. But the game likely wasn’t the reality for Rutgers this season; even with Geo Baker back vs. Seton Hall days later, the Knights returned to form. They just can’t shoot, and that’ll be an ongoing problem for the rest of the season.
11. Maryland
Record: 6-4, 0-1 | Last week: 11
Danny Manning picked up his first victory as the Terrapins’ interim coach on Sunday and boy was it a big one, as Maryland knocked off then-No. 20 Florida in the Barclays Center. It ended a 3-game losing streak. Forward Hakim Hart has been big of late, giving Maryland another 3-point shooter, a big deal for a team that ranks in the 200s in the NCAA in 3-point field goal percentage. Hart has scored in double-figures in 3 straight games, including his 11 points off the bench vs. the Gators, and is hitting 42 percent of his triples on the season.
10. Northwestern
Record: 7-2, 1-0 | Last week: 10
Northwestern has been hanging around 10th in the Big Ten for the first month of the season, even though it’s won 7 of 9 and its Big Ten opener. The Wildcats need only to prove themselves against better competition, as it has mostly feasted on mid-major competition with additional wins over Georgia and Maryland. A solid DePaul team, which just won at Louisville, comes on Saturday, which will be more telling about exactly who Northwestern is. Then, NU gets MSU at the start of the new year in Welsh-Ryan. We’ll see.
9. Michigan
Record: 6-4, 1-1 | Last week: 7
As it stands right now, Michigan isn’t an NCAA Tournament team. It probably wouldn’t even be on the bubble. What gives? According to Eli Brooks, the Wolverines aren’t physical enough, which is leading to defensive breakdowns in particular. In a home loss to Minnesota, Michigan repeatedly allowed Golden Gophers to blow by for relatively uncontested layups. It wasn’t pretty, especially for a Michigan team picked to win the conference. Now, a better question might be whether it can finish above .500. Time isn’t up — 18 Big Ten games remain — but Juwan Howard needs answers.
8. Indiana
Record: 8-2, 1-1 | Last week: 8
Yes, Indiana is 8-2, but it comes without a marquee victory, the closest thing being a November win over St. John’s. The Johnnies are 8-2 also, but their best win might be … Monmouth? IU has played out of the state of Indiana only twice, both losses, and won’t again until a trip to Penn State Jan. 2. The Hoosiers lost a chance at a big road victory at Wisconsin, where they’ve not won since 1998, but saw a 22-point first-half lead fade in the second. IU was miserable in the last 20 minutes, missing shots, missing free throws, turning the ball over and being destroyed on the glass.
7. Iowa
Record: 7-3, 0-2 | Last week: 5
Iowa has lost 3 straight games, although against ranked competition in Purdue, Illinois and Iowa State, so not all is lost for the Hawkeyes. But the game against the rival Cyclones was a disappointment, to say the least. Whereas Iowa was competitive in a road loss at Purdue, then at home to Illinois, it got mopped by ISU. Iowa will get a chance to reload, with 9 days off following the loss, then 3 nonconference games. One area to clean up: rebounding. The Hawks are getting smoked on the glass, losing there 144-85 during the losing streak. Their giving up second-chance points, which are a killer, and that’s also preventing them from getting into their transition game, a bad double whammy.
6. Minnesota
Record: 8-1, 1-1 | Last week: 9
When Minnesota hired Ben Johnson as its head coach during the offseason, the move wasn’t met with rousing praise for a shrewd move. Most, in fact, were dismissive. Well, Johnson has the Golden Gophers off to an 8-1 start that includes a win at Michigan, where Minnesota played like the more confident and — frankly — better-coached team. Minnesota limited Michigan to only 3 triples and the Gophers took the ball aggressively at the Wolverines’ defense. Can Minnesota keep it up enough for a top-half finish in the Big Ten? What a story that would be.
5. Wisconsin
Record: 8-2, 1-1 | Last week: 6
Wisconsin is likely to struggle against opponents that can be physical on the interior, and that showed up in a road trip to Ohio State Saturday, when EJ Liddell torched the Badgers to the tune of 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Wisconsin lost by 18. Wisconsin has to find a way to get production from its bigs to complement the play of guards Johnny Davis and Brad Davison, who have been great. But the starting frontcourt of Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl combining for 3 points and 3 rebounds in 46 minutes, as they did at OSU, isn’t going to cut it.
4. Illinois
Record: 7-3, 2-0 | Last week: 3
The Fighting Illini had the ball rolling in the right direction again, winning 5 straight games before a loss to then-No. 11 Arizona at home on Saturday. Illinois had a couple offensive execution issues down the stretch vs. the Wildcats, negating what had been a solid performance. It’s hard not to consider what Illinois could be once point guard Andre Curbelo comes back, because without him, the Illini are out of sync at times offensively. But the situation remains somewhat of a mystery; Curbelo hasn’t played since Nov. 23, as he deals — apparently — with the lingering effects of a concussion a few weeks earlier.
3. Michigan State
Record: 9-2, 2-0 | Last week: 4
The Spartans have won 4 straight games, including their first 2 in Big Ten play over Minnesota and Penn State, and they’re 9-1 since a season-opening loss to Kansas. In other words, Tom Izzo appears to have another team in East Lansing that could challenge for a Big Ten title. Mostly because of the team’s length and athleticism, Michigan State has been fantastic defensively, allowing opponents to shoot only 38 percent from the floor and 27 percent from 3-point range, while holding them to less than 64 points per game. Will the offense round into shape? That answer will determine whether MSU will be solid this season or whether it can be more than that.
2. Ohio State
Record: 8-2, 2-0 | Last week: 2
EJ Liddell is a matchup nightmare for about everyone in the Big Ten. The big man is atypical of the rest of the bigs in the conference, because he can step out on the floor to hit mid-range jumpers and 3-pointers, and also drive the ball to the basket. He’s an early-season All-America candidate and perhaps the Big Ten Player of the Year, at least so far. Ohio State has scored big early-season victories against Seton Hall, Duke and Wisconsin, and will get a chance to add another one vs. Kentucky in Vegas on Saturday.
1. Purdue
Record: 9-1, 1-1 | Last week: 1
Yes, Purdue lost. Yes, Purdue showed vulnerability. Yes, Purdue is still the team to beat in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers played poorly, yet could have won at Rutgers, losing on a last-second half-court bomb. They played poorly, yet won vs. N.C. State in Brooklyn. Purdue isn’t shooting the ball as well as it was at the start of the season and it’s compounding that problem with careless turnovers. And its defensive intensity wanes. Why did it take so long to get started vs. the Wolfpack? If Purdue doesn’t choose to play hard, then it’ll find itself in many more closer-than-expected games.