Big Ten men's basketball power rankings for February 23
· Yahoo Sports
The top teams in the Big Ten remain intact, and Wisconsin revealed itself as a dangerous force heading into March. A lot of the top competing teams will have to bounce back from last week's disappointing losses, as do the USC Trojans. Now is the time to display the best a team can offer. This last stretch of games will reveal the contenders and the pretenders. The USC Trojans hope to be on the right side of that, but they took a step back against Oregon.
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Here are my Big Ten men's basketball power rankings after the past week of Big Ten Conference play:
1. Michigan Wolverines, 25-2
Michigan has dominated the Big Ten for this entire season, but on Saturday, they proved they still have some until they can take over college basketball. When it is time to face a team that has a lottery pick on its squad, it takes a little bit more than what Michigan has been doing to take down its Big Ten foes.
2. Illinois Fighting Illini, 22-6
Illinois has a great body of work, and this is a team that has been consistent all season long. Illinois has three losses in the past month, all of which have been decided in overtime. They lost to UCLA due to a buzzer-beater in overtime this past weekend. Illinois is still better than the next batch of Big Ten contenders, but they can not live and die by the 3-point line.
3. Purdue Boilermakers, 22-5
Purdue can pass the ball around with the best of them, and their offense will keep them with the best teams in the country. Blowing out Indiana was a greatly needed win. This team needs to be defensive, and then they can be a challenge to Michigan and Illinois.
4. Nebraska Cornhuskers, 23-4
The rest of the Big Ten has caught up to Nebraska. The good teams in the conference like their chances vs the Cornhuskers and Nebraska has not been able to respond in those type of games.
5. Wisconsin Badgers, 19-8
This team is a top 5 team in the conference when they want to be. After their blowout win vs Michigan State, they proved just how good they can be when they want to and that they are right there with other contenders in the Big Ten. This is a dangerous team come tournament time.
6. Michigan State Spartans, 22-5
The Spartans' offense could very well end up being their downfall. They need to have more consistent scoring, or just like the top 5 of this conference, when it is time for the tournament, they will be watching it from home, too.
7. Iowa Hawkeyes, 19-8
The Hawkeyes have fared well this season under their first-year head coach, thanks to the consistent offensive production from star Bennett Stirtz. This team, as they have shown recently, will need other guys to step up and help take the pressure off of Stirtz.
8. Ohio State Buckeyes, 17-10
Just like Wisconsin, this team has not been able to choose which version of themselves they want to be. They are more than capable of getting big wins, but they just can't do it consistently. Ohio State is coming off a big win vs Wisconsin, who's to say that won't go ahead and lose all the momentum with a crushing loss to Iowa.
9. Indiana Hoosiers, 17-10
Lamar Wilkerson and company make this team a nightmare to defend. They have been in some close battles, and they have gotten the doors beaten off of them as well. The key recurring theme is that they can't win games against big opponents. A win vs Michigan State and finishing the rest of the season strong would do wonders for this team.
10. UCLA Bruins, 18-9
This team has been as up and down as it gets. One day, their coach is ejecting his own player from the game, the next, UCLA is taking down Illinois in overtime. I think that win could be one that very well could end up sparking something special for this team.
11. USC Trojans, 18-9
Chad Baker-Mazara returned, and he showed out in his debut back, but still it was not enough for the Trojans to get a much-needed win. The Trojans' tournament hopes are running thin. The combination of Baker-Mazara and Alijah Arenas will have to be stars to take USC to the dance.
12. Washington Huskies, 13-14
Injuries really hindered the hope of what could have been a competitive season. The Huskies showed at times how good they could have been, but losing to Penn State and Maryland really says the season is just all but wrapped up.
13. Minnesota Golden Gophers, 13-14
The Gophers have found something in the last two games, as they won by at least 20 points in their last matchups. Their meeting with Michigan will really say whether the Gophers just struck some end-of-season luck or not. Either way, with Michigan, UCLA, and Indiana left on the schedule, the Gophers' last-minute efforts will ultimately end without any success.
14. Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 11-16
Rutgers got a win vs Penn State and then got blown out by Minnesota; that really sums up how this season has been for them. Their offense can get hot at times, but their defense does not give them a chance in the world if the shots are not falling.
15. Oregon Ducks, 10-17
The Ducks can score, and with their best guys healthy now and getting in rhythm, they can spoil a team's chances at the tournament just like they did with USC. This team at full strength could even give Wisconsin and Illinois some real go.
16. Maryland Terrapins, 11-16
The Terrapins are another Big Ten team that is up and down, and heck, their win vs Washington was a great example of the ups. Maryland has 3 ranked opponents left on the schedule for the next 4 games, so they might display even more downs.
17. Northwestern Wildcats, 11-16
Nick Martinelli's big scoring night finally translated to another Big Ten win for Northwestern. The Wildcats now have 3 wins in the Big Ten after their win vs Maryland, but with Martinelli leading the Big Ten in scoring with a 22.3 points per contest average, they should have been more successful in the conference instead of at the bottom with Penn State.
18. Penn State Nittany Lions, 11-17
Penn State, with another week of misfortune, has lost 3 straight games by double digits. It has been a season that has gotten away from them early, now has to look towards next season and nail the upcoming class. This defense has to be better next season for Penn State to have any shot at relevance in Big Ten hoops.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Big Ten men's basketball power rankings for February 23