Will Michigan State win consecutive games again this year? It’ll probably happen but it didn’t this week.
It was another up-and-down week for Michigan State, who picked up a much-needed win over Iowa on Thursday but followed it up with an embarrassing performance at Purdue in a blowout loss. The Spartans have dropped four of their last six games and haven’t won consecutive games in over three weeks.
While Michigan State fans are frustrated with the recent stretch of play, it could be a lot worse — just ask Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan who all find themselves near the bottom of the league. On the flip side, Northwestern, Indiana and Illinois have ascended in our weekly power rankings after strong play as of late.
See where the Michigan State and the rest of the Big Ten teams land in our latest batch of power rankings:
14
Minnesota
Record: 7-13 (1-9 in Big Ten)
The Golden Gophers came close to knocking off the surging Hoosiers early in the week but were dominated by Northwestern on Saturday. Another week in the basement for Minnesota is the result of those two outcomes.
13
Nebraska
Record: 10-12 (3-8 in Big Ten)
There was a time where Nebraska was playing good ball and challenging each of their opponents in close losses. That doesn’t appear to be the case anymore for Nebraska, who has lost five of their last six by an average margin of 17.8 points per game.
12
Michigan
Record: 11-10 (5-5 in Big Ten)
Michigan had a pair of NCAA Tournament resume building opportunities this week but fell flat on their face in both. The Wolverines challenged Purdue on Thursday but were dominated by Penn State in a double-digit loss on Sunday. It looks like the wheels are officially falling off for Michigan.
11
Wisconsin
Record: 12-8 (4-6 in Big Ten)
It was a really bad week for the Badgers. Wisconsin went 0-3 this week with losses to Northwestern, Maryland and Illinois. Those aren’t bad teams to be losing to but the Badgers couldn’t afford to lose all three of those games as they are now on the wrong side of the bubble as we hit February.
10
Ohio State
Record: 11-10 (3-7 in Big Ten)
Like Wisconsin, it was a bad week for the Buckeyes who dropped a pair of games they needed to win to boost their NCAA Tournament resume. Ohio State has lost seven of their last eight games and appears destined for missing the big dance for the first time since Chris Holtmann took over as head coach.
9
Penn State
Record: 14-7 (5-5 in Big Ten)
It was a true up-and-down week for Penn State who was blown out by Rutgers during the week but then bombarded Michigan on Sunday. The Nittany Lions continue to pick up victories and will remain in the hunt for the NCAA Tournament as we enter February.
8
Rutgers
Record: 14-7 (6-4 in Big Ten)
Rutgers made easy work of Penn State in their mid-week matchup but fell in convincing fashion at Iowa over the weekend. The Scarlet Knights are still in a great position to make the NCAA Tournament but it seems like the water has found its level with them in recent weeks. Rutgers is really hard to beat at the RAC but otherwise is an average squad.
7
Iowa
Record: 13-8 (5-5 in Big Ten)
It could have ended up being an incredible week for Iowa had they hit one of their two game-winning three-point attempts on Thursday at the Breslin Center. Those shots didn’t fall, though, so it’s just a pretty good week for Iowa — who ended up picking up a nice win over Rutgers on Sunday.
6
Michigan State
Record: 14-8 (6-5 in Big Ten)
Will Michigan State ever win at Mackey Arena again? The Spartans didn’t even get off the bus on Sunday in another blowout loss at Purdue. Good thing Michigan State was able to hold on to beat Iowa during the week, otherwise they would have dropped even further in this week’s power rankings.
5
Maryland
Record: 14-7 (5-5 in Big Ten)
Maryland has quietly climbed up our power rankings in recent weeks due to strong play as of late. The Terps have won four of their last six games, including double-digit victories over Wisconsin and Nebraska this past week. It’s time I start giving Maryland some more respect.
4
Northwestern
Record: 15-5 (6-3 in Big Ten)
Northwestern return from their COVID-related break this past week and they did so in impressive fashion. The Wildcats picked up wins in all three of their games this week, beating Wisconsin, Nebraska and Minnesota. Those are the best three teams but still need to give Northwestern the respect they’ve earned thus far this year.
3
Indiana
Record: 15-6 (6-4 in Big Ten)
The Hoosiers are back on track after another strong week of play. Indiana survived a scare at Minnesota during the week, and followed that up with a blowout victory of Ohio State on Saturday. Indiana is rounding into form, and if healthy, will be one of the best teams in the league the rest of the way.
2
Illinois
Record: 15-6 (6-4 in Big Ten)
Good Illinois returned this week, with the Fighting Illini knocking off Ohio State and Wisconsin. As we’ve documented in these rankings all season long, good Illinois is arguably the next best team in the league behind Purdue but we just don’t always see that from the Fighting Illini. This week we saw that and they are back near the top of our power rankings.
1
Purdue
Record: 21-1 (10-1 in Big Ten)
Purdue continues to dominate the Big Ten with a pair of wins over Michigan and Michigan State this week. The Boilermakers can start to print their Big Ten title banner for this year, but I still question if they’ll be able to experience the same kind of success in the NCAA Tournament. We will know soon enough, but I have my doubts with how much Purdue relies on Zach Edey to do everything for Purdue.
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