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College Basketball Big Ten Power Rankings: Week 13

By Connor Muldowney

Jan 22, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Bryant McIntosh (30) celebrates a win over the Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 74-72 at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 22, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Bryant McIntosh (30) celebrates a win over the Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 74-72 at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 29, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) reacts to a play during the first half of a game against the Michigan Wolverines at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 29, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) reacts to a play during the first half of a game against the Michigan Wolverines at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /
6

Michigan Wolverines

Last week: (14-8, 4-5 Big Ten)
Last rank: 8th

Beating Indiana by 30 points really opened the eyes of the Big Ten’s top teams. Could Michigan really be that powerful on both sides of the ball or was Indiana finally feeling the side effects of losing Anunoby for the season? It seemed to be the latter as the Wolverines were brought back down to earth with an eight-point road loss against a struggling Michigan State team.

However, Michigan had been playing well coming into Sunday’s rivalry game, so the Wolverines may have just turned a corner. The offense seemed to be clicking in the three previous games and John Beilein was getting production from everyone ranging from Duncan Robinson to Mark Donnal on Sunday. Zak Irvin needs to remain consistent, though. Derrick Walton can only carry this team so far.

5

Michigan State Spartans

Last week: (13-9, 5-4 Big Ten)
Last rank: 6th

Michigan State had a prime opportunity to make a move in the standings on Tuesday night with a home contest against No. 20 Purdue, but the Spartans struggled in the second half on both sides of the ball, falling to the Boilermakers, 84-73. They finished the week with a nice win over in-state rival Michigan, 80-72, to improve to 13-9 overall and 5-4 in conference play.

Miles Bridges continues to play like a superstar and if Michigan State was one of the top-two or three teams in the Big Ten, he’d likely be a leading conference player of the year candidate. However, if the Spartans can finish the regular season off strong, they will be challenging for a conference title or at least a top-three standing in the Big Ten. They need more contributors than just Bridges, however. Nick Ward and Cassius Winston could be just that.