After an eventful Week 16 of college basketball filled with quality games, do we have a new No. 1 in the Big Ten power rankings for Week 17?
Everyone is talking about how poor of a year it’s been for Big Ten basketball. The conference is just not at the level it usually is in 2016-17, but that surely doesn’t mean there’s a lack of quality basketball being played.
Week in and week out, there is a new team catching fire, but the league is as even as it’s ever been, especially now that there are 14 teams. No team is safe from upset even though it looked as if Purdue and Wisconsin were the two untouchables in conference play this season — they both suffered losses in Week 16.
So what do the Week 17 power rankings look like? Now that college basketball’s regular season is coming to a close, the true contenders are coming to the forefront, but who will end up winning the Big Ten?
Take a look at the Week 17 Big Ten power rankings and see if there’s a new No. 1 on the list.
‘Is the season over yet?’ That is likely the question every Rutgers fan and player is asking themselves right about now. While the Scarlet Knights have nearly doubled last year’s win total under first-year head coach Steve Pikiell, they have lost 14-of-16 Big Ten games to go from 11-2 on the year to just 13-16. It’s been a rough stretch in conference play, but the future is brighter now than it was a season ago.
While the Scarlet Knights nearly beat Michigan at home, Corey Sanders is starting to play like an All-Big Ten performer again as he continues to lead the team in scoring night in and night out. Rutgers will have all offseason to figure out a gameplan to win more than one or two games in conference play next season and it could finish off the year on a high note with a home win over Maryland or Illinois.
Penn State knew it had a tough week on its hands if it wanted to stay above .500 on the season and have a chance to finish Big Ten play with a winning record, but the Nittany Lions came just short of an upset win over Purdue. The Nittany Lions took the Boilermakers into overtime, surprisingly, but didn’t have enough juice to pull out a big win, losing by four.
Pat Chambers’ team then traveled to Minneapolis to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers, one of the Big Ten’s hottest teams. However, Minnesota gave the Nittany Lions an even tougher test than Purdue did, winning by 10. Penn State dropped below the .500 mark for the first time since the first few weeks of the year, but this team could be dangerous next season.