This is the second installment of our weekly Big Ten Power Rankings, which will publish each Friday. This week’s voters were Deepak Jayanti, Joey Nowak and Kevin Trahan of the Big Ten microsite.
Michigan’s talented freshmen class — Glenn Robinson III, Caris LeVert, Spike Albrecht, Nik Stauskas, Mitch McGary — has the Wolverines off to a hot start. (Photo credit: Michigan Athletics)
- Indiana (3-0 — The Hoosiers did just what they were supposed to do this week, pounding on Bryant and North Dakota State. Cody Zeller had a double-double against Bryant and guard Kevin (Yogi) Ferrell was named Big Ten freshman of the week. Indiana gets Georgia next and then will play either UCLA or Georgetown in the Progressive Legends Classic. That’s followed by another tough game against North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
- Michigan (3-0) — Michigan beat up on three cupcakes this week, but got solid performances from its freshmen. Glenn Robinson III is averaging 13.3 PPG and 7.0 RPG, Mitch McGary is tied for the team lead with 7.7 RPG and Nick Stauskas is averaging 11 PPG. Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. have both been stellar. The Wolverines will be tested in their next few games. They play Pitt, then Kansas State or Delaware in the NIT Season Tipoff, before an ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup with NC State.
- Ohio State (1-0) — We missed out on a nice opportunity to see how good the Buckeyes are when their Friday game against Marquette was cancelled, but they took care of business on Sunday against Albany. If Thad Matta really is going to expand his bench, now is the time to do it.
- Michigan State (1-1) — The Spartans had a heck of a week, opening the season on an Air Force Base in Ramstein, Germany (a loss to UConn), before playing in the Champions Classic at the Georgia Dome on Tuesday (a win against Kansas). A lot of Friday’s issues were resolved in time for Tuesday’s big-time win, leaving us again with plenty to like about Tom Izzo‘s team.
- Minnesota (3-0) — Trevor Mbakwe didn’t play much during the home opener and it looks like Tubby Smith may slowly weave him into the rotation. Andre and Austin Hollins, along with Rodney Williams, will need to carry the offensive load until Mbakwe comes back to playing 30 minutes per game, which might not happen until January.
- Iowa (3-0) — Mike Gessell had a coming out party against Central Michigan in the second half of the game. He showed a versatile game by penetrating the zone defense and knocking down a few shots from beyond the arc. If he can control the turnovers, that will be a huge boost for Fran McCaffery.
- Wisconsin (1-1) — It is tough to stop a Florida team that shot lights out on the road, especially during the first week of the season. Traevon Jackson and George Marshall have the ability to run the point but it will take some time for Ryan’s team to generate consistent offense after the loss of Josh Gasser.
- Northwestern (2-0) — Northwestern beat up on the SWAC this week, with wins against frontrunners Texas Southern and Mississippi Valley State. Newcomers Alex Olah and Kale Abrahamson were impressive against Texas Southern, and senior Drew Crawford had scored 20 points by halftime, hitting on his first eight shots.
- Illinois (2-0) — Two up and two down for John Groce. Illini will have their first true test against USC at the Maui invitational next week. USC is a talented squad that might finish in the middle of the Pac-12, so the Illini have a good challenge ahead of them on the road.
- Purdue (1-2) — The Boilermakers’ season-opening home loss to Bucknell left us with a pretty good indication of how badly this team will need Terone Johnson this year. And Thursday’s loss to Villanova (and the 1-2 start overall) gave a good indication of how much of a struggle the rebuilding season could be as a whole.
- Penn State (1-1) — Once again, Penn State is looking like a one-man wrecking crew with Tim Frazier at the helm. It’s hard to believe that’s going to hold up against any quality opponents down the road.
- Nebraska (1-0) — Nebraska took down Southern in its home opener, but the Huskers have a lot to work on in the coming weeks, as coach Tim Miles tweeted during halftime. Nebraska’s first test comes at Wake Forest in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.