Rush The Court

This is the 11th installment of our weekly Big Ten Power Rankings which we will publish each Friday. This week’s voters were Deepak Jayanti, Joey Nowak and Kevin Trahan of the Big Ten Microsite.

In this week’s Big Ten power rankings we discuss each team’s week and consider which player each team cannot do without.

1. Michigan — This time, can the Wolverines seize the day and slide into the nation’s No. 1 spot? It’s theirs for the taking after Duke was blown out at Miami this week, and the Wolverines took care of their first order of business by disposing of pesky Purdue at home on Thursday. A trip to Champaign on Sunday will not be quite as easy, but this team has the tools to make it happen and is certainly deserving of the No. 1 spot in our conference rankings, if not the national polls. Most Valuable Player: It’s hard to choose anybody but Trey Burke, who has to be the front-runner for Big Ten Player of the Year, and in the conversation for the National Player of the Year. He can score at will when the Wolverines need him to, but his game this year has been about making other players better. And it’s working. 

   Trey Burke and Michigan have the nation’s top-seed within its grasp (annarbor.com)

2. Indiana — The Hoosiers’ upcoming meeting against Michigan State has gone from a likely opportunity for them to flex their muscles against a perennial conference title contender to almost a bit of a toss-up. The Spartans will be rolling into Bloomington as the hottest team in the conference, and the Hoosiers have already proven to be vulnerable on their home floor. But Tom Izzo knows what he’s talking about when he calls the Hoosiers the Big Ten’s most complete team. That’s why they hold onto this spot. For now. Most Valuable Player: Last year’s national championship Kentucky team was laden with underclassmen talent, but it was an elder statesman in Terrence Jones who set the bar for the Wildcats. The case is the same for Christian Watford and Indiana this season. With due respect to some of the great young players the Hoosiers have, as Watford goes, Indiana goes.
3. Michigan State — After four straight against some of the weakest teams in the conference, the Spartans have entered the lions’ den and are so far unscathed. They answered the bell in a must-win of sorts against Ohio State and scratched out their second straight win in Madison to notch their sixth straight Big Ten win after dropping their conference opener. They’ve not been the most impressive team to watch, but you can’t argue with the results. Most Valuable Player: Very few would argue he’s the team’s best player per se, but you could make a case that Travis Trice is one guy this team cannot do without. Especially since the transfer of Brandan Kearney, backcourt minutes have been at a premium for the Spartans and Trice is a soothing presence at the point guard spot that makes everyone else better and allows Keith Appling to focus on scoring. And with Russell Byrd still a no-show, Trice’s 42 percent three-point shooting is essential.

   Tom Izzo’s squad has not been the easiest team to watch, but you can’t argue with the results (AP)

4. Minnesota — While Minnesota’s entire body of work, not to mention their head-to-head victory against Michigan State, may warrant them a spot higher than the Spartans in the Power Rankings, this is about where these teams stand today, and that leaves the Gophers looking up at the Spartans. Trips to Illinois and Indiana, as well as a home loss against Michigan, are all respectable, but they’re still losses. Three of them at this point in Big Ten play is going to be a tough hole to climb out of for Tubby Smith’s group to win the title. Most Valuable Player: He’s still not quite playing like the player we know he is — not even averaging in double figures — but no one in the conference is a force quite like Trevor Mbakwe. He’s a beast on the glass, and a double-double is all in a day’s work for him. He’s a veteran presence who impacts the game in a way few others in the country can.
5. Ohio State — If there’s any such thing as a manageable stretch in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes have it coming up in a three-game slate that includes a game at Penn State, a home contest against Wisconsin, and a trip to Nebraska. Ohio State has not shown much during Big Ten play — much like the non-conference schedule, when they lost to the good teams and beat up on the bad — save for a home win against Michigan that they absolutely had to have. They’re inconsistent and don’t have enough dimensions beyond Deshaun Thomas to really give people problems at this point. Most Valuable Player: We’re trying to stay away from the obvious here, but there is no contest here. It has to be Thomas. He leads the conference in scoring, but Ohio State is one of just two teams (the other is Purdue) to not have more than one player in the Big Ten’s top 30 in scoring. Ohio State relies so heavily on Thomas that opponents can either allow him to get his average and shut down everyone else, or focus solely on Thomas to quiet him while letting everyone else run free. At this point, they don’t have anyone else to go to.

   Deshaun Thomas is right in the mix for Big Ten player of the year (Getty)

6. Wisconsin — We thought the Badgers’ performance during non-conference play was confusing — never do you expect to see Bo Ryan’s teams outplayed so often — but their performance in the Big Ten has been equally odd. They ran out to a 4-0 start and the top spot in the conference briefly, while also knocking off Indiana in Bloomington. But they since slipped up at Iowa and couldn’t hold home-court advantage against Michigan State. Now they must host Minnesota before traveling to Ohio State and Illinois. Not a great time to be figuring things out. Most Valuable Player: With the early loss of Josh Gasser, it was unclear just how the Badgers would be able to fill that void in the backcourt. Ben Brust was a natural fill-in, but sophomore Traevon Jackson has come out of the woodwork as a reliable piece. He’s second on the team with 2.3 assists per game, and has upped his MPG from 5.4 last year to 23.8.
7. Iowa — There’s nothing like starting the Big Ten season off with games against Indiana, Michigan State and Michigan. But the Hawkeyes have proven that they’re better than the result of those first three games. They’ve rebounded nicely, besides falling at Ohio State, and have a few more manageable games on the horizon. These next few will be critical for Iowa’s NCAA Tournament hopes. Most Valuable Player: There’s a lot of great young talent on this Hawkeyes roster, but Aaron White is a player who is affecting the game on a number of different levels already in his sophomore season. He’s improved his production in nearly every facet of the game after a breakout freshman campaign and could be a star in the making.
8. Northwestern — One team with dreams of a Big Ten title (and perhaps more) will fall every year in Evanston. It’s as good as guaranteed. And this year, already, is no exception. The Wildcats got their token home upset of a top-15 conference foe (Minnesota this week). The question is, do they have another one in them, and perhaps enough to make a push at an NCAA Tournament bid? Most Valuable Player: The thing about some of Northwestern’s greatest players over the last decade or so is that they seem to stay on campus for eight years or so, tormenting opponents for what seems like forever. But this year’s potent upperclassman, Reggie Hearn, has opted for a better-late-than-never breakout season. He leads the team in scoring, and is second in rebounds. Not bad for a 6’4″ guard.
9. Purdue — There’s nothing like traveling to face the top team in the conference to kill any momentum you’ve got building, and that’s the exact buzz saw the Boilermakers ran into on Thursday night. This is not the same team lost to Eastern Michigan, but this team is still not ready to compete night in and night out against the Big Ten’s best. Still, when this team is clicking, it has enough pieces to beat anybody. Most Valuable Player: DJ Byrd entered this season as the team’s go-to guy, and while Terone Johnson has taken over the role as Boilermakers’ scorer, Byrd remains instrumental to this team’s success. His senior leadership is invaluable to a group of mostly underclassmen contributing for Purdue, and he can still light it up from downtown. After putting together on/off performances during non-conference play, he’s scored in double figures in all but one Big Ten contest.
10. Illinois — Are the Fighting Illini really better than the No. 10 spot in the conference? We’d like to think so, at least judging by what they were able to do early in the season. But what they’ve shown us since hasn’t been worthy of conference title consideration or even the NCAA Tournament. How far will this team slip before getting back to where it was in December? Or will it? Most Valuable Player: Again, it’s hard to shy away from the obvious here. Brandon Paul is not only the most talented player on this Illinois squad, but he is probably most epitomizes, more than other player in the Big Ten, a player that one team cannot do without. From scoring to rebounding to assists, he does it all. And on this slide, Illinois can never get enough.
11. Nebraska — Nobody in the conference this year is going to be doing Nebraska any favors. They’re going to have to steal a game or two here and there (see their win at Penn State this week) and it’s not getting any easier with Brandon Ubel out. It was going to be an uphill climb for Tim Miles, but he may not even saw this coming. Most Valuable Player: With the loss of Ubel, Dylan Talley has been asked to step up and he really has delivered. The senior’s overall scoring is down since Big Ten play began, but he’s averaging more than 35 minutes per game.
12. Penn State — I really, really thought the Nittany Lions were going to get their first Big Ten win when they hosted Nebraska this week, but it was not to be. And it doesn’t figure to be any time in the next few days, either. Perhaps when Purdue comes to town. But for now, more of the same. Most Valuable Player: At the beginning of the year, Penn State would have been one of the easiest answers for this category, with the honors going to Tim Frazier. And midway through this season, with him out for the year, you can see why. The Nittany Lions have struggled immensely without him but D.J. Newbill has emerged as a scoring force in his place. Now, without Newbill? We don’t even want to think about it.