Big Ten basketball power rankings: Who's the second-best team in the league?

Michigan Wolverines basketball stands atop the Big Ten, one win away from clinching at least a share of the regular-season championship, but who’s No. 2? The other contenders have taken some eye-opening losses lately. Here are our power rankings of the league 1-18 heading into the penultimate week of the regular season.

1. Michigan (25-2 overall, 15-1 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 1st (—)
Last week: at Purdue (W, 91-80), vs. Duke in Washington D.C. (L, 68-63)
This week: vs. Minnesota (Tuesday), at Illinois (Friday)

Michigan is one win away from clinching at least a share of the Big Ten championship — and that is in sight with Minnesota coming to Ann Arbor Tuesday. The Wolverines would lock up an outright title with a victory at Illinois.

The Wolverines took on Duke Saturday in Washington D.C., a matchup that proved they still have a lot to work on and served as a reminder that there are no guarantees against other high-level teams even though they have seemed inevitable other than that Wisconsin loss in mid-January.

2. Illinois (22-6 overall, 13-4 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 2nd (—)
Last week: at USC (W, 101-65), at UCLA (L, 94-54 in OT)
This week: vs. Michigan (Friday)

Illinois can look unstoppable one night and very gettable the next. That was the case this past week, too. The Fighting Illini rank eighth nationally in three-point volume and, when they’re not falling, can be picked off. They’re 8-5 when shooting worse than 35 percent from beyond the arc and 14-1 when hitting that mark. Illinois went 13-of-42 from deep (31 percent) against UCLA and lost in overtime in Los Angeles.

It’s hard to kill Illinois for losing three overtime games this month, including two on the road, and a home game against Nebraska in December. This is still the second-best team in the Big Ten, despite Purdue’s recent push.

3. Purdue (22-5 overall, 12-4 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 3rd (—)
Last week: vs. Michigan (L, 91-80), vs. Indiana (W, 93-64)
This week: vs. Michigan State (Thursday), at Ohio State (Sunday)

Purdue doesn’t quite stack up with Michigan, with the Wolverines building a 20-point lead in the first half and winning by double digits at Mackey Arena last Tuesday. However, the Boilermakers have regained their stride as a top-level Big Ten team and proved it again with a blowout win to enact some revenge on Indiana. Purdue will have to bring the fight defensively and on the glass each night. If the Boilermakers do, they can beat almost anyone.

4. Nebraska (23-4 overall, 12-4 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 4th (—)
Last week: at Iowa (L, 57-52), vs. Penn State (W, 87-64)
This week: vs. Maryland (Wednesday), at USC (Saturday)

Nebraska ranked 36th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency until Jan. 20 but is 82nd since then, and the Cornhuskers flat-lined in the 57-52 loss to Iowa. Play the Hawkeyes in the 50s in Iowa City, and you’re probably not coming out with a win. Nebraska has lost four of its last seven games — albeit to good teams, including two of them on the road.

5. Wisconsin (19-8 overall, 11-5 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 5th (—)
Last week: at Ohio State (L, 86-69), vs. Iowa (W, 84-71)
This week: at Oregon (Wednesday), at Washington (Saturday)

Wisconsin is dangerous, but we’re not sure this is a great team. There’s not a No. 2 seed in the country that wants to see Nick Boyd, John Blackwell and a bunch of capable big men that can win on the glass in the second round. But given how much they live and die on threes, they also could very well lose to a No. 10 seed in the first round.

6. Michigan State (22-5 overall, 12-4 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 6th (—)
Last week: vs. UCLA (W, 82-59), vs. Ohio State (W, 66-60)
This week: at Purdue (Thursday), at Indiana (Sunday)

Michigan State’s offensive inconsistency is the fatal flaw at this point, but point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. shot the ball better from deep last week, going 5-of-9, and the Spartans hit 14 overall threes in a blowout win over UCLA. The defense looks back on track after a few rough outings.

7. Iowa (19-7 overall, 9-6 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 8th (+1)
Last week: vs. Nebraska (W, 57-52), at Wisconsin (L, 84-71)
This week: vs. Ohio State (Wednesday), at Penn State (Saturday)

Beating Nebraska is that top-15 win Iowa has been searching for all season, and a sign of progress as the Hawkeyes build under first-year head man Ben McCollum. Point guard Bennett Stirtz is a big-time scorer, with 20 or more in nine of the last 10 games.

8. Indiana (17-10 overall, 8-8 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 7th (-1)
Last week: at Purdue (L, 93-64)
This week: vs. Northwestern (Tuesday), vs. Michigan State (Sunday)m

Indiana is squarely on the bubble and continues to lose to good teams. It’s hard to fault them, except for the fact that the Hoosiers need a marquee win — and to avoid bad losses — to stamp an NCAA Tournament bid. The Hoosiers can be tough to deal with on offense, but the defense lacks rim protection and is in the bottom half in the Big Ten.

9. UCLA (18-9 overall, 10-6 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 9th (—)
Last week: at Michigan State (L, 82-59), vs. Illinois (W, 95-94 in OT)
This week: vs. USC (Tuesday), at Minnesota (Saturday)

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin has gone so far off the rails that he had to apologize for ejecting his own player, big man Steven Jamerson II, after a hard foul against Michigan State. But, just like last season, his meltdowns don’t mean the Bruins can’t play some ball. They took down Illinois Saturday night, their second win over top-10 teams on KenPom, joining the victory over Purdue Jan. 20. UCLA isn’t dead yet.

10. Ohio State (17-10 overall, 9-7 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 10th (—)
Last week: vs. Wisconsin (W, 86-69), at Michigan State (L, 66-60)
This week: at Iowa (Wednesday), vs. Purdue (Saturday)

Ohio State is short-handed, without sharpshooting guard John Mobley Jr. (hand) and Devin Royal (illness) Sunday at Michigan State. But the Buckeyes continue to fight, after a surprising win over Wisconsin earlier in the week. Mobley is out indefinitely, so point guard Bruce Thornton will have to carry the load. Here are Thornton’s point totals in the last four games: 21, 28, 27, 32.

11. USC (18-9 overall, 7-9 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 11th (—)
Last week: vs. Illinois (L, 101-65), vs. Oregon (L, 71-70)
This week: at UCLA (Tuesday), vs. Nebraska (Saturday)

USC has lost three-straight games (at Ohio State, vs. Illinois, vs. Oregon), but only one was surprising, the setback to the Ducks. The Trojans are in no man’s land, the worst of the Big Ten teams with a shot at the NCAA Tournament, currently projected a No. 11 seed per BracketMatrix.

Chad Baker-Mazara returned for the Oregon game, scoring 21 points in 23 minutes, meaning freshman Alijah Arenas doesn’t have to be the No. 1 playmaker, but the Trojans just don’t have enough offense to hang, ranking 17th in the league in adjusted offensive efficiency during the conference season.

12. Washington (13-14 overall, 5-11 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 12th (—)
Last week: at Maryland (L, 64-60)
This week: at Rutgers (Tuesday)

Washington lost at Maryland, 10 days after falling at Penn State. This season has officially gotten away from second-year head coach Danny Sprinkle, despite the high hopes preseason. A lot of that has to do with injuries, of course, but there wasn’t enough shooting and defensive prowess on this roster.

13. Minnesota (13-14 overall, 6-10 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 13th (—)
Last week: at Oregon (W, 61-44), vs. Rutgers (W, 80-61)
This week: at Michigan (Tuesday), vs. UCLA (Saturday)

Minnesota head coach Niko Medved doesn’t have the talent yet, but he runs such good stuff offensively that his players get open looks. The five-out system is tough to guard, and his group battles defensively. They’re laying a foundation for the future, but are still unworthy of moving up on these rankings because they can lay an egg any given night, and forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson is out indefinitely with a foot injury, adding to the growing list of Golden Gopher injuries.

14. Oregon (10-17 overall, 3-13 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 14th (—)
Last week: vs. Minnesota (L, 61-44), at USC (W, 71-70)
This week: vs. Wisconsin (Wednesday), at Northwestern (Saturday)

Oregon is on the verge of a surge in these rankings now that it’s getting big-time scoring and rebounding contributions from big man Nate Bittle as he’s gotten re-acclimated to the lineup following injury. And when Kwame Evans can get to the foul line (11-of-13) like that and score 21 points as he did versus USC, the Ducks can beat anyone … outside of the top 10 in these rankings.

15. Maryland (11-16 overall, 4-12 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 16th (+1)
Last week: at Northwestern (L, 78-74), vs. Washington (W, 64-60)
This week: at Nebraska (Wednesday), vs. Rutgers (Sunday)

How is Maryland’s season going? Well, head coach Buzz Williams is being questioned about roster building in February, and not because national reporters are in town to write features on the team, and he even said last week, “I need to do better. I could’ve done better.” At the same time, hit 10 threes, rebound the heck out of the ball and they can beat a (Washington) team that can’t shoot and had to travel across the country.

16. Rutgers (11-16 overall, 4-12 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 15th (-1)
Last week: at Penn State (W, 85-72), at Minnesota (L, 80-61)
This week: vs. Washington (Tuesday), at Maryland (Sunday)

Rutgers is playing lighter competition but does seem to be improving on defense, including in rebounding, its biggest problems earlier in the season. We’ll see if this young team can build on something or if it’ll all be blown up in the portal this offseason.

17. Northwestern (11-16 overall, 3-13 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 18th (+1)
Last week: vs. Maryland (W, 78-74)
This week: at Indiana (Tuesday), vs. Oregon (Saturday)

Northwestern won a game — finally — so it moves out of the No. 18 spot, which has been a revolving door all season long. Shout out to Nick Martinelli for continuing to do his thing, putting up a routine 29 points in the win over Maryland. He’s an impressive scorer but not many will remember his individual season because of how rough it’s been for a young Wildcats roster.

18. Penn State (11-17 overall, 2-15 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 17th (-1)
Last week: vs. Rutgers (L, 85-72), at Nebraska (L, 87-64)
This week: vs. Iowa (Saturday)

Penn State has lost three-straight games, all by double figures, including two to teams outside the top-100 on KenPom in Oregon and Rutgers. The Nittany Lions are the worst defensive team in the Big Ten.