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Vaughn Dalzell shares his Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings, including Purdue at the top and a surprise ranking for Northwestern.
1. Purdue Boilermakers (16-2, 5-2)
Upcoming games: Saturday at Iowa (-7), Tuesday vs Michigan (-16) *Projected lines
Odds to win the Big Ten: (-310)
Purdue currently ranks No. 2 in the AP Poll and has the most impressive resume in college basketball. After suffering a road loss at Northwestern to start conference play, the Boilermakers have rattled off nine wins over the past 10.
2. Wisconsin Badgers (13-4, 5-1)
Upcoming games: Friday vs Indiana (-13), Tuesday at Minnesota (-6) *Projected lines
Odds to win the Big Ten: (+400)
Wisconsin is the biggest threat to take down Purdue this season. The Badgers have the length (8th in height), experience (52nd), and returners from last year (71.6% of minutes back, 8th-most) to make this a tight race in the Big Ten.
The Badgers have gotten off to a good start, but an 87-83 loss to Penn State in its last outing gives Purdue some room to breathe in the Big Ten race.
3. Illinois Fighting Illini (13-4, 4-2)
Upcoming games: Sunday vs Rutgers (-14), Wednesday at Northwestern (-4) *Projected lines
Odds to win the Big Ten: (+900)
Illinois is one of the most experienced teams in the nation with 2.82 average years of DI experience (15th) and that’s one of the factors why they are top four on offense and defense in the conference.
The Terrance Shannon situation puts a damper on what Illinois could be on the court, but they still went toe-to-toe at Purdue (83-78 loss) and hung with Marquette (71-64) and Tennessee (86-79) in their other two losses. The recent loss at home versus Maryland was concerning, so this team could find themselves dropping fast in the Big Ten.
4. Northwestern Wildcats (13-4, 4-2)
Upcoming games: Saturday at Nebraska (+4), Wednesday vs Illinois (+4)…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/big-ten-college-basketball-power-134524036.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-01-19 13:45:24
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