Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings (Vol. 1): Purdue, Nebraska Conference's Only Unbeatens

The first month of the college basketball season is already in the books. As the calendar flips to December, Big Ten play gets under way, creating some fun, meaningful games early in the year.

Purdue enters league play as the unquestioned No. 1 team in the nation. The Boilermakers are undefeated, they've earned three wins over ranked opponents already, essentially accounting for half their victory total. 

No other team can say that.

Beyond the Boilermakers? We still have a lot of question marks about the teams in the conference. Here's a first look at the basketball power rankings with conference play starting Friday night.

1. Purdue Boilermakers

• Records: 7-0, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP Poll: No. 1; Coaches Poll: No. 1; KenPom: No. 2
• Best wins/worst losses: Beat No. 11 Gonzaga; Beat No. 7 Tennessee; Beat No. 4 Marquette (all in Maui Invitational).
• Last week: Beat Texas Southern 99-67.
• This week: At Northwestern on Friday, 9 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• The skinny: Purdue solidified itself as one of the best teams in the nation during its trip to the Maui Invitational, beating three ranked opponents in three consecutive days. It's going to be hard to contend with Zach Edey, Braden Smith and an athletic Boilermaker team.

2. Illinois Fighting Illini

• Records: 5-1 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: No. 24; Coaches: No. 24; KenPom: No. 26
• Best wins/worst losses: Beat Oakland on Nov. 11.
• Last week: Beat Western Illinois 84-52.
• This week: At Rutgers on Saturday, 4 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• The skinny: There are still some question marks regarding Brad Underwood's squad, but tough tests are ahead. In December, the Fighting Illini having matchups with No. 13 Florida Atlantic, No. 10 Tennessee and Missouri. We're going to find out a lot about this squad in the coming weeks.

3. Michigan State Spartans

• Records: 4-3 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: Received 57 votes; Coaches: No. 25; KenPom: No. 18
• Best wins/worst losses: Beat Butler on Nov. 14.
• Last week: Beat Georgia Southern 86-55 on Tuesday.
• This week: Wisconsin on Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET (TV: Peacock)
• The skinny: Ignore the record. Michigan State is still one of the top teams in the Big Ten, especially with A.J. Hoggard and Tyson Walker. The Spartans started the season in disappointing fashion with the home loss to James Madison. However, Michigan State put up tough fights against No. 9 Duke and No. 3 Arizona. 

4. Ohio State Buckeyes

• Records: 6-1 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: Received 67 votes; Coaches: Received 37 votes: KenPom: No. 21 
• Best wins/worst losses: Beat No. 17 Alabama on Nov. 24.
• Last week: Beat Central Michigan 88-61 on Wednesday.
• This week: Minnesota on Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• The skinny: Ohio State surprised some folks with a big win over a talented Alabama team over Thanksgiving weekend. Bruce Thornton has been a dynamic playmaker for the Buckeyes and gives this team a shot to finish in the top portion of the Big Ten this season. 

5. Nebraska Cornhuskers

• Records: 7-0 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: Received 4 votes; Coaches: NR; KenPom: No. 43 
• Best wins/worst losses: Beat Duquesne on Nov. 22.
• Last week: Beat Fullerton 85-72 on Sunday.
• This week: No. 15 Creighton on Sunday, 4 p.m. ET (TV: Fox Sports 1)
• The skinny: Don't look now, but the Huskers are off to their best start in decades. So far, Nebraska hasn't played anyone of note, but that's about to change this weekend, hosting No. 15 Creighton. Nebraska looks much better defensively and is playing like one of the better teams in the conference. 

6. Iowa Hawkeyes

• Records: 5-2 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: NR; Coaches: NR; KenPom: No. 39
• Best wins/worst losses: Beat Seton Hall 85-72 on Nov. 24.
• Last week: Beat North Florida 103-78 on Wednesday.
• This week: At No. 1 Purdue on Monday, 7 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• The skinny: Iowa continues to score at an incredibly high rate, but the defense still is lacking. So far, the Hawkeyes have struggled against the two best opponents they've faced: No. 15 Creighton and Oklahoma. Without question, Iowa can put the ball in the basket. But this team needs to learn to defend or Big Ten play could get rocky.

7. Indiana Hoosiers

• Records: 5-1 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: NR; Coaches: NR; KenPom: No. 72
• Best wins/worst losses: Beat Wright State 89-80 on Nov. 16.
• Last week: Beat Harvard 89-76 on Sunday.
• This week: Maryland on Friday, 7 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• The skinny: Even with a 5-1 record, Indiana has been a bit disappointing on the floor. The Hoosiers are welcoming a lot of new faces, so there's certainly some growing pains. Indiana's 3-point shooting is atrocious, connecting on just 24% from the floor through six games. Needless to say, IU needs to start hitting some shots.

8. Northwestern Wildcats

• Records: 5-1 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: NR; Coaches: NR; KenPom: No. 57
• Best wins/worst losses: Beat Dayton 71-66 on Nov. 10.
• Last week: Beat Northern Illinois 89-67 on Monday.
• This week: No. 1 Purdue on Friday, 9 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• The skinny: What do we really know about Northwestern? This is another Big Ten team that has loaded up on a relatively light schedule and is off to a good start. Boo Buie and Brooks Barnhizer are both averaging more than 15 points per game, creating a nice duo in Evanston. What will the Wildcats look like when competition starts getting tougher, though?

9. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

• Records: 5-1 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: NR; Coaches: NR; KenPom: No. 56
• Best wins/worst losses: Lost to Princeton 68-61 on Nov. 6.
• Last week: Beat St. Peter's 71-40 on Monday.
• This week: No. 24 Illinois on Saturday, 4 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• The skinny: Rutgers has ripped off five straight wins after a season-opening loss to Princeton. Steve Pikiell lost a lot from last year's team, so this might be a bit of a rebuilding year. The biggest test of the season to date comes Saturday, when the Scarlet Knights host a ranked Illinois squad. 

10. Wisconsin Badgers

• Records: 5-2 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: NR; Coaches: NR; KenPom: No. 22
• Best wins/worst losses: Beat No. 24 Virginia on Nov. 20.
• Last week: Beat Western Illinois 71-49 on Monday.
• This week: No. 3 Marquette on Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET (TV: Fox)
• The skinny: They may already have two losses, but the Badgers have at least been tested early in the season. Wisconsin suffered losses to No. 9 Tennessee and Providence but did earn a win over a ranked Virginia team. One of the biggest issues for Wisconsin is a lack of players with the ability to stretch the floor.

11. Maryland Terrapins

• Records: 4-3 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: NR; Coaches: NR; KenPom: No. 59
• Best wins/worst losses: Lost to Davidson on Nov. 10; Lost to UAB on Nov. 12.
• Last week: Beat Rider 103-76 on Tuesday.
• This week: At Indiana on Friday, 7 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• The skinny: It's still early, but there may not be a more disappointing team in the Big Ten right now. Maryland was expected to be a top-three team in the league but has already suffered losses to Davidson, UAB and No. 21 Villanova. Not to continue harping on the same point, but the Terrapins have been awful from 3-point range, shooting worse than 24% from deep.

12. Michigan Wolverines

• Records: 4-3 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: NR; Coaches: NR; KenPom: 54
• Best wins/worst losses: Lost to Long Beach State on Nov. 17; Beat Memphis on Dec. 22.
• Last week: Beat Stanford 83-78 on Thursday; Lost to Texas Tech 73-57 on Friday (Battle 4 Atlantis).
• This week: At Oregon on Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (TV: Fox Sports 1)
• The skinny: Michigan has two really talented players in Dug McDaniel and Olivier Nkamhoua, its top two scorers thus far. But Michigan needs more help to find some success in the Big Ten. The Wolverines have some tough tests upcoming, playing two Big Ten games (vs. Indiana and at Iowa) sandwiched between contests against Oregon (Dec. 2) and Florida (Dec. 19).

13. Penn State Nittany Lions

• Records: 4-3 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: NR; Coaches: NR; KenPom: No. 96
• Best wins/worst losses: Lost to VCU on Nov. 26.
• Last week: Lost to VCU 86-74 on Sunday.
• This week: Bucknell on Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
• The skinny: The last week has been pretty rough for new coach Mike Rhoades. Penn State started the year 4-0 but dropped three straight games to No. 12 Texas A&M, Butler and VCU. The Nittany Lions are replacing a lot of talent from last year's team, so it looks like this could be a bumpy road in State College.

14. Minnesota Golden Gophers

• Records: 5-2 overall, 5-1 in Big Ten
• Rankings: AP: NR; Coaches: NR; KenPom: No. 119
• Best wins/worst losses: Lost to San Francisco on Nov. 26.
• Last week: Beat New Orleans 97-64 on Thursday.
• This week: At Ohio State on Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network).
• The skinny: Minnesota really lacks any quality victory and suffered an ugly loss to San Francisco a week ago. This is the third year for Ben Johnson, and the Golden Gophers don't appear to be making much progress. 

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