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Ohio State Basketball: Big Ten power rankings after week 2

By Shayne Nissen

BOISE, ID - MARCH 17: Head coach Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts during the second half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Taco Bell Arena on March 17, 2018 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
BOISE, ID - MARCH 17: Head coach Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts during the second half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Taco Bell Arena on March 17, 2018 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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The Ohio State basketball team is off to a nice start and other Big Ten teams are as well. Here are the conference power rankings after week 2.

It has been an interesting couple of weeks to start Big Ten basketball as Ohio State is off to a fast start, there have been other surprising teams, disappointing losses and huge wins. Put all of this together and you get the week 2 Big Ten basketball power rankings.

  1. Michigan (5-0)
  2. Iowa (4-0)
  3. Michigan State (3-1)
  4. Ohio State (4-0)
  5. Purdue (4-1)
  6. Maryland (5-0)
  7. Wisconsin (3-0)
  8. Minnesota (3-0)
  9. Nebraska (3-0)
  10. Northwestern (3-0)
  11. Indiana (3-1)
  12. Illinois (1-1)
  13. Rutgers (2-1)
  14. Penn State (2-1)

There were plenty of great performances by conference teams during the first two weeks of the season. Especially from the Buckeyes who come in at No. 4 in the rankings after big wins over quality opponents Cincinnati and Creighton and blow out wins over IPFW and South Carolina State.

The youngsters for the Buckeyes have looked especially good and Chris Holtmann’s crew seems to be on a roll. If everything goes to plan Ohio State should go into the game against Syracuse undefeated.

Michigan was by far and away the best team in the Big Ten through the first two weeks of the season, getting an absolute monster 73-46 win over Villanova avenging their blowout loss in the National Championship Game last season.

They also had a 20 point win over another Big East opponent in Providence last night only giving up 47 points. John Beilein is one of the best coaches in the country and he has the Wolverines rolling early.

Iowa has been a pleasant surprise so far getting two wins in a row against major conference teams, starting with Oregon and then a 19 point victory over a UConn squad that has a win over Syracuse this season. There could be something brewing this season in Iowa City and that’s not good for the rest of the Big Ten.

Michigan State suffered a tough loss to #2 Kansas in their first showdown of the season and that is what comes with being a top program in the country. The Spartans are still ultra talented with the trio of Cassius Winston, Joshua Langford, and Nick Ward leading the Spartans.

As always, the Spartans will be a tough team to beat come the Big Ten season.

Purdue suffered a close loss to a good Virginia Tech team last night but that shouldn’t diminish just how well Carson Edwards is playing for the Boilermakers. He has averaged 26.6 points and 4 assists through the first five games, inserting himself as one of the premier players in college basketball. Look for him to make more noise as the season continues.

Maryland hasn’t played anyone great but has started out 5-0 and that should count for something. The Terrapins have five players averaging double figures so far which is a testament to the level of unselfishness that Mark Turgeon has his guys playing with. Maryland will have its first test November 28th against #4 Virginia.

Wisconsin got a big win over Big East foe Xavier in the second game of the season thanks to a 30 point outing from Ethan Happ. He is averaging 18.3 points, 12 rebounds, and 7.7 assists on the season cementing himself as one of the best players in the Big Ten and in the country the first few games of the season.

The Badgers have Stanford, NC State, and Iowa all in succession coming up so it will be interesting to see how they handle that rough stretch of games.

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Minnesota has two wins over major conference opponents Utah and Texas A&M so far this season. And like Maryland they have five players scoring in double digits.

The Gophers will look to continue their roll as they gear up to play five major conference teams in a row following a tune up game against Steve Nash’s Alma Matter Santa Clara.

Since Tim Miles has shown up in Lincoln I have always respected the Nebraska teams he has put on the court. They are always very solid teams and this year is no different.

They put a beat down on Seton Hall in their last outing with a 80-57 victory. James Palmer leads the Cornhuskers scoring 21 points per game and will lead Nebraska into battle with Clemson on November 26th.

Much like football, Northwestern has always flown under the radar in basketball. They are off to a 3-0 start but it has been against underwhelming opponents. Northwestern will get its first big test against Georgia Tech.

Indiana falls towards the bottom purely because of the quality the rest of the conference has shown this season. A win over Marquette and a close loss to Arkansas is nothing to scoff at. Archie Miller is a great coach and will have the Hoosiers playing good basketball this season.

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I group Illinois, Rutgers, and Penn State at the bottom of this list purely because of small sample size and less than impressive losses from both Penn State and Rutgers. Illinois played Georgetown very tough and will get their shot at #3 Gonzaga tonight.

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