Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings: Week 11 edition

Michigan had one of those uninspiring losses against Illinois on Wednesday, losing to the Fighting Illini by 16 points on the road. What became evident is that not even Moritz Wagner or D.J. Wilson are aggressive enough in the post to create issues for opposing offenses. No teams fear the Wolverines as a defensive team and that’s why mediocre squads like Illinois and Nebraska are scoring 85. The Wolverines did hold off the Cornhuskers at home on Saturday, but it took a 91-point showing to do so. This team is struggling to match up.

The victory over Michigan on Wednesday was one of Illinois’ best performances under John Groce, and that’s saying a lot about how underwhelming the Fighting Illini have been in recent years. However, they got hot early against Michigan and kept it up, running away with a 16-point win in Champaign thanks to 64 percent shooting from the field as well as from the perimeter. Unfortunately, they took a step back over the weekend with a six-point loss against Maryland at home and Tracy Abrams didn’t score a single point — not ideal.

It’s kind of surprising to see Iowa struggle as much as they have since Fran McCaffery has done such a great job with the Hawkeyes since taking over the program. However, when you lose so much from arguably the best team in years, there’s bound to be a step back taken. In fact, the Hawkeyes are in danger of missing out on the tournament if they don’t stay above .500, at the very least, in conference play. Iowa beat Purdue at home to gain some confidence and then followed that up with a 35-point loss at Northwestern. Confusing week, to say the least.