BIG TEN POWER RANKINGS
Marcus Fuller's rankings, with five teams to watch:
1. Michigan State (16-2, 4-1): The Spartans came close to dropping even further in the national rankings and out of my top spot Wednesday before escaping Rutgers at home in double overtime.
2. Purdue (16-2, 5-0): There's no hotter team in the country right now than the Boilermakers, who have won 12 straight games entering Saturday's matchup at Minnesota.
3. Ohio State (14-4, 5-0): Who is the biggest surprise team in the Big Ten? The Buckeyes, of course, giving first-year coach Chris Holtmann a shot at the NCAA tournament after an upset of No. 1 Michigan State.
4. Michigan (14-4, 3-2)
5. Maryland (14-5, 3-3)
6. Nebraska (12-6, 3-2)
7. Northwestern (11-7, 2-3)
8. Gophers (13-5, 2-3): Losses like the 23-point embarrassment at Northwestern on Wednesday will continue to drop the Gophers to the bottom of the Big Ten without Amir Coffey and Reggie Lynch.
9. Penn State (12-6, 2-3)
10. Indiana (10-7, 3-2)
11. Rutgers (11-7, 1-4)
12. Wisconsin (9-9, 2-3)
13. Iowa (10-9, 1-5): The only other program more disappointing than Minnesota and its fall from contention. But the Hawkeyes 0-5 start in conference ended with an overtime win at Illinois.
14. Illinois (10-8, 0-5)
