Indiana Basketball: Big Ten Power Rankings Heading into Conference Play

No. 14-11

14. Penn State: 7-6, 1-1:

The Nittany Lions are learning to live without head coach Micah Shrewsberry. They do have some good pieces with Kanye Clary and Ace Baldwin. However, new head coach Mike Rhoades and his staff have quite the rebuild in front of them. They do own a victory against Ohio State. However, they lost to VCU and Bucknell. They are going to need more consistent offense outside of Clary if they want to do more in the Big Ten.

13. Michigan: 6-7, 1-1:

Michigan is a mess because their head coaching situation is a mess. Head coach Juwan Howard was out due to heart surgery amid rumors that his job was in jeopardy. Howard was involved in an incident with strength coach Jon Sanders earlier this month. In addition to everything going on with Howard, the Wolverines are struggling defensively. They do have a win against Memphis but lost to Long Beach State.

12. Iowa: 7-5, 0-2:

The football and basketball program need to trade coordinators. While the football team can't score points, the basketball team can't stop anyone. Does defensive coordinator Phil Parker know the nuisances of the 2-3 zone? The Hawkeyes know they can't outscore everyone in the Big Ten. They are going to struggle if they can't stop anyone on defense.

11. Minnesota: 10-3, 1-1:

The Golden Gophers have benefitted from playing a light non-conference schedule. If it had not been for a late game collapse, they wouldn't have defeated Nebraska. That said, Dawson is one of the better big men in the country, and Elijah Hawkins is one of the better table-setters in college basketball. They are coming together and could make some noise in the Big Ten, especially at home.