Big Ten Power Rankings: Plenty of Candidates for No. 1 in Debut

There's no question that the Big Ten is loaded this year, and there's plenty of talent from top to bottom. But who's the best team? There are plenty of candidates, for sure, and a surprise No. 1 to many in our first rankings of the season.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Big Ten is America's best league. There's plenty of talent through the conference, and it's a very top-heavy league too, with as many as a half-dozen teams who think they can win the conference title.

And they wouldn't be wrong.

So our first power rankings of the year will surely stir debate. It's not easy, and it's going to be fluid every week, too.

Here's my rankings, from No. 1 to No. 14. Your thoughts?

1. Wisconsin Badgers

• Record so far: 8-1 overall, 2-0 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: AP No. 9, Coaches No. 9, kenpom.com No. 4
• Best win(s): Michigan State, Louisville
• Worst loss: Marquette
• Next conference game: Monday vs. Maryland, 7 p.m. ET
• The skinny: When you go to East Lansing and play great, that's saying something. To me that was the best win of the season so far, and I love how deep and versatile this team is. They're a scrappy bunch. I see them keeping this spot a few more weeks, at the very least.

2. Iowa Hawkeyes

• Record so far: 7-2 overall, 1-1 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: AP No. 4, Coaches No. 5, kenpom.com No. 5
• Best win(s): North Carolina, Iowa State, Purdue
• Worst loss: Minnesota
• Next conference game: Tuesday vs. Northwestern, 9 p.m. ET
• The skinny: The Hawkeyes are definitely the most dangerous offensive team in the league, but they still have lapses on defense. Still, there's no shame in losing at Minnesota, it's a tough place to play and that's a big-time rivalry game. 

3. Illinois Fighting Illini

• Record so far: 7-3 overall, 3-1 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: AP No. 18, Coaches No. 18, kenpom.com No. 7
• Best win(s): Duke, Minnesota, Indiana
• Worst loss(s): Missouri
• Next conference game: Saturday vs. Purdue, 6 p.m. ET
• The skinny: I probably have them a touch too high, because of that recency bias. I just watched them in person on Saturday and Ayo Dosunmu is simply a stud. I just love watching him play down the stretch in games. I won't be a bit surprised if they reel off five or six wins in a row now.

4. Northwestern Wildcats

• Record so far: 6-1 overall, 3-0 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: AP No. 38, kenpom.com No. 52
• Best win(s): Michigan State, Indiana, Penn State
• Worst loss: Pittsburgh
• Next conference game: Tuesday at Iowa, 9 p.m. ET
• The skinny: What a story the Wildcats have been so far, taking the Big Ten by storm with three straight stunning wins. Suddenly that Tuesday night showdown at Iowa as top-of-standings implications. Chris Collins doing a great job in Evanston.

5. Michigan Wolverines

• Record so far: 7-0 overall, 2-0 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: AP No. 19, Coaches No. 19, kenpom.com No. 15
• Best win(s): Penn State, Toledo, UCF
• Worst loss: None
• Next conference game: Thursday at Maryland, 7 p.m. ET
• The skinny: Michigan is still undefeated but, let's be honest, the Wolverines haven't played anyone yet and their Big Ten schedule is super-soft at the beginning. It's going to be interesting to see how they progress in the next two or three weeks. 

6. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

• Record so far: 6-1 overall, 2-1 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: AP No. 11, Coaches No. 12, kenpom.com No. 19
• Best win(s): Illinois, Syracuse, Maryland
• Worst loss: Ohio State
• Next conference game: Tuesday vs. Purdue, 7 p.m. ET
• The skinny: Rutgers is for real, and there's no doubt about it, which made that second-half collapse against Ohio State all the more surprising. Who would have ever expected them to give up 52 points in a half?

7. Michigan State Spartans

• Record so far: 6-2 overall, 0-2 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: AP No. 12, Coaches No. 11, kenpom.com No. 31
• Best win(s): Duke, Notre Dame
• Worst loss: Northwestern
• Next conference game: Monday at Minnesota, 8 p.m. ET
• The skinny: This is another team that's probably ranked as low as they're going to be all year. The 0-2 start is surprising, and there's danger ahead on Monday night too with a trip to The Barn.

8. Minnesota Golden Gophers

• Record so far: 8-1 overall, 1-1 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: AP No. 40, Coaches No. 43, kenpom.com No. 42
• Best win(s): Boston College, Iowa
• Worst loss: Illinois
• Next conference game: Monday vs. Michigan State, 8 p.m. ET
• The skinny: That brutal start to the Big Ten season could have been overwhelming for the Gophers, but Marcus Carr was sensational in the upset win over Iowa in overtime. Now comes a Michigan State team smarting from two straight losses. Looking forward to this Monday night showdown.

9. Purdue Boilermakers

• Record so far: 7-3 overall, 2-1 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: AP No. 35, Coaches No. 44, kenpom.com No. 33
• Best win(s): Ohio State, Notre Dame, Maryland
• Worst loss: Miami
• Next conference game: Tuesday at Rutgers, 7 p.m. ET
• The skinny: Purdue has to do a better job of closing out games. The Miami defeat truly was a bad loss after leading by 20, and the Boilers gave up a big lead against Maryland, too, before hanging on to win at the end. Big test on Tuesday against a very good Rutgers team.

10. Ohio State Buckeyes

• Record so far: 7-2 overall, 1-2 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: AP No. 23, Coaches No. 20, kenpom.com No. 16
• Best win(s): Notre Dame, UCLA, Rutgers
• Worst loss: Purdue
• Next conference game: Wednesday vs. Nebraska, 6:30 p.m. ET
• The skinny: The win over Rutgers was impressive, and it was really the first time all year that the Buckeyes made you stand up and take notice. The guess is they will be ranked higher than this the rest of the year.

11. Indiana Hoosiers

• Record so far: 5-4 overall, 0-2 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: AP No. 30, Coaches No. 30, kenpom.com No. 23
• Best win(s): Providence, Stanford, Butler
• Worst loss: Northwestern
• Next conference game: Wednesday vs. Penn State, 8:30 p.m. ET
• The skinny: Indiana has played a very difficult schedule thus far, and none of those four losses were hard to swallow other than (maybe) Northwestern. They need to learn from the losses, however, and turn those close games into wins going forward.

12. Maryland Terrapins

• Record so far: 5-3 overall, 0-2 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking:  kenpom.com No. 48
• Best win(s): La Salle, Navy, Saint Peter's
• Worst loss: Clemson
• Next conference game: Monday at Wisconsin, 7 p.m. ET
• The skinny: The Terrapins really don't have any impressive wins yet on their soft schedule, so they have really done anything to impress anyone. Four of their next five games are against ranked teams, too, with the only exception being a road game at Indiana. Can they Terrapins really start league play at 0-7?

13. Penn State Nittany Lions

• Record so far: 3-3 overall, 0-2 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: kenpom.com No. 53
• Best win(s): Virginia Tech, VCU
• Worst loss: Seton Hall
• Next conference game: Wednesday at Indiana, 8:30 p.m. ET
• The skinny: Penn State has lost a lot from a year ago, and not only with players. Coach Pat Chambers is gone now too, and interim things never seem to work out over a full season.

14. Nebraska Cornhuskers

• Record so far: 4-5 overall, 0-2 in the Big Ten
• Current national ranking: kenpom.com No. 116
• Best win(s): North Dakota State, South Dakota
• Worst loss: Nevada
• Next conference game: Jan. 3 vs. Wisconsin ET
• The skinny: Fred Hoiberg has a lot of new faces on his roster, but it's going to be very hard for the Cornhuskers to find wins in this league.